Home care
New York's home care waiver for seniors hit its enrollment cap, and a bill to create regional waiting lists awaits the Governor
New York raised the cap on its Nursing Home Transition and Diversion waiver to 14,079 slots and has already filled it, so new applicants who want care at home instead of a nursing home can be turned away.
Key facts
- A Buffalo News opinion piece published October 19 urged Governor Hochul to sign a bill that would change how New York handles people waiting for its Nursing Home Transition and Diversion (NHTD) Medicaid waiver.
- The waiver pays for services that let older adults and people with disabilities who qualify for nursing home care live at home or in the community instead.
What happened
A Buffalo News opinion piece published October 19 urged Governor Hochul to sign a bill that would change how New York handles people waiting for its Nursing Home Transition and Diversion (NHTD) Medicaid waiver. The waiver pays for services that let older adults and people with disabilities who qualify for nursing home care live at home or in the community instead.
The state raised the waiver's enrollment cap to 14,079 participants, and that cap has been reached. The bill, S.9573/A.11569, passed both houses and would require regional waiting lists so applicants are tracked in order rather than simply turned away. The New York State Bar Association's Elder Law and Special Needs Section wrote to the Governor in July supporting it, saying families need a predictable, transparent process. The writer of the opinion piece, a Western New York family member, described how hard it is to plan when a slot may not open.
What it means for families
When a waiver program is full, an eligible older adult can be stuck between a nursing home they do not want and home care the family cannot afford. A formal waiting list would at least tell families where they stand.
For example: a widowed father in his 80s who needs help bathing and with meals may qualify for NHTD, but if no slot is open, his children may need to cover aide hours themselves or consider a facility while they wait.
What this means in New York: this is a New York program. Applications go through Regional Resource Development Centers, and the bill's fate rests with the Governor before year-end.
What to do this week
- If a parent may need the NHTD waiver, contact your Regional Resource Development Center now and ask how applications are handled while the cap is full.
- Ask in writing whether your parent can be placed on any list, and keep the date you applied.
- Ask the local Office for the Aging about other options, such as Medicaid managed long-term care or EISEP, while you wait.
Sources
More from New York
- Judge finds Sullivan County in contempt for moving nursing home residents despite court order
- New York heating aid applications open November 2, and older adults can get extra help
- New York posts a guide to coming Medicaid changes under the federal law