New Orleans Senior AdvisorWhat is LT-PCS in Louisiana?
Long Term-Personal Care Services (LT-PCS) is a Louisiana Medicaid program that pays for help at home with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, toileting, walking and transferring, for Medicaid enrollees 21 and older who qualify for nursing home care.
LT-PCS can also include light housekeeping, meal preparation and storage, grocery shopping, laundry, medication reminders, and help scheduling medical appointments and transportation. It does not, alone or combined with other OAAS programs, provide supports 24 hours a day.
Who qualifies for LT-PCS?
A person must receive Medicaid, be 21 or older, qualify for nursing home care, need at least limited assistance with one activity of daily living, be able to direct care personally or through a representative, and meet one more test: be in a nursing home and able to leave with community services, be likely to need nursing home admission within 120 days, or have a primary caregiver who is disabled or at least 70.
The last test describes a common New Orleans household: a husband in his late seventies caring for a wife with Parkinson's disease. If he is 70 or older, she may qualify on that ground alone, as long as she meets the other requirements.
What does LT-PCS not cover?
LT-PCS does not cover nursing care, medication administration, physical, occupational or speech therapy, specialized aide services, companionship, sitter services, supervision not related to daily activities, or help already provided by family or another program.
Those limits explain why LT-PCS is often paired with other help. Skilled care comes from a Medicare home health agency; supervision and longer hours may come from the Community Choices Waiver or from family. Someone approved for 32 hours of LT-PCS who would otherwise need a nursing home is in one of the CCW's priority groups.
How do I apply for LT-PCS in New Orleans?
If your parent already has Medicaid, call Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care at 1-877-456-1146 (TTY 711) to ask about LT-PCS; if not, the Medicaid application comes first, through the Medicaid Self-Service Portal or Medicaid Customer Service at 1-888-342-6207.
OAAS assesses need and sets the hours. Care is delivered by licensed home and community-based services providers, and the participant can usually choose among the agencies serving the area. Ask each agency how it covers a worker's sick day; reliability matters more than anything else in a personal care plan.
How does LT-PCS compare with paying privately for home care?
LT-PCS is free to eligible Medicaid enrollees but limited to assessed hours and hands-on tasks, while private home care in Louisiana had a 2025 median of about $26 an hour and can be scheduled for any hours and any non-medical task, including companionship.
Many families combine the two: LT-PCS for the morning bath and dressing, private hours for afternoons, and family for evenings. See LT-PCS versus the Community Choices Waiver.
At a glance
| LT-PCS covers | LT-PCS does not cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Personal care | Bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transfers | Nursing or medication administration |
| Household | Light housekeeping, meals, laundry, errands | Cleaning areas the participant does not use |
| Time | Assessed hours | 24-hour supervision or sitting |
| Company | Help tied to daily activities | Companionship |
Sources include LAC 48:I.Chapter 68 (adult residential care providers), the Louisiana Department of Health's Health Standards Section and Office of Aging and Adult Services pages, the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, CareScout and VA rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
