Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver Programs
Proposed Waiver Renewals
Utah’s 1915(c) Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Technology Dependent Waiver (Tech Waiver) expires June 30, 2023. In order to continue operations of this waiver, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), acting as the State Medicaid Agency must submit a waiver renewal application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by March 31, 2023.
In addition, the Medically Complex Children’s Waiver (MCCW) is set to expire on September 30, 2023. In order to align this waiver with the State Fiscal Year, DHHS will also be renewing this waiver early with the same anticipated March 31, 2023 deadline.
Both waivers will be seeking a July 1, 2023 effective date with the renewal applications.
State Implementation Plans for each waiver can be viewed here:
An overview of the changes can be found in this Executive Summary: Word Doc | PDF
Public comment received during the January 2023 workgroups can be found here: Word Doc | PDF
Public Comments will be accepted through March 26th, 2023 in the following ways:
- Online through our Public Comment Page
- Via phone: 801-538-6155 option 5
- Via fax: 801-323-1593
Via mail:
Utah Department of Health
Division of Medicaid and Health Financing
Attn: HCBS Waiver Public Comments
PO BOX 143112
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-3112
General Information
Utah Has Nine Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS Waivers:
- Acquired Brain Injury Waiver
- Aging Waiver (For Individuals Age 65 or Older)
- Community Supports Waiver for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities or Other Related Conditions
- Medicaid Autism Waiver
- Medically Complex Children’s Waiver
- New Choices Waiver
- Physical Disabilities Waiver
- Waiver for Technology Dependent Children
- Limited Supports Waiver
What is a Medicaid Waiver?
- In 1981, Congress passed legislation allowing states greater flexibility in providing services to people living in community settings.
- This legislation, Section 1915(c) of the Social Security Act, authorized the “waiver” of certain Medicaid statutory requirements.
- The waiving of these mandatory statutory requirements allowed for the development of joint federal and state funded programs called Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Waivers.
How does the 1915(c) HCBS Waiver work?
- The Utah Department of Health, Division of Health Care Financing (HCF – Medicaid) has a contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS – the federal Medicaid regulating agency) that allows the state to have a Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS Waiver.
- The State Implementation Plan defines exactly how each waiver program will be operated.
- All State Implementation Plans include assurances that promote the health and welfare of waiver recipients and insure financial accountability.
- The contract is called the State Implementation Plan and there is a separate plan for each waiver program.
What are the Characteristics of a Waiver?
- States may develop programs that provide home and community based services to a limited, targeted group of individuals (example: people with brain injuries, people with physical disabilities, or people over age 65) or in the community has to be the same or less than if they lived in a nursing facility.
- Services provided cannot duplicate services provided by Medicaid under the Medicaid State Plan.
- States must provide assurances to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that necessary safeguards are taken to protect the health and welfare of the recipients of a waiver program.
- Individuals may participate in a waiver only if they require the level of care provided in a hospital nursing facility (NF) or an intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disabilities (ICF/ID).
- States are required to maintain cost neutrality which means the cost of providing services to people at home.