If you are working on getting services for your child with special needs, you may have heard about Medicaid HCBS waivers. You may not realize how important getting an appropriate HCBS waiver is for adults with special needs.
What Are Medicaid HCBS Waivers?
Medicaid HCBS (Home and Community Based Services) waivers allow people with special needs to receive important services funded by Medicaid dollars. These services allow them to live in their own homes or in a group home, rather than in an institution – even though they require an institutional level of care. There are several different types of waivers, including:
- Support Waiver for Children and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities
- Residential Waiver for Children and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities
- Waiver for Children who are Medically Fragile and Technology Dependent
- Waiver for Persons with Disabilities
- Waiver for Persons with Brain Injuries
- Waiver for Adults with Developmental Disabilities
- Waiver for Persons who are Elderly (for adults over age 65 and physically disabled adults ages 60-64)
- Waiver for Persons with HIV or AIDS
- Supportive Living Program (for adults over age 65 and physically disabled adults ages 22-64)
Each waiver covers a different set of services tailored to a group of people with special needs. To receive a waiver, you must be a U.S. citizen or legal alien, be a resident of Illinois, meet Medicaid financial eligibility requirements, require a certain institutional level of care, and have care needs that can be met at an equal or lower cost to institutional care. Each waiver also has some particular requirements.
Why Are These Waivers Important?
Since the services people with special needs require are often extremely expensive, having Medicaid cuts the financial burden for these individuals and their families. This frees up your family’s financial resources to pay for items not covered by government programs. Without HCBS waivers, many adults with special needs would not be able to receive important services.
In addition, the waivers make it possible for people with special needs to live at home or in a group setting, instead of in an institution. Staying in a comfortable and familiar setting may be crucial for your relative with special needs to thrive. Plus, family members can continue their close relationships with your relative while the Medicaid services relieve you (and them) from some of the caregiver duties.
Rubin Law is the only law firm in Illinois exclusively limited to providing compassionate special needs legal and future planning to guide our fellow Illinois families of children and adults with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, or mental illness down the road to peace of mind. For more information, email us at email@rubinlaw.com or call 866-TO-RUBIN.
