Maryland Medicaid Community Options Waiver (formerly Waiver for Older Adults)

“Until recently, the Maryland Community Options Medicaid Waiver was called the Waiver for Older Adults. That program and the Living at Home Medicaid Waiver are now merged under this new title. This waiver is also called the Home and Community-Based Options (HCBO) Waiver and, in this article, it is referred to as simply the CO Waiver.

 

The new CO waiver allows elderly individuals and those with physical disabilities who need nursing home level care to receive care services in their home or a group living community facility instead. Group living communities can include assisted living residences, provided they are participating in the program and willing to accept the Medicaid payment rates.

 

The CO Waiver is popular both with families and the state of Maryland, but for different reasons. Participants generally prefer to remain living at home for as long as possible; this waiver assists them in doing so. The cost of caring for someone at home is also less expensive for the state than it would be to place the individual in a nursing home. This is because home care utilizes caregiving assistance from family members.

 

Maryland Medicaid programs in general are sometimes referred to as Medical Assistance (MA).”