Home and community-based services (HCBS) support people with disabilities in living, working, and being involved in their communities. Without these services, people would be wrongfully segregated from society in institutional settings. Although the specific types of services can vary based on a person’s need, they include services like personal care, supported employment, peer supports, habilitative services, and community-based mental health services.
Medicaid funds the vast majority of HCBS, but most of these services are not currently mandatory under the Medicaid program. NHeLP’s Disability Advocacy Team works to enhance understanding of different HCBS programs and service arrays, how the HCBS mechanisms work, and the options for providing these important programs. We also work to advance federal policy to improve access to HCBS as well as ensure that HCBS is provided in settings that are truly community-based and do not imitate features or experiences of institutional living. Disabled individuals have the right to live in their own communities, and the Disability Advocacy Team uses all the tools and strategies at our disposal to shape and protect access to a full array of HCBS to meet the needs of all individuals who need them.
