MA-Medical Assistance Healthcare-Waiver Programs
HB101 Minnesota - MA-Waiver Programs
MA-Waiver programs offer services to help people with disabilities and seniors live in the community, instead of in a facility, such as a nursing home or Intermediate Care Facility for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (ICF/DDs).
Tip: If you live in a facility now, you may be able to move out and start to get the services you need through an MA-Waiver program.
Services MA-Waiver Programs May Provide
MA-Waiver programs help people who need long-term care services to live in the community. Common MA-Waiver services include:
- Home-delivered meals
- Help with cleaning
- Transportation
- Employment services, including work Exploration, Development, and Support
- Adult Foster Care (AFC)
- Assisted living, and
- Payment of caregiver living expenses
If you have or want a caregiver who can live with you, MA-Waiver programs may help pay for your combined living expenses, if you have a BI, CAC, CADI, or DD Waiver (see below).
If this sounds interesting, talk about it with your MA-Waiver case manager. If your case manager says this might work for you, Rumi is a free service that can help match you with a live-in caregiver.
Who They Help
To qualify for MA-Waiver programs, you must:
- Qualify for Medical Assistance (MA) because of your disability or because you are 65 or older, as well as having low income and low assets. You may also qualify if you can get Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD). Learn more about qualifying for MA on Disability Benefits 101.
- Need MA-Waiver services to:
- Protect your health and safety
- Develop or keep skills you need in your daily life
- Meet your needs, interests, and desires
- Avoid living in an institution or help you live more independently in the community
- Qualify for one of these programs:
- Community Alternative Care (CAC) Waiver. Brochure | Fact sheet
- Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) Waiver. Brochure | Fact sheet
- Developmental Disabilities (DD) Waiver. Brochure | Fact sheet
- Brain Injury (BI) Waiver. Brochure | Fact sheet
- Elderly Waiver (EW) Program (ages 65 or older). Brochure | Fact sheet
- Alternative Care (AC) Program (ages 65 or older). Brochure | Fact sheet
Additionally, the MA-Waiver services must not be paid for by any other program, such as private health coverage, Medicare, MA, or Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS).
How You Apply
To see if MA-Waiver programs might help you, contact your local county or tribal human services office and request a MnCHOICES assessment.
If you think you might need long-term services, you can request a MnCHOICES assessment, even if you don’t currently get MA or any other benefit, and even if you have money to live on. Within 20 days, the county must send a MnCHOICES assessor to help review your situation and see which long-term care programs or services might help you.
During this review, the assessor looks at what programs and services might help you live in the community, including MA-Waiver programs, Medical Assistance (MA), and personal care assistance (PCA) services:
- If you might qualify for public benefits, the county will help you fill out the application forms. The application process for MA-Waiver programs depends on if you currently have MA coverage. The MnCHOICES assessor will explain how to apply and help you get started.
- Even if you don’t qualify for public benefits, the assessment can help you learn about services, accommodations, and resources.
Note: If you qualify for an MA-Waiver program, some counties have a waiting list before you can get services. How long you have to wait depends on the MA-Waiver program, the county, and if you are in a priority group (like if you live in an institution).
Get Help
To learn more about MA-Waiver programs:
- Contact your local county or tribal human services office
- Chat with a Hub expert
- Call the Senior LinkAge Line® (SLL) at 1-800-333-2433
More on Housing Benefits 101
f you qualify for an MA-Waiver program, it may help pay for the living expenses of another person who lives in the same household and helps you with an approved service.
How It Helps
If you qualify for an MA-Waiver program, it may pay for some of the rent and food of another person who lives in the same household as you.
This other person has some responsibilities and is called a “caregiver” by the MA-Waiver program. Even though the benefit doesn’t pay for your rent or food, the benefit still helps you, because it means:
- You have somebody around who can help with things and keep you company, and
- Your rent is probably lower than if you lived alone. It’s cheaper to share a two-bedroom place than have your own one-bedroom place.
A caregiver could be a friend or somebody else. For this benefit, a caregiver cannot be your parent, your spouse, a sibling, or any other relative. A caregiver also cannot be anybody else who is legally responsible for you.
An MA-Waiver program may help pay for “caregiver living expenses,” if a person who lives with you helps you with an approved MA-Waiver service. This person doesn’t have to be a full-time caregiver.
Approved MA-Waiver services can vary. For example, your caregiver might agree to help you with some things, keep you company sometimes, and commit to being around at night (not sleeping elsewhere). The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has more information about the sorts of things a caregiver might help with.
If you have questions about what services you might get from a person you live with, contact your MA-Waiver case manager or Chat with a Hub expert.
How to Qualify
To get this benefit, you must be an adult, live in your own place in the community (not a facility), and qualify for one of these MA-Waiver programs:
- Community Alternative Care (CAC) Waiver
- Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) Waiver
- Developmental Disabilities (DD) Waiver
- Brain Injury (BI) Waiver
Note: You have to live in your place, not your caregiver’s place.
If you already get services from one of these MA-Waiver programs, contact your Waiver case manager and ask if it might pay for caregiver living expenses or Chat with a Hub expert.
If you have Medical Assistance coverage, but don’t get services from an MA-Waiver program, Chat with a Hub expert or get more information in HB101’s MA-Waiver Programs article to see if you might qualify.
Tip: If you don’t live in your own place yet, you might be able to get this help if you move into your own place in the community.
What You Pay
If your MA-Waiver program pays for caregiver living expenses, you still have to pay your own expenses. Even so, your living expenses may be lower than they would be if you lived alone.
Sharing a two-bedroom apartment with another person means that you still have your own room, but can have lower rent because two-bedroom apartments don’t cost twice as much as one-bedroom apartments. Learn more about sharing a place in HB101’s Living with Other People article.
If your MA-Waiver case manager says that this might work for you, then you need to find somebody to be the “caregiver” who you’ll live with.
- It might be somebody you already know, like a friend. If you think of somebody, talk with that person and see if he or she’s interested. Note: You cannot get reimbursement for living expenses if your caregiver is your parent or spouse (or is otherwise legally responsible for you).
- If you don’t have somebody in mind, then you’ll need to look for a person. Rumi is one free service that can help you find a live-in caregiver. You can also look for roommates on other websites or check local listings.
If you find someone, you should make an agreement with that person. The exact details will depend on your needs. Here are some things that might go into the agreement:
- How the MA-Waiver program will help pay for your housemate’s room and board
- How your caregiver will help you, including the caregiver’s responsibilities and schedule
- Where the caregiver will stay in your place
- Who will be your caregiver’s backup person when your caregiver is unavailable
You aren’t required to make an agreement, but it’s a good idea, because it can help you avoid problems later.
Get Help
- Talk to your MA-Waiver case manager at your county or tribal human services office to see if you qualify for this benefit.
- RUMI can help you find a roommate or caregiver, and can help you write a caregiver living expenses agreement.
