Maine Home Care Medicaid

Last updated: August 21, 2026 Jurisdiction: Maine

MaineCare supports services at home

Maine identifies several home and community-based services as long-term-care services, including Consumer Directed Attendant Services in Section 12, HCBS in Sections 18, 19, and 20, Home Health in Section 40, and Private Duty Nursing and Personal Care in Section 96 (MaineCare estate recovery). A person’s functional determination is made through the Maine Assessing Services Agency, whose LTC Advisory can address eligibility for MaineCare-funded in-home services as well as facility admission (Maine ASA Program).

The principal older-adult waiver is Section 19, Home and Community Benefits for the Elderly and Adults with Disabilities, identified by DHHS in its 2026 waiver-amendment notice as waiver ME.0276. The notice says the proposed amendments address the 2024 revised 1915(c) application, worker requirements, service caps, grievance procedures, funding contingency, and estimates (Maine DHHS Section 19 waiver notice).

The current waitlist picture is program specific

OADS updates its HCBS access measures quarterly. Its page reports data as of March 31, 2026 and lists 3,718 participants with a zero waitlist for Section 19 Home and Community Benefits for Older and Disabled Adults (OADS HCBS access measures). A zero on that table does not mean every Maine home-care service starts immediately or that every waiver has no queue.

The same report lists waitlists for other disability-focused waivers: 286 for Brain Injury Section 18 and 14 for Other Related Conditions Section 20. It also says a referral-management process was in place for Section 96 during the reporting period because care-coordination capacity was limited (OADS HCBS access measures).

Financial rules still matter at home

The posted Eligibility Manual says the categorically needy nursing-care income limit is three times the maximum federal SSI payment for an eligible individual, and that the same limit is used for HCBS waivers. A waivered individual’s assets must not exceed the SSI-related individual asset limit stated by Maine, while married applicants can require community-spouse analysis (MaineCare Eligibility Manual charts; MaineCare Eligibility Manual).

Maine’s home-equity rule says it does not affect eligibility for community MaineCare services if the person otherwise qualifies, even though the manual gives a $750,000 primary-residence equity cap for long-term-care assistance (MaineCare Eligibility Manual).

Latest Section 19 data: 3,718 participants and a reported waitlist of 0 as of March 31, 2026. Check the live quarterly report because capacity and service access can change (OADS HCBS access measures).

Ask about the exact service

Section number, age/disability category, clinical need, provider capacity, assessment result, and financial status can each affect access. Start the assessment process early and ask OADS or the care coordinator about the current queue for the precise program.

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MaineCare supports services at home

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