OHIO GAINS APPROVAL TO PROVIDE HOME-BASED SERVICES TO AN
ADDITIONAL 2,000 OHIOANS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
COLUMBUS (December 22, 2003) - Governor Bob Taft today announced that Ohio has received approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase the number of Individual Options (IO) waiver slots available for the Medicaid Home and Community-based waiver program. The approval allows the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to provide care to an additional 2,000 people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
"I am pleased that our state continues to expand the availability of in-home supports for people with disabilities," Taft said. "Families now have more choices available to them where, in the past, very few options existed."
Governor Taft demonstrated early in his administration a commitment to providing community-based alternatives for the long-term care needs of people with disabilities and the elderly. The goal was to help keep families together and avoid inappropriate institutional placement. In doing so, he outlined the guiding principles of Ohio Access, which included increasing the state's capacity to serve individuals and their families in community settings.
"Families should know that our state is dedicated to providing quality care for individuals with MR/DD," Taft said. "I am committed to seeing people live their lives in an environment where they feel comfortable and can prosper."
This expansion will be the fourth increase in available slots since January 2000. Since then, including this most recent increase, 6,500 more people will have the opportunity to receive in-home supports under the IO waiver program.
Under current federal law, many critical health services are only available in institutional settings. The federal waiver program allows Medicaid to pay for these supports in the community. The IO waiver covers services such as homemaker and personal care, supported employment, respite care, home-delivered meals, adaptive assistive equipment, social work/counseling, environmental modifications and transportation.
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Contact: Orest Holubec, Governor's Office, at (614) 644-0957;
or Robert Jennings, MR/DD, at (614) 466-6896.