Comments Due by 5pm Monday
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic AHCCCS launched an initiative allowing AZ parents who are caregivers for children (minors) with disabilities (and enrolled in the long-term care system called ALTCS) to get paid for their caregiving.
The move was absolutely necessary at the time because so many caregivers were unable to work either because of risk factors or because they were in isolation or quarantine for long periods. Many caregivers dropped out of the workforce altogether or perished during the pandemic.
The initiative has been popular among parents who, for years, have struggled to find caregivers for their children. AHCCCS also saw benefits as the care network expanded greatly (one of their charges from their parent organization – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS).
See AHCCCS’ Parents as Paid Caregivers Waiver Request
AHCCCS has been exploring whether to make the program permanent, allowing parents who qualify to get reimbursed for “attendant” care (bathing, eating, grooming, and using the bathroom etc.) indefinitely. Note: The proposal doesn’t include reimbursement for “habilitation” care, which is more structured and goal oriented.
Right now, about 20% of the 17,000 kids enrolled in AHCCCS and living at home & receiving home and community-based services are getting their services from parents as the paid caregiver. The remaining 13,500 are being served by caregivers who are not their parents.
AHCCCS has been accepting comments on the proposal for some time now – but the final deadline to comment ends at 5pm Monday.
