Could An Indiana Medicaid Aged & Disabled Waiver Help You?
Medicaid’s Aged & Disabled Waiver can provide a host of health care benefits to you, including valuable care at home and in the community so that you don’t have to live in a nursing home. Here’s a brief overview of what the Aged & Disabled Waiver entails in the state of Indiana and how Hawkins Elder Law can help you protect your assets while qualifying for Medicaid.
What Is The Aged And Disabled Waiver?
The Aged & Disabled Waiver provides you with home and community-based services to supplemental informal supports. To receive this waiver, you’ll have to meet the following requirements:
- Sixty-five or older, blind, or disabled
- Need a nursing facility level of care
- Live in an HCBS compliant setting
- Satisfy Medicaid’s income and resource limits
The Waiver’s services can include:
- Adult family care
- Adult day service
- Attendant care
- Assisted living
- Care management
- Community transition
- Home modifications
- Homemaker
- Health care coordination
- Home delivered meals: delivery of meals to your home
- Personal emergency response system
- Nutritional supplements
- Respite
- Pest control
- Structured family caregiving
- Special medical equipment and supplies
- Vehicle modifications
- Transportation
What Does A Nursing Facility Level Of Care Mean?
You need a nursing facility level of care if one or more of the following applies:
- You have a complex and unstable medical condition that requires you to receive assistance from others
- You need someone’s help with medical equipment (e.g. suctioning, ventilator, tube feeding, IV)
- You need someone’s direct assistance for treatments or routines (e.g. oxygen administration)
- You need to be observed and assessed by a physician because of your unstable physical condition
- You have another type of substantial medical condition
How Do You Apply For A Aged & Disability Waiver In Indiana?
You begin by requesting a Waiver from one of Indiana’s area agencies on aging (the “AAA,” see https://www.in.gov/fssa/da/area-agencies-on-aging/). One of your AAA’s case managers will evaluate your eligibility, determine which services will fit your needs, and submit a request for the services.
Waiver Eligibility Requirements
Generally, a Waiver applicant must:
- Be 65 or older, blind, or disabled;
- Need a “nursing facility level of care;”
- Live in a Home and Community-Based Services (“HCBS”) setting; and
- Satisfy Medicaid’s income and resource limits.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) provides additional information about Waiver eligibility requirements online at: https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/home-and-community-based-services/aged-and-disabled-waiver/ and https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/files/da-hcbs-waivers.pdf.
How Do Have You Apply for Medicaid with a Waiver?
You apply for Medicaid after the AAA approves the Waiver application and lists your needed services on your Plan of Care (POC) or Notice of Action (NOA). You can apply for Medicaid online, in person at a local Division of Family Resources (DFR) office, or by calling the DFR. However, suppose you have life insurance, an IRA or other retirement plan, a home or other valuable property, or you are married. In those cases, a skilled elder law attorney can help you:
- confirm that you qualify for benefits;
- ensure that your Medicaid application is complete and correct; and
- legally protect assets that most people forfeit by applying without an elder law attorney’s assistance.
Can The Medicaid Application Process Be Expedited?
Yes. If you want to apply for expedited waiver eligibility, you must be eligible for Medicaid and the Aged & Disabled Waiver.
- You must be age 65 or older
- You can’t already be receiving Medicaid Benefits
- You must meet Medicaid’s income and asset limits
- You must need help with at least three activities of your daily living (e.g. toileting, dressing, eating) or have a substantial skill need
- You must need a nursing facility level of care
- You must not have complex financial assets that have to be reviewed
If you are eligible for the expedited program, you could potentially start to receive benefits in days, not months.
Indiana Medicaid Lawyer
You should speak with an elder law lawyer to learn more about qualifying for Medicaid, including the Indiana Aged & Disabled Waiver. Click here to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies.
About The Authors
Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins co-author this blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indiana Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).
Jeff is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is also licensed in Illinois, a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, and a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter.
More Information
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