INDIANA – The Division of Aging would like to provide information about a new law called the Settings Rule that will ensure that anyone receiving Medicaid Home-and Community-Based Services, like those individuals receive through the Aged and Disabled or Traumatic Brain Injury Waivers, also sometimes called HCBS waiver services, has the rights of dignity, privacy, and respect in their home and community.
Under this law a recipient of Medicaid HCBS waiver services has the following rights:
- The right to come and go from the site providing services as they wish;
- The right to privacy, including things like locking bedroom and bathroom doors, medical privacy, and the right to privacy in communication;
- The right to being treated with dignity and respect; and
- The right to be part of your service planning meetings.
If there are reasons why an individual cannot have some of these rights, they need to be documented in the individual’s person-centered service plan, which is kept on file with the service provider and have a valid reason for any changes to those rights.
The Settings Rule will come into full effect on March 17, 2023, and the Division of Aging’s plan to get all provider sites into compliance with the rule has been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If you would like a copy of this plan, please click here to request one.
A team at the Division of Aging is working hard on this project and will be visiting, conducting interviews and reviewing Medicaid service plans at all Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, Adult Family Cares, Supported Employment sites, Structured Day Programs, and Structured Family Care sites to help ensure they are in compliance with the Settings Rule.
If you have any questions, please reach out to da.hcbssettingsrule@fssa.in.gov or you may also ask your service provider or Medicaid case manager directly about anything related to the Settings Rule.
