HCBS Access Act

The HCBS Access Act requires Medicaid to cover a broad range of home and community-based services for people with disabilities and older adults, aiming to eliminate waiting lists and ensure these individuals can live in their communities rather than institutions. To achieve this, the bill mandates that states create detailed implementation plans, establishes a new advisory panel to recommend additional services, and sets a 100 percent federal funding match for these services to encourage state participation. The legislation also strengthens protections for family caregivers, requires states to remove financial liens on the estates of deceased beneficiaries, and creates a national technical assistance center to support the recruitment and training of direct care workers. Additionally, the bill directs the government to establish a separate occupational category for direct support professionals to better track workforce shortages and improve data collection on this critical labor force.