Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Nevada program

Nursing and care help at home

Nevada Medicaid can pay for nursing and hands-on care at home when your child needs it.

What it is

Nevada Medicaid can pay for nursing and hands-on care at home when your child needs it.

Treatment at home can involve tasks that need a nurse. The care team describes those tasks and the hours needed. A home-health agency must also have staff available.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child needs Nevada Medicaid, a physician order and an assessment by the plan or state review vendor.
What you get
  • Covered nursing hours and personal care at home without a family charge.
  • An agency arranges the workers for approved care.
What the help includes
  • Since July 2026 Medicaid does not pay a parent to give personal care to their own child under 18. A parent who is a licensed nurse can ask the nursing agency whether it could employ them for approved skilled-nursing hours.
  • Healthy Kids is Nevada’s EPSDT child benefit. It can support medically necessary care beyond ordinary limits within Medicaid benefit categories.
  • Approved hours run for up to six months at a time; the agency asks for renewal two to six weeks before they end.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the oncologist and discharge planner to discuss a home-nursing order.
  2. Describe the daytime and overnight tasks, then ask which agencies take your child’s Medicaid coverage.

Nevada Medicaid: 866-569-1746; your Medicaid health plan · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Medicaid health plans have 7 calendar days for a standard care request and 72 hours for an expedited request.
  • Nursing hours cover skilled tasks a nurse must do, not the ordinary care a parent gives. Under 21, the plan must consider what your child individually needs, not a standard limit.
Good to know

Approval does not guarantee a nurse is available. Staffing belongs in the discharge conversation.

Other details
  • Personal care and skilled nursing follow different rules; eligibility to do one does not establish payment for the other.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Would nursing at home help with my child’s care, and what would it cover? Could you help us weigh the practical limits and find an agency if an assessment makes sense?”

Why I’m asking: I want a safe plan for the care we will be doing at home.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask for the order before discharge and say plainly what the nights look like at home.

Your social worker

The discharge planner finds an agency that has staff; the social worker chases the authorisation.

The care team

The oncologist writes the order and the hours it asks for.

Who decides
The Medicaid health plan, or the state's review vendor for fee-for-service.
Ask the care team
“Can you write the nursing order before we go home, and say how many hours my child needs?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the oncologist for the order before discharge, then ask the health plan or 800-525-2395 what happens next.

  1. Ask the oncologist for a nursing order before discharge, not after.
  2. Ask the discharge planner which home-health agencies take Medicaid nursing in your area.
  3. If the answer is no, ask for the decision in writing and appeal it.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the oncologist for the order before discharge, and ask the discharge planner which home-health agencies take Medicaid nursing here.

What to gather

The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.

How long: A health plan answers in 7 calendar days, or 72 hours when it is urgent. The fee-for-service clock was not published.

What a yes looks like

An authorisation with a number of hours, and an agency that says it can staff them.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A denial letter. Ask for it in writing, then appeal to the plan and, if needed, ask for a Fair Hearing.

Watch out

  • From July 1, 2026 Nevada does not pay a parent for personal care services.
  • A licensed-nurse parent can be hired by an agency for nursing hours; that is a different rule from being paid as a carer.
  • Getting an agency with staff is often harder than getting the authorisation. Ask the discharge planner early.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Nursing hours and hands-on care at home, at no cost, once Nevada Medicaid is in place.

  • $7 — Standard health-plan decision on an authorisation request
  • $72 — Expedited health-plan decision

Covers: Private duty nursing hours at home · Personal care: washing, feeding, moving, toileting · Going beyond ordinary limits through the Healthy Kids medical-necessity route

Legal protection: A denial can be appealed to the health plan and then to a Fair Hearing

What it costs the family: No cost once Medicaid is in place.

The eligibility facts, as published

Coverage condition
Nevada Medicaid, through any door
Medical
a physician order, arranged through a home-health agency
Level of care
assessed by the health plan or the state's review vendor
Processing standard
health plans: 7 calendar days standard, 72 hours expedited; the fee-for-service clock was not published

Expect friction on: A home-health agency has to accept the case before hours can start

The trap: From July 1, 2026 Nevada does not pay a legally responsible person, including a parent of a minor, for personal care services. A separate 2025 bulletin does let a Nevada-licensed nurse who is the parent be employed by a home-health agency for authorised nursing. The two are different things; ask which one is on the table.

Where I read this

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