Personal care services provide medically necessary assistance with activities of daily living (ADL) and age appropriate instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) that enable the recipients to accomplish tasks that they would normally be able to do for themselves if they did not have a medical condition or disability. Medicaid reimburses for these services provided to eligible recipients under the age of 21 years.
ADLs include:
- Eating (oral feedings and fluid intake)
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Toileting
- Transferring
- Maintaining continence (examples include taking care of a catheter or colostomy bag or changing a disposable incontinence product when the recipient is unable to control his bowel or bladder functions)
IADLs (when necessary for the recipient to function independently) include:
- Personal hygiene
- Light housework
- Laundry
- Meal preparation
- Transportation
- Grocery shopping
- Using the telephone to take care of essential tasks (examples include paying bills and setting up medical appointments)
- Medication management
- Money management
Skilled interventions that may be performed only by a licensed health professional are not considered personal care services.