The Community Choices Waiver Registry: How the Line Works and What New Orleans Families Can Do While Waiting

What the waiver is for

The Community Choices Waiver, run by LDH's Office of Aging and Adult Services, is Louisiana Medicaid's broadest program for keeping an older adult at home. It is for people 21 and older who meet long-term care Medicaid's financial rules and nursing home level of care. Through a support coordinator it can provide personal assistance, adult day health care, home-delivered meals, nursing and skilled maintenance therapy, home modifications, a personal emergency response system, caregiver respite and more. It does not provide care around the clock.

How the line is ordered

Waiver slots are limited, so LDH offers them in priority order. The priority groups, as LDH lists them, are:

1. People referred by protective services who would otherwise need a nursing home because of abuse or neglect
2. People with ALS
3. People living in, or linked to, a Louisiana Permanent Supportive Housing unit
4. Nursing home residents whose stay is paid only by Medicaid
5. People approved for 32 hours of LT-PCS who would otherwise need nursing home placement (expedited)
6. Everyone else, first come, first served by request date on the Request for Services Registry

Most families waiting for a parent at home fall in the last group, where the date of the request decides the order. That is the most practical reason to call early, even before your parent is ready to use services.

Bridging the wait: what is available now

LT-PCS deserves special attention. It is a Medicaid state plan service rather than a waiver, so it is not limited by waiver slots. A person approved for 32 hours of LT-PCS who would otherwise need a nursing home is one of the waiver's priority groups.

Getting the paperwork ready

When a slot is offered, Medicaid needs proof of income and resources, and it reviews transfers made in the previous 60 months. Families who collect bank statements, pension letters, insurance policies and property records while waiting move faster when the letter arrives. In 2026 the income limit for long-term care Medicaid is $2,982 a month, with a spend-down for higher incomes, and countable resources are limited to $2,000 for an individual. A spouse at home keeps a protected share under federal standards.

Where local councils on aging fit in

Every parish around New Orleans has a council on aging serving as its area agency on aging. They are not Medicaid offices, but their information and assistance staff know the local programs and often help with applications. The New Orleans Council on Aging, at (504) 821-4121, also runs the Aging and Disability Resource Center for Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard; the Jefferson Council on Aging, at (504) 888-5880, does the same for Jefferson Parish. On the Northshore, the St. Tammany Council on Aging is at (985) 892-0377.

Adult day health care as a bridge

For many families waiting on the registry, adult day health care is the most practical bridge. A licensed center provides supervision, health monitoring, medication help and meals during the day, often with transportation. Louisiana's 2025 median is about $88 a day. The ADHC Waiver, which is separate from the Community Choices Waiver and has its own priority groups, pays for center attendance for people who meet nursing home level of care and long-term care Medicaid's rules, including people discharged from a hospital in the previous 30 days after at least one night's stay.

When waiting is not safe

If a parent is being abused or neglected and would otherwise need a nursing home, protective services can refer him or her for a priority waiver offer. Call Elderly Protective Services at 1-833-577-6532 for someone 60 or older. If a parent is in a nursing home now and Medicaid is the only payer, that is also a priority group, which can make a return home faster than waiting in the community. Ask OAAS how your parent's situation fits.

Keep the registry information current

Make sure Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care has a working phone number and a backup contact. An offer that cannot reach anyone may pass to the next person. Note the date and the name of the person you spoke with each time you call, and update the registry when your parent moves or a contact changes.