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.