Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Get ready to apply

Iowa Health and Human Services

Health and Disability Waiver

What you get

Care at home, such as nursing, personal care, respite, counseling, meals, and home or vehicle changes for disability needs. Ask whether requests are open.

Who starts it
You, with their part of the form from your doctor
How it’s sent
Online, on their website
Your time
About 15 minutes, plus waiting for the form
Last checked
Aug 27, 2026

Before you start, check you fit

  • Your child is 64 or under.
  • Their published rules do not cover leukemia. Check with them before you spend time on it.
  • Annual figures, local capacity, and program transitions can change; confirm before relying on this record.

  1. Ask your doctor for their part of the formStart here. This is the part that takes the longest.

    Iowa Health and Human Services needs a signed medical form from your doctor. Copy this message, or say it in person at the next visit.

    Hi [doctor’s name],

We’d like to apply to Iowa Health and Human Services’s Health and Disability Waiver. They offer care at home, such as nursing, personal care, respite, counseling, meals, and home or vehicle changes for disability needs, and we are checking whether they are taking requests.

They need a signed medical form from you. Their form and instructions are here: https://hhs.iowa.gov/medicaid/services-care/home-and-community-based-services/waiver-programs

Could you do that when you have a chance? I can send you the link, or bring a printout to our next visit. Thank you for everything you do for us.

[your name] · [phone]
    Copying is the only thing this page does with your text. Nothing is saved.

  2. Fill in their applicationIt is on their website.

    Open their application ↗ Checked Aug 27, 2026

    What the form asks for

    Application preparation
    Applicant, household, eligibility, and service-specific facts requested by the official intake route

    Have ready

    • Iowa Medicaid application used to begin eligibility review.

  3. Submit it on their websiteSend their part of the form with your application, or the way they ask.

    • Apply for Iowa Medicaid and tell the HHS worker that the child needs the Health and Disability waiver; use the local-office map if assistance is needed.

After you send

Ask the assigned worker about the current waiver waiting list, disability and level-of-care determinations, and the October 2026 HOME transition before relying on older packet details. If you have not heard back in two weeks, write and ask whether it arrived.

Full record, as published