In Pennsylvania there is a Medicaid waiver program to keep a loved one at home instead of in a Medicaid facility. How does a family do this?

Thanks so much for all of  your responses. Mom’s medical needs are increasing daily. She had a recent fall which has accelerated things and that is why i was asking some questions. Thanks again everyone.

Colorado must be more generous. My mom is near the end of stage 6 ALZ and she qualified for 77 hours of non-skilled caregivers per week. I still need to administer meds, but they clean her basement apartment and make her meals and provide companionship. Now any more time and they most likely will insist on a facility.

After you’ve checked out Barbara’s link, (TY👌🏼) pause to think about how Medicaid programs are “at need” programs for BOTH financial and medical “need” AND what your mom’s need is medically. Folks tend to get all focused on finances but your mom’s documented medical history will be equally important as she will be evaluated for level of need.

What are you hoping that a waiver will provide?
If your hope is that your state will have a waiver that pays for 30+ hours a week of in home caregivers, that is not at all realistic for states to do unless the elder is in a extremely high cost-of-living city in a state. Like NYC for New York State. For states that have some sort of IHHS (in home health services) the # of hours seem to be around 18-24 hrs at best based on what others have posted on this site. For CAs IHHS which has the caregiver a living in the household family member slightly higher at 22-28 hrs a week (caregiver is paid by the state slightly above minimum wage & elder does a copay / share of cost to the state to partially underwrite IHHS). If elder is evaluated to need more hours of care that means they need AL or a NH or family/elder pay for or do the additional care.

The trend now is for states to use Medicaid waiver $ to go into community based programs like PACE rather than 1-on-1. If I’m not mistaken for PACE they have to the be “duals” (on both Medicare and Medicaid) as between the 2 all costs are covered from on site medical care, meals, transportation, activities. Your Area on Aging will have information on community based programs, you might ant to look into those to get an idea of where mom could “fit”. But realize that if mom is evaluated to need full time skilled nursing care that means she needs to be in a NH; & If she is all about wanting to stay in her home that means she or family private pay for her care. 

payingforseniorcare.com/medicaid-waivers/pa-department-of-aging-waiver.html

I found this link which is specific to Pennsylvania waivers program, which has apparently changed in January 2018. I really think it's worth your while to go into a Medicaid office in person.

There are 14,000 folks on the waiting list in Pennsylvania for Medicaid waivers. I would visit the Medicaid office in person to discuss this.

When I applied for Medicaid in Ohio, all the communications regarding my application came through our county Jobs and Family Services office. You may want to look their office up in your city and give them a call.

We will have to spend down to $8000 in assets to qualify for Medicaid. Her income is actually $1193 a month. So she is under the income requirement. Her expenses are about $1600 a month. So once we spend down to $8000 to qualify, her negative cash flow will be about $400 a month that will chip away at the $8000 that is left.

Are you saying that her expenses and her income are more than $2199? Or that she is living on her assets and cannot spend down to $8000? I don't understand the situation.