A BILL to direct the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek the necessary approvals to amend the program rules for the Community Living and Family and Individual Supports Waivers to provide for compensation of a direct support professional for a waiver recipient in an acute care hospital under certain circumstances.
HB823 directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to seek the approvals needed to amend Virginia’s Community Living and Family and Individual Supports § 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services waivers. The goal is to allow payment for a direct support professional (DSP) to accompany and assist certain waiver recipients while they are hospitalized in an acute care setting, when the individual’s service plan identifies needs such as communication support, behavior stabilization, or intensive personal care that are not otherwise being met in the hospital.
The bill applies to waiver recipients age 18 or older who receive group home residential services, sponsored residential services, supported living residential services, or in-home support services and are admitted to an acute care hospital. It also authorizes DMAS to make any necessary regulatory changes to carry out the act. In practical terms, the bill would create a pathway for Medicaid waiver-funded support to continue temporarily in the hospital when a recipient’s disability-related needs require individualized assistance beyond standard hospital care.
If enacted, HB823 would affect Virginia Medicaid waiver administration by requiring DMAS to pursue federal and state approvals and, if granted, revise waiver rules and related regulations. It would expand the circumstances under which waiver services may be compensated, specifically allowing payment for direct support professionals in acute care hospitals for eligible adult waiver recipients. The bill would primarily affect DMAS, waiver providers, direct support professionals, and adults with developmental or other disabilities who rely on Community Living or Family and Individual Supports waiver services.
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or other debate, so there is no documented public sentiment from discussion or floor action. The bill was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Health and Human Services, then left in the Committee on Appropriations, which suggests it did not advance beyond the budget review stage. Based on the bill’s purpose, it appears aimed at addressing a service gap for medically and behaviorally complex waiver recipients during hospital stays.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill text, would likely include the cost of compensating direct support professionals in hospitals, whether such services should be covered through Medicaid waiver funding, and how to define when hospital-based support is necessary and not otherwise provided. Another possible issue is administrative complexity, since DMAS must seek approvals and potentially amend regulations before the policy could take effect.