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Paying for care
PACE, MSSP, and Other California Home Care Options
Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.
How PACE, MSSP, and Community-Based Adult Services fit next to IHSS in California, with official DHCS and CDA links. Service areas and wait lists are local.
About 4 minutes to read. Based on CDSS and DHCS public program pages retrieved 2026-09-16. County offices apply these rules. Hourly rates, hour totals, and wait times are local and change.
Short answer
California runs several home-and-community-based options besides IHSS. PACE is an all-inclusive program in specific service areas. MSSP is care management that often sits next to IHSS for eligible older adults, subject to capacity. CBAS is a Medi-Cal adult day health option. Each program decides eligibility. Some cannot be combined.
Who decides
DHCS, PACE organizations, MSSP sites, managed care plans, and counties apply their own rules. CDSS and county IHSS offices run IHSS. Ask each program whether another benefit can run at the same time.
What to do next
Check the DHCS PACE plans list for your ZIP code, use CDA’s county finder for MSSP, and ask the county or Medi-Cal plan about CBAS before you drop an IHSS application.
IHSS is not the only home program
Adult children hear “Medi-Cal home care” and picture only IHSS. DHCS also publishes home and community-based options. PACE, MSSP, CBAS, and other waivers or plan services can appear in that family. Availability, ZIP codes, and wait lists are local. This page stays with programs that have clear public .gov pages.
Start from the setting. If the person can live safely in the community with a package of medical and social services, PACE might be the conversation. If they already have IHSS and need care coordination plus extra purchased supports, MSSP might be. If they need a day health program, CBAS might be. The county and the plan tell you what is open.
PACE, as DHCS describes it
The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly uses an interdisciplinary team in a PACE center to coordinate preventive, primary, acute, and long-term care. DHCS says a person must be 55 or older, live in a PACE service area, be determined to meet nursing-home level of care, and be able to live safely in the home or community at enrollment.
Check California PACE plans for counties and ZIP codes. If the ZIP code is not listed, stop. Do not drive to a center in another county and assume enrollment. PACE organizations explain how Medicare and Medi-Cal pay the package. People who are Medicare-only may have a premium conversation with the plan. Ask the plan. This page will not quote a premium.
Because PACE is all-inclusive, overlapping services such as IHSS are a real question. Ask the PACE organization what happens to an existing IHSS case if you enroll. Do not keep both timesheets going on a guess.
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Questions people ask
- Can someone have PACE and IHSS at the same time?
- Disability Rights California and DHCS materials describe PACE as an all-inclusive model. PACE provides home care similar to IHSS, and the two are generally not received together. Ask the PACE organization and the county before you assume.
- Does MSSP replace IHSS?
- CDA says most MSSP participants also receive IHSS. MSSP adds care management and may purchase some extra supports, within program rules and capacity. It is not a second IHSS check.
- Is PACE in every California county?
- No. DHCS publishes service counties and ZIP codes. If your ZIP code is not listed, PACE is not an option there.
Official sources for this guide
Related pages on California Home Help
Reviewed against CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, and CareScout public pages. We do not quote IHSS wages. County IHSS offices and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and pay. For current county wage rates, use the official CDSS wage page. CDSS county IHSS wage rates.
Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.