Disability: Home Health and Community Living Under the ACA

As an initiative of the Affordable Care Act, new legislation allows for more flexible options that support disabled Americans that are living at home or in community based programs. This ruling is in support of the goals of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which aims to provide patient-centric care to persons with disabilities as an alternative to institutional care.   The ruling allows for more flexibility and streamlined waiver administration for persons with disabilities to receive the services they need as guided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Since 2009, the HHS has been advocating for revisions to the guidelines for community and home based care services.   Much of the initiative is centered around the growing population of individuals that are using services covered by Medicaid and Medicare. These individuals want (and should be given the opportunity) to be able to live, work, and participate in the communities around them, however, the existing coverage limitations and waivers has made this difficult. This new ruling will grant states a greater ability to modify programs and seek coverage waivers, enabling the states to have the flexibility they need to tailor their programs to better correlate with the needs of their disabled residents.   Source: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/01/20140110a.html