We compare your family's situation against every self-directed Medicaid program, HCBS waiver, and Medicare savings program we track in your state, then highlight likely matches and what you should verify next.
You answer questions about the person who needs care: their age, state, current Medicaid and Medicare status, living situation, level of care needed, and who will be providing care. The questionnaire takes about 5 minutes. No account is required.
We ask only what our matching rules actually use. We don't ask for Social Security numbers, financial account details, or any information we don't need.
Our matching engine checks your answers against the eligibility rules of every program we track in your state — currently 300+ programs across all 50 states + DC. Programs are ranked by how well your situation fits, with the highest-confidence match shown first.
You see which programs matched and which were eliminated — and why — before deciding whether to purchase the full guide.
The $199 guide is generated immediately after payment. It combines structured program data with AI analysis of your situation to produce an informational guide with likely matches, caregiver payment notes where published, and suggested next steps to verify.
Our matching engine uses verified program data from official state sources. AI assists with organizing your results and generating call scripts — but every program, phone number, and eligibility rule comes from .gov documentation, not AI guesswork.
The guide is saved to your portal account and can be downloaded as a PDF at any time.
The guide is designed to help you verify the next steps with the right office. Here is every section, in order.
A 4-field summary at the top of the guide: the strongest likely match, the caregiver payment note for that program, its budget range when published, and a suggested first action.
A teal callout that names the strongest likely match, points you to the office that usually handles this program, and lists documents often requested for the first appointment.
A narrative paragraph describing your family's situation and which programs may fit your answers, written specifically for your assessment rather than as a generic template.
A plain-language explanation of whether and how a family member may be paid as a caregiver under the matched programs, including relationship rules and pay structures where those details are published.
One detailed card per matched program, each containing: match level, confidence tier, a recommendation narrative, eligibility facts confirmed vs. items you still need to verify, caregiver payment details, monthly budget range when published, suggested next steps, a sample call script you can adapt, the known enrollment process, and a documents checklist.
An amber callout listing any details we couldn't confirm from your answers alone — things you'll need to verify before your first office call, such as asset documentation or specific diagnosis certifications.
Immediately
After checkout, our system verifies payment and begins generating your guide. This typically takes 15–30 seconds. You'll see a loading screen while it runs.
Within 60 seconds
Your full guide appears on screen. It is simultaneously saved to your portal account. You can print it as a PDF immediately from the guide page.
Any time
Sign in to carebudget.org/portal using a magic link sent to your email. All past guides are listed there and can be viewed or printed at any time.
Ongoing
A chat assistant is available on your guide page. It has read access to your full guide and can answer follow-up questions, clarify next steps, or explain program terms — always in the context of your specific programs.
The matching engine runs two types of checks for each program.
Some rules are absolute disqualifiers. If a program requires Medicaid enrollment and the person isn't enrolled, we eliminate that program immediately and explain the reason clearly. Hard gates include things like state residency, age minimums and maximums, and Medicaid requirement.
Other eligibility factors — like income limits or specific disability certifications — are scored but not automatically disqualifying if we don't have enough information to confirm them. When a rule can't be fully evaluated, it shows up as a “to verify” item in your guide rather than eliminating the program. You shouldn't lose a potential match because of an unanswered question.
On confidence tiers: Each matched program is graded as “Confirmed match,” “Verify with county,” or “Possible — needs verification” based on how much of the eligibility we could confirm from your answers versus what requires a follow-up call. This tells you upfront how much confidence to place in each match before you drive to an office.
If you complete the assessment, purchase the guide, and believe there was a billing or delivery problem, email us at support@carebudget.org and we will review the issue.
If the eligibility check finds no matching programs, you won't be charged. The check itself is free.
Takes 5 minutes. No account required.
Find My Programs Free →