The Maryland Department of Health is streamlining three Medicaid waiver programs overseen by the Developmental Disabilities Administration into a single program, according to an Oct. 6 news release.
The unified waiver program aims to help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities access home and community-based services outside of an institutional setting. Maryland residents already getting these supports through a waiver will automatically transition to the merged program.
“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,” said Maryland Secretary of Health Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD.
The news comes after several Marylanders with disabilities filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Health last month. The complaint claimed the department “arbitrarily disenrolled hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Medicaid programs that support them.”
