Question on Med Waiver Program

[xenman]

My daughter recently received new AFOs from an orthotist who mentioned that we should have her in the Med Waiver program. I did some early research into this program and it seems be from Medicaid and administered by every state. It is not very clear about who does and doesn't qualify and I thought I would ask this group to see if anyone has participated or researched this particular health care finance program.

Thanks.

[Dodger67]

Where do you live?

[xenman]

I currently live in Florida but plan to move to VT next year as I believe the schools will be better for my daughter.

[Summer25]

I currently live in Florida but plan to move to VT next year as I believe the schools will be better for my daughter.

Well in FL the current wait to get on a med waiver program is 5-10 years. There is also a program in Florida called the CDC+ which just recently had an enrollment time. Not sure if it is over or not. CDC+ is a waiver, but you control the money you get. What isn't used each month is then put in an account and then you are able to pull it out for what is needed. A lot of paperwork, but well worth it. We just re did my kitchen to make it fully accessible with the money left in the account. I still have a good amount left over as well.

[LisaJoy]

CHeck back with the orthotist - he might have contact information, because he probably gets reimbursement from them. At least he should know which agency deals with it.

I'm pretty sure this program varies significantly from state to state in terms of eligibility, waiting terms, etc. In other words, you could qualify in one state, but not another (because of funding issues, the cut-off is set at different places in different states). I don't know whether logic applies in something like this -- but it seems logical to me that the less populous the state, the better chance you have of qualifying. In other words, if you don't qualify in FLorida, you should still apply when you move to Vermont (there'll probably be a 1-yr residency requirement). Also, the red tape can be daunting and my impression from the experience of others on this site is that multiple denials and appeals have to occur before approval is finally granted.