Federal, exists in every state
Services at home through a waiver
Some children qualify for Medicaid or home services through a separate care-needs review.
What it is
Some children qualify for Medicaid or home services through a separate care-needs review.
Kansas’s Technology Assisted waiver assesses medical fragility, technology dependence and nursing needs against hospital-level-care criteria. A cancer diagnosis, equipment use or ordinary help at home alone does not establish eligibility. The assessment and the child’s financial and enrollment review are separate steps.
Eligibility rules
- The Technology Assisted waiver requires hospital-level care and a separate assessment.
- Kansas’s Technology Assisted waiver serves ages 0 through 21 and requires its hospital-level-care assessment; transition is at 22. This route can assess the child’s finances without counting the parents’ finances, but the Clearinghouse must confirm the current child-income test, age-specific resource rules and any client obligation. The rules at age 21 can differ from those for younger children. KDADS must separately confirm a place, waiting-list rules and the approved service plan; neither cancer nor a low income guarantees enrollment.
What you get
- A review of services that could support your child at home.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital discharge planner or KanCare care manager about a Technology Assisted waiver assessment.
- Bring the discharge plan and a description of equipment and daily care.
Hospital discharge planner or KanCare care manager · Official page ↗
After the assessment
- A service approval and finding someone to provide the care are separate steps.
Good to know
Ordinary KanCare nursing services and a waiver assessment are separate routes.
Official sources
- eCFR: undefined CFR 1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/Waiver-Descript-Factsheet/KS
- eCFR: undefined CFR 1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/81721
- Technology Assisted (TA) waiver
- HCBS and long-term services and supports
- Kansas KEESM 8242: child HCBS resources (August 2017 archive)
- Kansas KEESM 8270: client obligation (April 2022 archive)
“Could the Technology Assisted waiver help with care at home, and what are its benefits and drawbacks for us? Could you help us decide whether to request an assessment?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether the care our child needs fits this route.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Register the child on the list, keep the task log, and answer the assessment call when it comes.
Your social worker
Names the waiver that takes medically fragile children in this state and helps with the registration form.
The care team
Documents the nursing-level tasks and the risk if care stops.
- Who decides
- The state waiver agency after a level-of-care assessment
- Ask your social worker
- “Which home-care program fits my child, and can we register today? Can Medicaid start home-nursing hours while we wait?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the discharge team which state home-care service or waiver fits your child's assessed needs, and how to apply.
- Register on the list this week.
- Ask the Medicaid plan for EPSDT nursing hours while you wait.
- Keep a two-week task log for the assessment.
Where it starts: State application or interest list. Assessment when a slot opens
What to gather
- A two-week log of daily tasks: what, how often, how long
- Doctor's letter naming nursing, equipment or safety needs
- Medicaid ID if the child has one
How long: Application steps, assessment timing and waiting-list availability depend on the specific state program. Ask for its current process.
What a yes looks like
A service plan with approved hours and a case manager's name.
What a no looks like, and the next move
“Does not meet level of care” or “no slot”: ask for Medicaid's rule that a child under 21 gets what is medically needed nursing through the Medicaid plan instead, and stay on the list.
Watch out
- If a suitable waiver has a waiting list, ask how and when to register and how priority is determined.
- For a child already on Medicaid, Medicaid's rule that a child under 21 gets what is medically needed home nursing can start long before a waiver slot opens. Ask for both.
- The assessment considers the child's actual care needs under the specific program's rules. No diagnosis or item of equipment guarantees approval.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 7, 2026.
What it is worth
Nursing hours, respite, personal care, equipment, home changes and a case manager. The value is the approved hours.
Covers: Case management · Respite · Personal care · Nursing (some waivers) · Adaptive equipment · Home and vehicle modifications · Caregiver training
What it costs the family: Medicaid-delivered. Patient liability depends on the state.
The eligibility facts, as published
- State specific
- yes
- Institutional level of care
- yes
- Target population
- medically fragile or technology-dependent children in most states
Decisions this site cannot make: Level of care · Service-plan necessity · Financial eligibility (child-only in institutional-deeming waivers)
Expect friction on: Interest lists · Provider shortages · Reassessment
The trap: Ask which waiver, if any, serves your child's needs and whether it has a waiting list. Request covered Medicaid services separately while any waiver application is reviewed.
What changes by state: Which waiver takes medically fragile children, the list length (Texas runs years), and whether parents' income is ignored.
Where I read this
- Home and Community-Based Services 1915(c) — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, read August 27, 2026
- Full List of Medicaid Waivers and Programs — Kids’ Waivers, read August 27, 2026
- Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, read August 27, 2026