Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Waivers

About the Program

These two home- and community-based services (HCBS) waivers are designed to help MassHealth-eligible persons with an acquired brain injury (ABI) move from a nursing facility or chronic disease or rehabilitation hospital back to their community. The ABI waivers help by making the move from the facility to the community easier and by providing community-based services.

The two ABI waivers are

ABI–Residential Habilitation (ABI-RH) – for people who need supervision and staffing 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a provider-operated residence
ABI–Non-residential Habilitation (ABI-N) – for people who can move to their own home or apartment or to the home of someone else and receive services in the community.

ABI applications may be submitted at any time.

Eligibility Criteria for ABI Waivers

MassHealth applicants or members who live in a nursing facility or a chronic or rehabilitation hospital and have an ABI may apply for one of these waivers, which would support these persons to move into the community and offer resources to provide ongoing services in the community. An individual may not participate in more than one waiver at a time.

To qualify for one of the ABI waivers, an individual must

Be living in a nursing facility or in a chronic or rehabilitation hospital for at least 90 days
Meet clinical eligibility requirements
Have experienced an acquired brain injury at age 22 or older. An acquired brain injury can result from a stroke, brain trauma, infection of the brain (such as encephalitis), brain tumor, or anoxia (lack of oxygen)
Need ABI waiver services
Be able to be safely served in the community within the terms of the ABI waivers and
Meet the financial requirements to qualify for MassHealth Standard in the community.

Special financial rules exist for waiver applicants and participants.

Also, for the ABI-RH waiver, the person must need residential support services with staff supervision 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Services Offered to ABI Waiver Participants

All waiver participants will work with a case manager/service coordinator to develop their individual service plan that will include their goals and the waiver services and supports the participant needs in the community.

ABI Waiver services include the following:

Yes means the service is available
No means it’s not available

Service	ABI-RH	ABI-N
Adult Companion	No	Yes
Assisted Living Services	Yes	No
Chore Services	No	Yes
Community Based Day Supports	Yes	Yes
Community Support and Navigation	No	No
Day Services	Yes	Yes
Family Training	No	No
Home Accessibility Adaptations	No	Yes
Home Health Aide	No	No
Homemaker	No	Yes
Independent Living Supports	No	No
Individual Support and Community Habilitation	No	Yes
Occupational, physical, or speech therapy	Yes	Yes
Orientation and Mobility Services	No	No
Peer Support	No	No
Personal Care	No	Yes
Prevocational Services	Yes	No
Residential Habilitation (group home)	Yes	No
Respite	No	Yes
Shared Home Supports	No	No
Shared Living – 24-Hour Supports	Yes	No
Skilled Nursing	No	No
Specialized Medical Equipment	Yes	Yes
Supported Employment	Yes	No
Supportive Home Care Aide	No	No
Transitional Assistance Services	Yes	Yes
Transportation	Yes	Yes
Vehicle Modification	No	No