Home and Community Based Services
FAQ – WAIVERS
The PA Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long Term Living (OLTL) oversees several waiver-based services with the primary goal of helping Pennsylvanians with disabilities remain in their homes and in their communities of choice by providing home-based resources, including but not limited to, in-home healthcare, transportation services, and supports coordination with an agency such as ASCM.
What is a Waiver?
Waivers offer an array of services and benefits such as choice of qualified providers, due process, and health and safety assurances. The name waiver comes from the fact that the federal government “waives” Medical Assistance/Medicaid rules for institutional care in order for Pennsylvania to use the same funds to provide supports and services for people closer to home in their own communities. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Human Services administers multiple Medical Assistance/Medicaid waivers. Each waiver has its own unique set of eligibility requirements and services.
What Types of Waivers are Available?
The five primary waivers linked to a supports coordination entity (SCE) such as CHMSCE are the Aging, Attendant Care, COMMCARE, Independence, and OBRA Waivers. Each aforementioned waiver requires you to be a resident of Pennsylvania and have medically determinable disability, as well as meeting some socio-economic and other clinical situations. Each waiver has the goal of providing home-based assistance to keep you in your home to avoid higher levels of care, including Skilled Nursing Care facilities.
How do I Begin the Application Process?
You can call County HomeMakers Service Coordination Entity directly at (814) 371-6645 to speak with one of our qualified team members or you can email us at information@chmsce.com. You can also visit the Department of Human Services’ website at and click on the links for each listed waiver to review and/or download the actual respective application. Although our primary role at CHMSCE is to provide support coordination after an individual chooses our agency during the waiver application process, we also believe providing information and support to the communities we serve as individuals explore and discover services is a critical component of the work we do.
To help you get you started on your exploration and education of the PA DHS OLTL Waiver application process and to download an application for each waiver:
