Feds approve expansion of Ohio assisted living Medicaid waiver

Ohio has received Federal approval to changes in the state's Medicaid assisted living program. (Source: Gongwer News report, March 26, 2008.) Originally, the assisted living waivers were only available to "people already in nursing homes or those who received services through other Medicaid waivers such as PASSPORT, Choices and Home Care." Now, though, the waivers will also be avaliable to assisted living facility residents who have qualified for Medicaid by spending down their resources. There were originally 1,800 assisted living slots under the original Medicaid waiver approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but only 424 of those slots ended up being filled--well below state projections.