Home and Community Based Waivers
Home and Community Based Waivers are special programs that provide Long Term Care services that help Medicaid eligible individuals live in the community and avoid institutionalization. The District of Columbia operates two Home and Community Based Waivers: The Home and Community Based Waiver for Persons who are Elderly and Individuals with Physical Disabilities (EPD) and the Home Community Based Waiver for Persons with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD).
EPD Waiver Program
The EPD Waiver Program provides a range of services to assist elderly and individuals with physical disabilities to live in their homes and communities. These services are provided in addition to other services offered through DC Medicaid.
What services does the EPD Waiver cover/include?
- Day habilitation
- In-home supports
- Live-in caregiver
- Prevocational services
- Residential habilitation
- Respite services
- Supported employment
- Personal care aid services
- Skilled nursing
- Behavioral supports
- Community support team
- Environmental accessibility adaptations
- Family training
- Host home
- Nutrition evaluation/consultation
- Occupational therapy
- One-time transitional services
- Personal emergency response system
- Physical therapy
- Professional services
- Speech, hearing, and language services
- Supported living
- Vehicle modifications
EPD Waiver Program
The EPD Waiver Program provides a range of services to assist elderly and individuals with physical disabilities to live in their homes and communities. These services are provided in addition to other services offered through DC Medicaid. If you have any questions or need help applying for the EPD Waiver, please contact the EPD Waiver program at (202) 724-5626.
ID/DD Waiver Program
The ID/DD Waiver provides a range of services for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who want to live as independently as possible in their homes or communities. These services are provided, according to a person’s need, in addition to other services offered by DC Medicaid.
What services does the ID/DD Waiver cover/include?
- Day Habilitation
- In-home supports
- Live-in caregiver
- Prevocational services
- Residential habilitation
- Respite
- Supported employment
- Personal care services
- Skilled nursing
- Behavioral supports
- Community support team
- Environmental accessibility adaptations
- Family training
- Host home without transportation
- Nutrition (evaluation/consultation)
- One-time transitional services
- Personal emergency response system
- Physical therapy
- Professional services
- Speech, hearing and language services
- Supported living
- Vehicle modifications
- Art therapy
- Dental
- Employment Readiness
- Individualized day supports
- Occupational therapy
- Shared living
- Supported employment
- Vehicle modifications
- Wellness Services
To be eligible for the IDD/DD Waiver Program, you must:
Receive services from the Department on Disability Services (DDS) or the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) and meet the following requirements:
- Have an intellectual disability
- Be eighteen (18) years of age or older
- Be a resident of the District of Columbia
- Have been determined to need an ICF/IID (Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities) level of care
- Have chosen to live in the community instead of an institution
- Have assets, i.e., savings, up to $4,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a couple
- Have income up to 300% of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) federal benefit or be elderly and disabled with income up to 100% of the federal poverty level
- Meet all other eligibility criteria applicable to Medicaid recipients including citizenship and immigration status requirements
How to Apply for the IDD/DD Waiver Program:
DHCF partners with the Department on Disability Services (DDS) to provide and manage these services. To apply for the IDD Waiver, call the DDS Intake & Eligibility Office at (202) 730-1745.
Institutional Care Program
The Institutional Care Program provides coverage to people receiving institutionalized level of care in a nursing facility or in an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. District of Columbia Medicaid covers people requiring long-term care in institutions such as nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled (ICF/DDs) or hospice. People who are not eligible for the Institutional Care Program because they transferred assets may be eligible for other Medicaid services. All people 21 years of age and older applying for nursing facility services must receive an assessment from DHCF’s Long Term Care Unit.
Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Project
Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Project (MFP) is a transition program operated by the DC Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) in collaboration with the DC Office on Aging, Aging & Disability Resource Center, and the DC Department on Disability Services (DDS) and Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA).
The program and its transition coordination services help people move out of nursing facilities or Intermediate Care Facilities for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IDs) and begin a new life in a home setting of their choice. The program’s intent is to support DC residents in having greater choice about where they receive their long-term care supports. MFP also helps identify and address barriers to receiving quality home and community-based services.
Currently the District offers MFP to the following people:
- People living in nursing facilities, who are eligible for assistance through the Home and Community Based Waiver for Persons who are Elderly and Individuals with Physical Disabilities (EPD) and selected for participation in MFP (Visit DHCF’s Web site at http://dhcf.dc.gov/node/388972 for details about the selection of nursing facility residents for participation).
- People with intellectual disabilities residing in long-term care settings, such as Intermediate Care Facilities for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/ID), who are eligible for the Home Community Based Waiver for Persons with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD).
To explore transition through MFP, you must be:
- Someone who has lived in a nursing facility or ICF/ID or other long-term care facility for at least 90 continuous days;
- Received Medicaid long-term care services in an institution within the last 30 days;
- Interested in receiving services and supports in the community; and
- Eligible for one of DC’s Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver Programs.
To learn more about MFP for people transitioning from nursing facilities to the community, contact the DC Department on Aging, Aging and Disability Resource Center. The telephone number is (202) 724-5626.
For transitions from ICFs/ID, contact the MFP Project Coordination Office at the Department of Health Care Finance at (202) 442-9011.
Contact TTY:
711