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Medicaid Waiver Templates

Medicaid Waivers allow States to "waive" some regulations concerning Medicaid services in order to experiment with innovative services to a limited number of people.

On May 9, 2002, as a part of President George W. Bush's "New Freedom Initiative," the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a press release describing the unveiling of two new waiver templates that promise to help states better use the Medicaid program to enable people with disabilities to choose services in their own homes and communities. HHS Secretary Thompson announced that HHS is making information on available technical assistance on community-integration issues more readily accessible through a new Web-based resource.

HHS's new "Independence Plus" waiver templates give states tools to create programs that will allow people with disabilities and their families to decide how best to plan, obtain and sustain community-based services, placing control into the hands of the people using the services.

The electronic templates provide guidance to states on how to develop these programs within existing federal requirements using a streamlined application process, which will ultimately result in faster federal approval of state proposals. Similar programs have been shown to promote cost-effective and flexible solutions for care while meeting the individual needs of people receiving services.

The waiver templates recognize the essential role of the family or individual in planning for and purchasing health care services while, in many cases, delaying placing the individual in an institution or other high-cost out-of-home facility. The templates fulfill just one of the commitments that HHS made to promote community integration in the report "Delivering on the Promise," which Secretary Thompson delivered to the President on behalf of nine federal agencies in March of 2002.

The templates were developed by HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers the federal-state Medicaid program. More information (including the actual templates) is available at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/independenceplus/.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has also established a Web Site to help states share "promising practices" of innovative programs that states have adopted to strengthen their community long-term support systems. These promising practices are targeted towards diverse populations and usually supported by a combination of funding mechanisms, such as the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waiver program, regular Medicaid state plan options, programs funded by other federal agencies, and state and local resources. The Web site is: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/promisingpractices/.

See also:

Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waivers - Overview

Medicaid Research and Demonstration Projects Waivers - Overview

Medicaid Freedom of Choice Waivers - Overview

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