The program that pays for home care

Most home care paid for by Medicaid in Virginia goes through the CCC Plus Waiver, a home and community based waiver inside the state’s Cardinal Care program. It exists for people who would otherwise need to live in a nursing home: older adults, people with physical disabilities, and people managing a chronic or serious illness.

Under this waiver, an approved member can receive personal care, respite care and other services at home instead of moving into a facility.

What the waiver covers

• Personal care, bathing, dressing, meals and help with daily tasks
• Respite care, a break for the family member who normally provides care
• Consumer-directed attendant care, where the member hires and directs their own attendant, who can be a relative or a friend

How someone gets approved

1. Apply for Medicaid. Through CommonHelp, the Cover Virginia call center at 1-833-522-5582, or the local Department of Social Services.
2. Request a screening. A community based team, usually a social worker and a nurse, assesses how much help the person needs.
3. Choose a health plan and a provider. Once approved for the waiver, the member selects a health plan and then a home care agency. Families can ask for Millennium Home Health Care by name.
4. Care begins. The approved hours are written into a plan of care and caregivers are scheduled against it.

If the application takes time

Approval can take weeks or longer, so it helps to start the application as soon as possible. While an application is pending, many families arrange private-pay hours to cover the gap and switch to Medicaid coverage once it comes through.