California Expanding Enrollment In Home & Community-Based Alternatives Program

California is expanding a Medicaid program that allows low-income elderly and disabled people eligible for care in a nursing facility to stay in their own homes instead. Between July 1, 2018 and 2021, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) plans to expand the Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) waiver program from just under 4,000 slots to almost 9,000. Currently, nearly 3,500 people are currently enrolled in the HCBA program, and another 2,600 are on a waiting list. The program covers skilled nursing care, home health aides, personal care services, and case management to . . .