Do I qualify for Medicaid?
Ohio Assisted Living Waiver Program (ALWP)
Assisted living combines a home-like setting with personal support services. Assisted living residences typically provide more intensive care than is available through home care services. They also give older adults an alternative to nursing facility care that is both less expensive and less restrictive.
Assisted living residences provide meals, housekeeping, laundry, transportation, and social activities. They also offer personal care, such as help with eating, bathing, grooming, and personal hygiene. Some nursing care is also provided, including help with medications and other treatments.
Costs for assisted living in Ohio generally average around $4300 per month. When considering Assisted Living, older adults and their families should expect costs to range from $4500 or higher. Costs vary depending on the size of living area, region of the state, and the amount of care needed. Ohio’s Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) Program is a Medicaid program that helps pay for care in an assisted living facility for eligible Ohio residents.
To be eligible for the ALW Program, you must:
- Meet the financial criteria for Medicaid eligibility (determined by your county Department of Job and Family Services).
- Are able to pay the state established monthly room and board payment (rent), which is the current SSI federal rate minus $50.Need skilled or intermediate care, such as help with dressing, bathing, or taking medication.
- Receive care in an approved assisted living facility.
The ALW Program offers three types of services:
- Basic Assisted Living Service could include any of the following depending on the specific needs of the individual: 24-hour on-site response, personal care, supportive services (housekeeping, laundry, and maintenance), nursing, three meals per day and snacks, and coordination of social, recreational, and leisure activities.
- Memory Care Service includes, as needed based on individual needs, everything in the basic assisted living service with the addition of increased staffing to resident ratios, dementia care training for all staff, and at least three therapeutic, social, or recreational activities per day.
- Community Transition Services are funds available to individuals who are transitioning from a nursing facility to an assisted living facility and enrolling in the program. The funds help an individual establish a basic household and cover the cost of essential household items such as window coverings or food preparation items, for example, or initial set-up fees for utilities, or cleaning supplies.
To start the process, please contact the Western Reserve Area on Aging.
FAQ's
- This Medicaid waiver program provides services in certified assisted living facilities. Those
facilities provide more intensive care than is typically available through home care services,
but they also give older adults an alternative to nursing facility care that is less expensive
and less restrictive. - Assisted living promotes aging in place by supporting consumer desire for independence,
choice and privacy. The services help preserve the independence of the individual, as well
as maintain ties to family and friends.
Eligible participants must:
- Be age 21 or older;
- Need hands-on assistance with activities of daily living, for example, bathing, mobility, etc.
- Meet the financial criteria for Medicaid eligibility (see below); and
- Be able to pay the state established monthly room and board payment (rent).
- County Departments of Job and Family Services determine financial eligibility of interested
participants. - Individuals may not have countable assets valued at more than $2,000.
- Monthly income must not exceed 300 percent of the Supplemental Security Income benefit.
- Depending on income, participants may be required to pay monthly towards the cost of
services.
Providers must be:
- Licensed as a residential care facility by the Ohio Department of Health; and
- Certified by the Ohio Department of Aging as an Assisted Living Provider.
Two types of services are provided by the program:
- Assisted Living Services include: 24 hour on-site response, personal care, supportive
services (housekeeping, laundry, and maintenance), nursing, and transportation, 3 meals
per day and social/recreational programming. - Community Transition Services are available to individuals leaving a nursing facility to
enroll in the Assisted Living waiver and helps them obtain essential household furnishings
and other items
- Call toll-free 1-866-243-5678 to contact the Area Agency on Aging serving your community
for details on how to apply. - Interested individuals must complete an application, telephone screen and in-person
assessment. - Then, your county Department of Job and Family Services will determine financial eligibility.
- After meeting all eligibility criteria, you will be enrolled.
Visit the following Ohio Department of Aging Web page for more information about the
Assisted Living Waiver. Aging.Ohio.gov/HomeCommunityCare