October 5, 2023
OPWDD’s 1915(c) Comprehensive Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver Amendment, Amendment 14 has been approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take effect October 1, 2023.
The HCBS Waiver is the Medicaid program that provides a range of services for adults and children with developmental disabilities in their own home or community.
The approved amendment to the HCBS Waiver, which was submitted for CMS approval following a formal public comment period that concluded on May 12, 2023, includes:
Permanent adoption of certain provisions that were temporarily granted to address the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). These specific provisions affect service rates, expansion of remote technology and continued limits on agency reimbursement for administrative costs.
Making it easier to update rates and fees associated with the waiver services by placing them in tables that are posted on the NYS Department of Health’s website rather than including them specifically in OPWDD’s waiver agreement document.
Support for OPWDD’s new risk stratified method for conducting on-site visits to certified waiver service locations.
Modifications to the existing Assistive Technology – Adaptive Devices service to allow for a subset of services dedicated to Home-Enabling Supports.
A return to hard limits for Assistive Technology (AT), Vehicle Modification (V-mod) and Environmental Modification (E-mod) services once American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are fully exhausted or expired. This Waiver amendment also raises the funding thresholds for approval of AT, V-mod and E-mod services.
The changes are explained in plain language in our updated document “HCBS Waiver Amendment – October 2023” which can be found on our agency website.
In addition, a copy of the approved October 1, 2023, Waiver amendment, and OPWDD’s response to the public comment received, is available on the OPWDD website at:
https://opwdd.ny.gov/providers/home-and-community-based-services-waiver.
Additional guidance regarding these provisions will be provided over the next several weeks.