MEDICAID PATIENTS DO NOT NEED TO BE "HOMEBOUND" TO RECEIVE HOME MEDICAL SERVICES
The federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) which oversees Medicare and Medicaid has issued a clarification on requirements for receipt
of home health services. Many regulations changes and clarifications have followed this decision. One is that although Medicare requires that a patient be
homebound before receiving home health care services, Medicaid (known as MassHealth in Massachusetts) does not have this requirement. And states cannot require this.
This is meant to remove a barrier for the disabled population from living independently in the community, as required under the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision.
See accompanying story.
THE OLMSTEAD DECISION
The clarification of Medicaid policy mentioned in the accompanying story comes from HCFA in response to the 1999 Supreme Court decision in the case of Olmstead vs. L.C.
"This case was brought by two Georgia women whose disabilities include mental retardation and mental illness. At the time the suit was filed, both plaintiffs were receiving
mental health services in state-run institutions, despite the fact that their treatment professionals believed they could be appropriately served in a community-based setting"
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "…under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) unjustifiable institutionalization of a person with a disability who, with proper support,
can live in the community is discrimination." Among the principles that have emerged from this ruling include that "states are required to provide community-based services
for persons with disabilities otherwise entitled to institutional services when the state's treatment professionals reasonably determine that community placement is appropriate;
the person does not oppose such placement; and the placement can reasonably be accommodated, taking into account resources available to the state and the needs of others receiving
state-supported disability services."
-Quotes and all information based on HCFA Press Office Fact Sheet, "Assuring Access to Community Living for the Disabled", 2/1/00, from www.hcfa.gov/facts/fs000201.htm
9/00
