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The
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), charged
with oversight of American nursing homes, also oversees
government programs that are designed to keep the
elderly in their own communities and, if possible, in
their own homes.
Some of the assistance provided under these programs
includes the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Service
Waivers. These waivers allow individual states to
develop and implement alternatives to long-term care
facility placement. The program is described at
www.hcfa.gov/medicaid/hpg4.htm. At the time of this
writing, budget cuts are looming and these programs may
disappear. Some of the services that currently can be
provided at no
cost to seniors and disabled persons who qualify
include:
1)
Case management
2)
Homemaker/home health aide
services
3)
Personal care services
4)
Adult day health
5)
Rehabilitation
6)
Respite care
Other services, if approved by HCFA and requested by the
state because they are needed by waiver participants to
avoid being placed in a medical facility, include:
1)
Non-medical transportation
2)
In-home support services
3)
Special communication services
4)
Minor home modifications
5)
Adult day care
For
those with chronic mental illness, services (exclusive
of coverage for room and board except for certain
limited circumstances) include:
1)
Day treatment or other partial
hospitalization services
2)
Psychosocial réhabilitation services
3)
Clinic
services
You
can get more information by telephoning or visiting the
agency on aging in your own community or by telephoning
your social security office if you need help in finding
the right office.
The following websites have valuable
information from the U.S. Government Medicare website
for Medicaid Waiver & Demonstration Projects.
Medicaid State Waiver Program Demonstration Projects -
General Information
Medicaid Demonstration Projects & Evaluation Reports
Medicaid Health Insurance Flexibility & Accountability (HIFA)
Medicaid Pharmacy Plus |
