Medicaid waivers

This change makes it easier for people who get help from the government to get the care they need. 

• It changes the rules for some programs that help disabled people

• Right now, people who use these programs have to meet with their helpers in person. This bill says that some of these meetings can be done using video calls, like on a computer or tablet.

• This bill gets two state services for disabled people, to tweak the program rules for some Medicaid waivers.

  • Medicaid waiver: A special program that helps people who need extra care, like disabled people, get what they need at home or in their community instead of in a hospital or nursing home. It’s like getting permission to use money in a different way they can live where they feel comfortable.

• These are the programs that this bill, if passed, allows video call visits for:

  • Family and Individual Support

  • Community Living

  • Building Independence

  • CCC Plus 

    • CCC Plus is a program for people who need a lot of care; it pays for nurses, therapists, or special equipment so they can live at home or in their community instead of having to live in a hospital or nursing home.

• This bill will end the need for face-to-face visits for folks in the above programs.

  • Instead, some visits can now be done through video calls.

• Video call visits will be paid the same amount as in-person visits.

• A lot of doctor training can happen through video connection.

• First visits and repeated tests need to be done face-to-face at the person’s home.

• Face-to-face visits are needed if the person or someone that has power to make decisions for them asks for one.