- What Is A Medicaid Waiver?
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Find Programs By StateSee middle column, find your state.
Medicaid Waivers help provide services to people who would otherwise be in a nursing home or hospital to receive long-term care in the community. Although there are waivers for many conditions, our focus is towards waivers for people who have intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and autism.
- Waiver Eligibility
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Many people who qualify for waiver services are not even aware that they exist. Families struggle alone, to provide care- creating economic, physical, and emotional strain. States do not educate people about these programs, and it is often only through crisis that people realize help is available.
The waiting period to get onto a waiver program, can be many years, and varies by state. Unfortunately, waiver eligibility does not transfer from state to state. This is a huge problem for families who wish to move to another state. It also unfairly distributes the federally matched dollars among states because each state determines it's own budget.
- Institutions vs Waivers
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There are still people living in state institutions today. And, it has been questioned as to whether states violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when they limit the number of participants to home and community based waiver programs. However, states chose to participate in these programs. Our best hope is to get statutes changed at the federal level.
The 1915(c) waiver is known as the “home and community-based services waiver” (HCBS) because it allows states to treat certain Medicaid populations in home or other community based settings rather than in institutional or long-term care facilities such as hospitals or nursing homes.
- Which States Have Medicaid Waivers
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Forty-four (44) states and the District of Columbia have received waivers to provide home- and community-based services to people with developmental disabilities (DD). Depending on each state's DD definition, these waivers may cover services to people with autism.
- Before you Move.
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If you are receiving Medicaid Waiver services, your waiver services will not transfer other states. You will still be eligible for Medicaid State Plan services after establishing residency, but waiver services do not transfer from state to state. If you decide to move to another state, you should know that many states have thousands of individuals on a list already waiting to receive waiver services. In most cases, you will not be placed in line in front of these other individuals, so it would be best to consider what services you currently have in place and decide if you can do without them if you move. In some states, it will most likely be several years before services would begin.
- Waivers For Autism
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Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, and Wisconsin have waivers specifically addressing autism. They all limit waiver services to children. The first three states' waivers are only for children with autism. Wisconsin provides intensive in-home autism treatment under two broader waivers, one for children with DD and the other for children with social and emotional disorders. In Indiana and Wisconsin, children eligible for autism-specific services are also eligible for services under other Medicaid waivers.
- MedicaidWaiver.org Services
(727) 841-8943 -
- QkNotes - Note writing software for Caseworkers & Provider.
- Get listed on MedicaidWaiver.org
Call (727) 841-8943.