Based on concerns raised during House testimony by individuals who rely on independent direct support workers to provide home and community based services, the Governor's Office of Health Transformation (OHT) clarified that the Executive Budget as introduced (HB 64) does not eliminate independent providers, but does clarify that the employer for a direct support worker must be either the individual receiving services or an agency, not the state.
HB 64 increases access to Medicaid home and community based services (HCBS) and creates new opportunities for HCBS recipients to self-direct their services. Self-direction means that individuals have the right to direct how their services are provided, choose who will work for them, and schedule services according to their own preferences.
On March 24, state officials met with developmental disabilities stakeholders, including individuals who rely on independent providers, and agreed that the outcomes of HB 64 should be to increase access to home and community based services, make self-direction an option in every HCBS waiver program, comply with federal fair labor standards, and improve quality of in-home direct support.