Kentucky’s Home and Community Based Services Medicaid waiver provides care and support services for the elderly and disabled Kentucky residents in their homes, who are at risk of being institutionalized (being placed in a nursing home). The benefits received vary based on the needs and circumstances of the program participant. For instance, a program participant with no informal support might receive home delivered meals, in-home personal care assistance, and home modifications for safety and accessibility. In contrast, a program participant who lives with a family member might attend adult day health care and receive respite care to relieve the family caregiver.
Program participants can live in one’s home or the home of a loved one. Persons cannot live in an assisted living residence or an adult foster care home and be eligible for the HCB Waiver.
The HCB Waiver* is not an entitlement program, which means meeting eligibility requirements does not equate to immediate receipt of program benefits. Instead, the waiver has a limited number of participant enrollment slots, and when these slots are full, a waitlist for program participation forms. A portion of these slots are reserved specifically for persons residing in nursing home facilities who wish to transition back to community living.
*The Home and Community Based Waiver is a 1915(c) HCB (home and community-based services) Medicaid waiver.
