Be informed about the SELF waiver

The Self-Empowered Life Funding (SELF) waiver, a new Medicaid home and community-based services waiver administered by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD), went into effect July 1, 2012. The waiver is specifically designed to support individuals who wish to direct and manage their own services, and also provides some services that are not available under the Individuals Options (IO) waiver. But there are restrictions. For example, the waiver imposes an individual cost cap of $25,000 for children and $40,000 for adults.

During the SELF waiver's rule-making process, LRS expressed its opposition to the cost caps in comments to the DODD stating that the IO waiver provides significant "uncapped" assistance to individuals and remains extremely cost-effective when compared to institutional settings. While the SELF waiver may meet the needs of some individuals, there are others with more extensive needs who would be better served through the IO waiver. For example, the SELF waiver may not be appropriate for a person who is likely to experience a future emergency or medical situation that may exceed the cap.

To assist people in learning more about the SELF waiver, LRS has written a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that provides an overview of available services, eligibility requirements, the limitations on the amount of funding available to each enrollee and other detailed information to allow people to make an informed decision.

Read the FAQ: The Self-Empowered Life Funding (SELF) Waiver