Policy Briefs

Acronyms & Glossary

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): Basic personal activities, including bathing, dressing, transferring from bed to chair, toilet assistance, mobility and eating.

Acquired Brain Disorder (ABD): A disabling disruption in brain functioning that impairs a person's ability to function in society. It may be the result of external trauma, anoxic/hypoxic injury, infectious disease, brain tumor, intracranial surgery, a stroke, toxic exposure or a neurological disorder.

Adult Day Care: A daytime community program that provides health and social support services to adults with functional impairments in a protective setting.

Case Management: Assess needs, create service plans, and coordinate and monitor services and resources. The case manager may operate independently or may be an employee of a public or private agency.

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): The section of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that oversees the Medicaid program.

Developmental Disability: A disability attributable to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, a learning disability, or other condition found to be closely related to mental retardation and originates before age 22.

Environmental Modifications: Modifications or additions to a home environment or vehicle to ensure safety, access or compliance with building or vehicle codes.

Habilitation: Assistance and training in the home or community to: maintain/improve basic living skills, vocational activities, and community activities; enhance social and personal development; and maintain/improve communication skills, mobility skills, and physical and psychological health.

Home and Community-Based Care Waiver (HCBC Waiver or 1915(c) Waiver): A tool to provide long-term care services in the home and community as an alternative to institutional care, at the same or lower cost. CMS 'waives' the state's compliance with certain federal laws. For example, the State may design a package of services that meets the needs of a certain group of people, such as elders. Without a waiver the State would have to provide those services to all Medicaid recipients at a potentially much higher cost.

Home Care for Children with Severe Disabilities (HC-CSD): Medicaid eligibility option that provides coverage for long-term home care for children as an alternative to institutional care. (This is often referred to as Katie Beckett eligibility.)

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs): Includes housekeeping, cooking, shopping, laundry, medication management, money management, and communication.

Medicaid (Title XIX): Federal- and state-funded program of medical assistance.

Medicare (Title XIII): Federal health insurance program for people age 65 and over (and certain people with disabilities under age 65).

Personal Care: Assistance with ADLs and IADLs.

Respite: Short-term care (from a few hours to a few days) by a trained caregiver to allow family caregivers some time away from their caregiving role.

Wait List: List of people waiting to receive HCBC waiver services. The State caps the number of people who may receive HCBC waiver services at one time.