Sarah Jian Lopez Medicaid Waiver
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The Sarah Jian Lopez Medicaid Waiver allows access to funding for appropriate care and support for children with developmental disabilities so they may continue living at home with their families.
Medicaid guidelines require parental income and resources be considered for children who live at home, but allow such income and resources to be disregarded for children who live out of the home, in an institution, a group home, or in other residential settings. The family of Sarah Jian Lopez, who was born with developmental disabilities, lobbied the Missouri General Assembly to change some of the requirements in the Medicaid program. The waiver, which went into effect in 1996, is named after Sarah, who died at the age of five.
The waiver allows parental income and resources to be disregarded for permanently and totally disabled children living at home who otherwise would require services at an institution.
Eligibility is based on the following guidelines: the income and resources of the child must not exceed Medicaid financial guidelines; the child's condition must meet the criteria set by Medicaid for the permanently and totally disabled; the child must be certified to need the level of services provided by an intermediate care facility designed to treat mental retardation; and the cost of providing the needed services in the child's home can be no greater than the cost of the services provided in an intermediate care facility.
The Sarah Jian Lopez Waiver will allow up to 200 children, under age 18, with developmental disabilities to receive specialized care funded by Medicaid while continuing to live at home with their parents.
