Maryland Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waivers

Home and Community-Based 1915(c) Waivers for Respite Support

Medicaid is a program in every state that pays for medical assistance for certain individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for America’s poorest people. Because Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal and state governments, the services paid for vary from state to state. In addition to medical services, Medicaid will pay for home and community-based services (HCBS) through the state plan as well as through Medicaid waivers that offer services as a lower-cost alternative to treatment in a medical or long-term care facility, such as a nursing home. Respite is usually paid for through one or more of the following types of waivers: research and demonstration (1115), managed care (1915b) and HCBS (1915c) waiver programs. This state’s Medicaid waivers that include respite are: 

 Maryland is currently restructuring the three home and community-based service waiver programs that support adults with developmental disabilities in order to align the scope of services, requirements, limitations, qualifications, and effective dates of those service across these three waiver programs. These waivers are the Family Supports Waiver, Community Supports Waiver, and Community Pathways Waiver. Additionally, the state is adjusting some of the service implementation to provide additional time for rate setting and development of critical operational and billing functionality. Begin and end dates of particular services in those waiver descriptions below reflect when those specific services will shift from one waiver to another.