Medicaid Waivers

This communication is part of CMS’ on-going effort to share information about developments in the field that positively impact the quality of services & supports provided through the Medicaid HCBS program. Participant Experience Survey (PES) – Elderly/Disabled Software arrived with this memo. The software automatically calculates the indicators & generates a report. A link below provides information on how to obtain a copy. This letter is also referred to as HCBS Quality Communication #6.

In Sept. 2003, CMS released the first in a series of communications on home and community-based services (HCBS) quality. The purpose of this seventh in the series of HCBS Quality Communications is to share the most recent status report on the progress CMS has made in implementing the “CMS Future Actions for HCBS Quality in 2003 - Status Updates.” CMS recently provided this status report to the General Accounting Office (GAO), at its request. Letter referred to as HCBS Quality Communication #7.

In Sept 2003, CMS released the first in a series of communications on quality that transmitted a letter from Secretary Thompson to Senator Grassley and Senator Breaux regarding the “CMS Future Actions for HCBS Quality in 2003.” This letter is the most recent correspondence from Secretary Thompson to Senator Grassley and Senator Breaux transmitting a follow up report on the progress CMS has made in implementing. This letter is also referred to as CMS Quality Communication #5.

This bulletin from the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services focuses on the operation of what have come to referred to as \"supports\" waiver programs - i.e., Medicaid home & community-based waiver programs that offer a broad, flexible array of comparatively low cost services and supports that are intended primarily to assist individuals living in their own home or the home of their family to avoid placement in a licensed, out-of-home residential facility.

The Community Living Exchange Collaborative at Rutgers Center for State Health Policy hosted a conference call for the Respite Grantees to discuss the outline for a proposed brief on the definition of respite. The agenda included an introduction by Susan Reinhard, the CMS perspective from Deidra Abbott on \"what is respite? - National perspectives and initiatives\", the state perspective from Bruce Whitten, Arkansas, and all participants had an opportunity for Q&A and general discussion

The Lewin Group under contract with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) examined the efficiency of the Older Adults Medicaid Waiver for Home and Community Based Services and developmental steps for a single entry point system.

Brief description of Georgia's experience in streamlining their financial determination process. Prepared by the Community Living Exchange Collaborative for the ADRC grantees.

This conference was designed to assess state initiatives to improve quality, cost, and access and to help policy makers—from both the executive and legislative branches—identify the most promising and cost effective of these programs and policies. Sessions of interest for grantees include: Quality Challenges in LTC, Self-Direction Sweeping States, Information to Live by...Building Integrated Health Data Systems, Beyond HCBS Waivers, Money Follows the Person, Medicare Modernization Act

This letter clarifies the policy of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly the Health Care Financing Administration, as it relates to the enrollment of Medicare eligible beneficiaries in Medicaid managed care.

In this letter, CMS outlines several methods by which states may facilitate the transition of individuals from institutional to community settings through Medicaid coverage of medical equipment (ME) costs. This letter also serves to reiterate the July 25, 2000, State Medicaid Directors’ letter on this issue and to encourage states to explore this opportunity for persons with disabilities.