Medicaid Planning
Medicaid HCBS Waivers Explained (2026)
1915(c) waivers, assisted living coverage limits, and how HCBS differs from nursing home Medicaid.
8 min readUpdated 2026-06-20
HCBS waivers let states cover long-term care services in home and community settings. Unlike nursing home Medicaid, room and board in assisted living is usually still private pay — waivers cover care services only.
Major waiver types
- Assisted living / residential care waivers
- PACE programs (all-inclusive)
- Home-based personal care waivers
- Memory care specialized waivers in some states
Find your state program
- Texas
- Florida
- California
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Ohio
- Illinois
- Georgia
- Arizona
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Washington
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Colorado
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
- District of Columbia
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