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Does Alabama Pay for Home Health Care?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
Rachel Lustbader is a writer and editor with a background in healthcare and technology. Her work has been published on websites including HealthCare.com, BiteSizeBio.com, BetterHelp.com, Caring.com, and PayingforSeniorCare.com. She studied health science and public health at Boston University.
Both of Rachel’s grandmothers had very positive experiences in senior living communities, and Rachel saw firsthand the impact that kind, committed caregivers and community managers can have on seniors’ and their family members’ lives. With her work at Caring, Rachel hopes to help other families find communities, caregivers, and at-home products that benefit elderly loved ones and make life less stressful for family caregivers
Alabama’s Medicaid program pays for home health care services for people who are eligible for Medicaid and can safely have their needs managed while living at home. Medicaid enrollees can apply for one of the state’s Home and Community-Based Waiver Services to receive funded home health care in Alabama. The waiver a senior should apply for depends on several factors, including age, disability status and care needs.
HCBS Waivers in Alabama
The state of Alabama operates several HCBS waivers, and each program serves a specific group of Medicaid enrollees. These waivers include the following:
- Elderly and Disabled Waiver
- State of Alabama Independent Living Waiver
- Home and Community-Based Waiver for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
- Technology-Assisted Waiver for Adults
- Living at Home Waiver for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
- Alabama Community Transition Waiver
HCBS waiver enrollees can also apply for Alabama’s Personal Choices Program. This program allows participants to direct their own care with a monthly allowance.
Covered Services
Covered services vary significantly between waiver programs. For example, the Elderly and Disabled waiver pays for personal assistance services, such as homemaker tasks and meal preparation. Meanwhile, the Technology-Assisted waiver covers private-duty nursing care and certain assistive technologies. Generally, Alabama’s Medicaid waivers only pay for medically-necessary services.
Other covered benefits may include:
- Medical supplies
- Personal care services
- Respite care
- Rehabilitative or maintenance therapies
- Crisis intervention
- Personal emergency response systems
- Home modifications
- Adult daycare
HCBS Eligibility
Seniors living in Alabama must meet the eligibility criteria for enrollment in the state Medicaid program to receive home health care assistance. Generally, senior residents can only qualify for an HCBS waiver if they would otherwise require care in an institutional setting due to an illness, injury or disability. Most programs also have income and resource limits.
However, each HCBS waiver has its own eligibility criteria. For example, the SAIL program only accepts enrollees requiring a nursing home level of care who have also been diagnosed with specific disabilities. Meanwhile, the ID waiver only serves applicants with an IQ score of 70 or lower.