The Maryland Department of Health is consolidating three of its Medicaid waiver programs managed by the Developmental Disabilities Administration into one program to make services easier to access.
The changes come as Marylanders with disabilities recently filed a class action lawsuit alleging the arbitrary termination of Medicaid benefits.
The new Community Pathways waiver program takes effect Monday and allows intellectually and developmentally disabled residents to go through one process to get waivers for Medicaid care.
The waivers allow those residents to use Medicaid for services like residential programs, at-home care, daycare and day services instead of institutional care.
Each Marylander has unique needs and experiences that we appreciate and value in this work," said Maryland Secretary of Health Dr. Meena Seshamani. "The consolidation of the waivers into a single program demonstrates our commitment to making it easier for the intellectual and developmental disabilities community to access services that empower their growth and improve their well-being and quality of life."
MDH says the new program will make services faster and easier to access.
Last month, four Maryland residents filed a class action suit against MDH alleging that the state’s process for confirming waiver eligibility has been dysfunctional since the end of the COVID national emergency, which required more stringent confirmation of Medicaid eligibility.
The plaintiffs say that hundreds of residents with disabilities have been disenrolled from their programs without proper notice, even though they are eligible for Medicaid and for waivers.
“The breakdown of Maryland’s Medicaid redetermination process threatens to have a disastrous impact on Marylanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Kevin Docherty, partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy. “Brown Goldstein & Levy is proud to work with the individual plaintiffs and The Arc Montgomery County to ensure that the State conducts Medicaid redeterminations with the due process required by law so that Marylanders with IDD can continue receiving the supports they need to be active participants in their communities.”
More than 18,000 people in the state use the waivers to support their daily living.
