We are presently struggling to navigate through Medicaid Waivers in the State of Texas for our son (intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, DMDD – dysruptive mood disregulation disorder). We’ve been working for the YES (Youth Empowerment Services) Waiver with MHMR in Denton, Texas since April 2018 and are still waiting for services to begin. We were on the waiting list for a while. Then we were accepted to see if we are eligible – that process is taking months. There is a discrepancy with his IQ which is another story.

WHAT ARE MEDICAID WAIVERS?
Medicaid Waivers help provide services to people who would otherwise be in a nursing home or hospital to receive long-term care in the community. Although there are waivers for many conditions, our focus is towards waivers for people who have intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and autism.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAIVERS?
There are several types of waivers:
Community Living Assistance and Support Services (CLASS): gives home and community-based supports to children and adults with related conditions. There are over 200 related conditions, like cerebral palsy and spina bifida. The related condition must have occurred before the child was age 22.
Deaf Blind with Multiple Disabilities (DBMD): gives services for children and adults who are deaf-blind or have a related condition that leads to deaf-blindness, and who have another disability.
Home and Community-based Services (HCS): gives services and supports to children and adults with an intellectual disability (ID) or a related condition who live with their families, in their own homes, or in small group homes with no more than 4 people.
Medically Dependent Children Program (MDCP): gives services to children and adults who are 20 and younger who are medically fragile as an alternative to receiving services in a nursing facility.
STAR+PLUS Home and Community-based Services (HCBS): gives services to adults over the age of 21 to keep them in their community and not in a nursing home facility.
Texas Home Living (TxHmL): gives services to children and adults with an intellectual disability (ID) or a related condition who live in their own home or their family’s home.
Youth Empowerment Services (YES): gives home and community-based services to children under the age of 19 who otherwise would need psychiatric inpatient care or whose parents would turn to state custody for care.

I HAVEN’T APPLIED OR SIGNED UP FOR LISTS – WHAT’S NEXT? 
Search online for Medicaid Waiver information in your state. Here’s the link for the State of Texas. https://www.navigatelifetexas.org/en/insurance-financial-help/texas-medicaid-waiver-programs-for-children-with-disabilities

We’ll post updates as we work through this and share our experience further. God bless you in your efforts!

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