What is a Medicaid waiver?
A Medicaid waiver is a program that "waives," or sets aside, certain requirements of Medicaid. Medicaid waivers help you stay at home instead of going into a nursing home or hospital. They can also shorten your stay in a nursing home.

Medicaid waivers can provide nursing care, personal care, adult day care, and respite care. The waivers provide these services to people who would otherwise be in a nursing home. Medicaid usually cannot cover these services.

Where do I apply for a waiver?
You, or someone acting for you, can apply for waivers at your county department of human services.

You can also apply for PASSPORT at your area agency on aging.

You can apply for individual Options or Residential Facility at your county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD).

How do I get a waiver?
Each of Ohio's four waivers (see chart below) has different requirements and covers different services.

Once you are on a waiver, you will need to live somewhere other than a hospital or nursing home. You must show you need services you cannot get in your community without the help of a waiver.

Getting approved for a waiver depends on how many openings that waiver has. It also depends on how much money it would cost to care for you at home. We compare this to how much it would usually cost for nursing home or hospital care. Also, we must make sure you will be healthy and safe at home.

Does my money affect my waiver?
The waiver programs only count the income of the person on the waiver. If you are eligible for Medicaid in a nursing home, you will probably meet the financial limit for the waiver programs.

I have AIDS. Is there a waiver for me? Ohio used to have a waiver just for people with AIDS who were living in a hospital. Now, if you have AIDS, you can get help through the Disability or the Medically Fragile waiver. You must need the level of care a hospital or nursing home would give.

Home and Community-Based Services Waivers in Ohio Waiver Who does it serve? Where do I apply? DISABILITY (This waiver is currently full) Serves people under age 60 who need nursing care due to a physical disability or illness. Apply at your county department of human services. If you have questions, call the Bureau of Community Services, Ohio Department of Human Services, at 1-800-686-6108 or (614) 466-6742; fax (614) 644-9358 MEDICALLY FRAGILE (This waiver is currently full) Serves people who need daily skilled nursing care due to a chronic unstable medical condition. PASSPORT Serves people age 60 and over who need nursing home care. Apply at your area agency on aging or at your county department of human services. If you have questions, call the Ohio Department of Aging at (614) 466-1220. INDIVIDUAL OPTIONS and RESIDENTIAL FACILITY (The Individual Options waiver is currently full, but does have a waiting list.) Serves people with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. These people would be in a facility for the mentally retarded if they did not receive home care. Apply at your county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities or at your county department of human services. If you have questions, call the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities at (614) 466-7508.

George V. Voinovich, Governor State of Ohio

Arnold R. Tompkins, Director Ohio Department of Human Services Equal Opportunity Employer

Office of Communications ODHS 8074(12/93)

What happens if I get on a waiver?
If you get on a waiver, you will have a local case manager. Your local case manager will check regularly to make sure you are getting the right services at home.

If you get on the PASSPORT waiver, you will work with your area agency on aging. If you get on the Residential Facility or Individual Options waivers, you will work with your county MR/DD board.

If you get on the Disability or the Medically Fragile waivers, you will work with the Bureau of Community Services(BCS). BCS is part of the Ohio Department of Human Services.

After your county department of human services has approved your application, BCS will help decide what services you need and make sure you get them. If you have any questions or problems, you can talk with your local case manager or a BCS worker. You can reach BCS at:

You have a right to a state hearing
If you do not agree with an action or a decision on your waiver benefits, you can ask for a state hearing. You can ask for a state hearing if you think your agency has not done something it should have.

If you want to know more about how state hearings work, ask your county department of human services for a copy of ODHS 4059 - Explanation of State Hearing Procedures.

Your Civil Rights
The Ohio Department of Human Services is a public agency which manages federal funds. Laws do not allow discrimination in managing programs that use federal funds. The types of discrimination include age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, ancestory, or handicap. If you feel you have been dicriminated against, send your complaint to: