Wait List Information

Home- and Community-Based Services - SLS
Home- and Community-Based Services - DD Medicaid Waiver Programs

Funding:

Funding for HCBS-Medicaid Waiver services is Federal/State matched Medicaid dollars. Individuals are typically placed on a waiting list with funding to be Medicaid (except for those programs that only have state funding such as Family Support Services) unless there is a documented reason why a person will not be eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid funding is more readily available than state funding.

Financial resources are a determination for Medicaid eligibility either
- Through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility
- 300% rule which means a person has income less than three times the current SSI maximum payment
- In both cases, assets cannot be greater than $2000

Individuals must be approved for Long Term Care Medicaid prior to enrolling into a Medicaid Waiver Program which includes meeting Medicaid’s criteria of disability.

Date of Eligibility:

Individuals can be placed on the waiting list for adult services at age 14 and people are urged to do this if they are not already known to a Community Centered Board. The date of eligibility is used to determine a person’s place on the waiting list within the three timeline options listed below. A person keeps his or her eligibility date even with a move throughout the state of Colorado. A person loses eligibility date and placement on the wait list if he or she is out of the state for a year or more and without a close family member remaining in the state.

Removal from Waiting list:

Enrolled into services for which they were waiting.
No longer needs the services for which they are waiting.
Individual requests to be removed from the waiting list.
Moves out of state with no close family members living in Colorado. (see Date of Eligibility)
Placed onto a waiting list with another Community Center Board.
No longer meets eligibility requirements.
An annual contract cannot be made with the individual.

Waiting list Status Categories:

As Soon As Available: The service is needed right now and would be accepted as soon as it is available.

Safety Net: The person does not want or need the service currently but will if current supports are lost or otherwise change, e.g. loss of primary caretaker, change in medical status.

Specific Date: The person wants services when a specific date is reached, e.g., date when he/she turns 21, date of graduation. If a date is selected, services will not be offered before that date but this does not ensure that services will be offered by the date selected. For example, the date of the person’s 21st birthday is selected as the timeline. The community Center Board would not offer services and remove from the wait list prior to that date. If that date passes and services have not been offered, the person/family would need to select a new wait list timeline.

These can be changed at any time and should be reviewed annually either at an annual plan meeting or by phone call. A person can be waiting for one or more services at the same time with same or different timelines but can only be on the wait list with one Community Center Board.

Offering Services to Individuals on the Wait List: There is no set number of people who come off the wait list each month, quarter or year. Individuals are offered services based upon new “resources” or openings allocated by the State and upon vacancies created by individuals who leave services and terminate. Each Medicaid Waiver Program has a statewide cap or the maximum number of people who can be served in the Medicaid Waiver at one time. In addition, each Community Center Board has a maximum contract number of individuals who can be served at one time each Medicaid Waiver. The Community Center Board cannot serve more individuals than the number of individuals that is in their contract with the State for any of the Medicaid Waivers.

Community Center Boards like Developmental Pathways do not have control of new “resources” or openings from the State. Those are appropriated by the Joint Budget Committee. Because of that, and emergent situations, we can’t begin to estimate how long someone may be waiting. It is important that you keep us informed of any change in your family’s situation as emergent situations arise. In emergent situations, there may be criteria met that would enable and individual to “jump” ahead of others on the wait list due to the emergency.

Community Center Boards do currently have some control of enrolling individuals from the wait list into vacancies created by an individual leaving services and terminating. Developmental Pathways will offer services to individuals to fill these vacancies based upon eligibility date and wait list timeline if there are no individuals waiting who have met the emergency criteria.