Personal Care & Daily Living
Bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transfers and mobility. The hands-on help that decides whether staying home is realistic.
CHC · Long-Term Living · All 67 PA Counties
Community HealthChoices & Long-Term Living Care in Pennsylvania
Support for your family.
Miracle Makers Home Care is a licensed Pennsylvania home care agency serving Community HealthChoices participants statewide — helping older adults and adults with physical disabilities stay safely in their own homes instead of moving into a facility.
What is Community HealthChoices? CHC is Pennsylvania's managed care program for long-term services and supports. It's run by the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), part of the Department of Human Services, and it covers adults 21 and older who have both Medicare and Medicaid, or who need a nursing-facility level of care. Its whole purpose is paying for help at home so people don't have to move into a facility.
Home Care That Keeps People Home
Most families find us at the same moment: a hospital discharge, a fall, a diagnosis, or a quiet realisation that Mom shouldn't be alone all day anymore. The question is always some version of "how do we keep her in her own house?"
Community HealthChoices exists to answer that. If your family member has CHC, the program already pays for in-home support — personal care, bathing and dressing, meals, medication reminders, companionship, respite for you. Our job is to deliver it well, and to make the paperwork side of it somebody else's problem.
We're a licensed Pennsylvania home care agency with offices across the state — not a referral service or an app. We hold ourselves to the standard of the top-performing home care agencies in the country: caregivers we've vetted ourselves, coordination handled for you, and a phone number that a person answers. Call (484) 229-6082.
What CHC Home Care Covers
Your Service Coordinator authorises the hours. We deliver the care.
Meals & Household Help
Meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, shopping and errands — the everyday tasks that quietly become impossible.
Companionship
Conversation, company and a reliable presence. Isolation is a health risk, not a soft one, and it's the thing families worry about most.
Respite for Family Caregivers
Scheduled hours so the family member doing the caring can work, rest, or go to their own appointments without guilt.
Live-In & 24/7 Care
Around-the-clock coverage for people who can't safely be alone overnight, arranged as live-in or rotating shifts.
Alzheimer's & Dementia Support
Caregivers trained in routine, redirection and safety for memory loss — matched for consistency, because familiar faces matter here.
Medication Reminders
Prompting and routine support so doses aren't missed or doubled. We remind and observe; we don't administer.
Appointments & Errands
Accompaniment to medical appointments, pharmacy runs and the grocery store, so a missed ride doesn't become a missed treatment.
Get Paid to Care for Your Own Family Member
Community HealthChoices includes a participant-directed option: instead of the agency choosing who comes to the house, the participant chooses. In many cases that person can be a family member or a close friend who's already doing the caring for free.
We handle enrolment, training, payroll and compliance. You keep doing what you're already doing — and start getting paid for it.
- Your loved one keeps the caregiver they already trust
- Training and onboarding provided — no experience required
- Paid through Pennsylvania Medical Assistance, not out of pocket
- Schedule built around the family, not a shift roster
- We deal with the enrolment paperwork and the payroll
Some relationships have restrictions under Pennsylvania rules — a spouse, for example, is treated differently from an adult child or a niece. One phone call tells you exactly where you stand.
Long-Term Living Programs in Pennsylvania
The Office of Long-Term Living runs several programs. Which one applies depends on age, diagnosis and financial eligibility — your county Area Agency on Aging or the Independent Enrollment Broker makes that determination, not a provider.
Community HealthChoicesCHC — the main program
Pennsylvania's managed long-term care program, statewide since 2020. Covers in-home services for adults 21+ who need a nursing-facility level of care.
- Adults 21 and older
- Medicare + Medicaid, or nursing-home level of need
- Includes the participant-directed option
OBRA WaiverYounger adults with disabilities
For adults aged 18–59 with a severe developmental physical disability who need an ICF/ORC level of care and aren't served by CHC.
- Ages 18–59
- Home and community based services
- Administered by OLTL
Act 150 ProgramState-funded attendant care
A state-funded option for adults with physical disabilities who need attendant care but don't financially qualify for Medicaid. Participants may pay a sliding-scale copay.
- Ages 18–59 with a physical disability
- For those over the Medicaid income limit
- Attendant care and service coordination
Health Plans We Work With
Your plan is on your insurance card — and it's the plan that assigns your Service Coordinator. Not sure which one you have? Call us and we'll check your network status in one conversation.
Keystone First Community HealthChoices
Part of the AmeriHealth Caritas family of companies.
PA Health & Wellness
Pennsylvania's Centene-affiliated CHC plan.
UPMC Community HealthChoices
The CHC plan operated by UPMC Health Plan.
AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania
Medicaid managed care from AmeriHealth Caritas.
Not sure which plan you're with, or whether we're in network for it? Call (484) 229-6082 and we'll check it for you.
How to Get Started
Whether you already have CHC or you're still working out whether you qualify.
1
Call for a free assessment
Ring (484) 229-6082 or send the form. We'll ask what's happening at home and what help is needed.
2
Sort out eligibility
Already have CHC? We work with your Service Coordinator directly. Not enrolled yet? We'll point you to the Independent Enrollment Broker and your county Area Agency on Aging.
3
Match a caregiver
We pair someone based on needs, personality, language and schedule — or enrol the family member you already want doing it.
4
Care begins
Services start once hours are authorised. We stay in touch, and adjust as needs change — because they will.
Trusted Across Pennsylvania
0PA Counties — We Serve Them All
0Health Plans Accepted
24/7On-Call Support
$0Cost to CHC Families
Serving All 67 Counties in Pennsylvania
From Philadelphia to Erie, Pittsburgh to Scranton — if you're in Pennsylvania, we can serve you. Here are some of the major cities where families work with us:
PhiladelphiaPittsburghAllentownErie
ReadingScrantonBethlehemLancaster
HarrisburgYorkWilkes-BarreAltoona
State CollegeChesterUpper DarbyKing of Prussia
Don't see your city? We cover every county in the state. Call (484) 229-6082 and we'll confirm coverage for your address on the spot.
Questions Families Ask Us
Community HealthChoices (CHC) is how Pennsylvania pays for long-term care at home instead of in a nursing facility. It's a managed care program run by the Office of Long-Term Living, part of the Department of Human Services, and it's been statewide since January 2020. If someone is 21 or older, has both Medicare and Medicaid or needs a nursing-facility level of care, CHC is usually the program that covers their in-home help.
Often, yes. CHC includes a participant-directed option where the participant chooses their own caregiver, and that person can frequently be a family member or friend. Some relationships carry restrictions under Pennsylvania rules — a spouse is treated differently from an adult child, for instance. See how the program works or call (484) 229-6082 and we'll tell you where you stand in one conversation.
Two tests: a functional one (does the person need a nursing-facility level of care?) and a financial one (Medicaid eligibility). Neither is decided by a home care agency. The determination runs through Pennsylvania's Independent Enrollment Broker and your county Area Agency on Aging. We'll happily walk you through who to call and what to have ready — that part is free and there's no obligation.
Enrollment runs through Pennsylvania's Independent Enrollment Broker (PA IEB) at 1-877-550-4227. The IEB arranges the functional assessment with your county Area Agency on Aging, and the County Assistance Office handles the financial (Medicaid) side. The process typically takes several weeks. Call us first at (484) 229-6082 and we'll help you get the paperwork right the first time — incomplete applications are the number one cause of delays.
For approved CHC participants, authorised in-home services are covered — you don't pay Miracle Makers directly. Any cost-sharing is set by the state, not by us. The Act 150 program works differently and may involve a sliding-scale copay based on income.
Not for this kind of care. Original Medicare covers short-term, skilled home health — a nurse or therapist after a hospital stay — but it does not pay for ongoing help with bathing, dressing, meals or supervision. That's exactly the gap Community HealthChoices fills for eligible Pennsylvanians. If a discharge planner told you "Medicare won't cover it," CHC is usually the next program to look at.
For approved CHC participants: $0 out of pocket for authorised services — Pennsylvania Medical Assistance pays. Without a program, private-pay home care is billed by the hour and varies with the schedule and level of care; we offer a simple flat-rate private pay option so you know the number before care starts. Call (484) 229-6082 for a straight quote — no "starting at" games.
Yes — Miracle Makers Home Care serves all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs to Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton, Harrisburg and everywhere in between. Call (484) 229-6082 and we'll confirm coverage and caregiver availability for your exact address.
Yes. We provide CHC and long-term living home care throughout Philadelphia and its suburbs — Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties — as well as Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and every other county in Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Erie, Reading, Scranton, Harrisburg, Lancaster and York.
Your CHC health plan assigns a Service Coordinator. They assess needs, build the service plan, and authorise how many hours of care are approved. We work directly with them so you're not stuck relaying messages between the plan and the agency.
We work with Keystone First Community HealthChoices, PA Health & Wellness, UPMC Community HealthChoices and AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania. Your plan is printed on your insurance card — call (484) 229-6082 with the name on the card and we'll confirm network status before you go any further.
CHC is the main statewide program for adults 21+ who are dual eligible or need a nursing-facility level of care. The OBRA Waiver covers adults 18–59 with a severe developmental physical disability who aren't served by CHC. Act 150 is state-funded attendant care for adults with physical disabilities whose income is above the Medicaid limit, usually with a sliding-scale copay. Which one applies is determined by the state, not by us — but we can help you figure out which door to knock on first.
Yes. As a licensed Pennsylvania home care agency, every caregiver goes through the background screening required under state regulations before they ever enter a home, plus our own vetting, orientation and ongoing training. Family caregivers hired through the participant-directed option go through the same enrolment and training process.
You still have options. The Act 150 program exists precisely for adults with physical disabilities whose income is above the Medicaid limit, and private-pay home care is available for everyone else. Call us and describe the situation — we'll tell you honestly which route fits, even if the answer is a program we don't bill.
Yes. Choosing your provider is your right, and you can change without losing your CHC benefits. Tell your Service Coordinator you'd like to move to Miracle Makers Home Care — they process it, and we coordinate the handover so there's no gap in care.
There's no fixed number. Your Service Coordinator authorises hours based on the assessed need — from a few hours a week to round-the-clock coverage — and hours can be reassessed as needs change. Our job is to document what's actually happening at home so the authorisation reflects reality, not a form filled out on a good day.
Home care — what we provide — is non-medical support: personal care, meals, companionship, supervision, the help that keeps daily life running. Home health care is skilled and clinical: nurses, physical therapy, wound care, usually short-term and doctor-ordered. Many families use both at the same time; they're separate services with separate funding.
Yes — dementia is one of the most common reasons families qualify. The functional assessment looks at whether the person needs a nursing-facility level of care, and cognitive decline weighs heavily in that determination. We match dementia clients with consistent, specifically trained caregivers, because routine and familiar faces are half the care plan.
If CHC hours are already authorised, usually within a few days. If enrolment is still in progress, the timeline depends on the state's assessment schedule rather than on us. Either way, call and we'll give you a realistic answer instead of a hopeful one.
Let's Find Out What's Already Covered
A free assessment, no obligation, and a straight answer about what Community HealthChoices will pay for in your situation. Most families are surprised by how much covered care they've been leaving on the table.
Request a Free Assessment
Tell us what's happening at home and we'll follow up within one business day.