Home and Community Based Services

New Rule

Home and community based services (HCBS) provide opportunities for Medicaid beneficiaries to receive services in their own home or community rather than institutions or other isolated settings. These programs serve a variety of targeted populations groups, such as people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and/or mental illnesses.

The federal government has issued a new rule for Medicaid waiver programs that offer home and community-based services. The goal of the new rule is to ensure that individuals who receive home and community-based services through these waivers are a part of the community and have access to the same set of community options as people who do not receive services through these waivers. The Michigan Department of Community Health is working to align these programs with the new federal rule. As part of this process, the Michigan Department of Community Health developed a statewide transition plan to bring settings related to these waivers into compliance with the new rule.