Louisiana Medicaid waiver guide
Learn how Louisiana Medicaid waiver services work, which state agency to start with, how the application process usually begins, and where to search for home and community-based services.
Last reviewed July 2026. See something out of date? Use the “Suggest an edit” button to let us know.
Louisiana's developmental disability services run through the Office of Intellectual & Developmental Disability Supports — renamed from the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities in 2026, so you will still see “OCDD” on many forms and older pages. OIDD is the single point of entry, and you reach it through your local governing entity, one of Louisiana's human services districts or authorities. There are four waivers, and rather than a simple queue, Louisiana uses the Developmental Disability Request for Services Registry (RFSR). Your place depends on two things together: the urgency category currently being served, and your registry date within it.
Search by state, city, or ZIP code to compare provider profiles, services, contact details, and verified status.
People needing comprehensive supports whose needs cannot be met by the other waivers
Children with low to moderate needs whose families provide most of the care and support
Adults eligible for OIDD waiver services, focused on employment and community life
People who need residential support options in the community
First you must be found eligible for OIDD developmental disability services, which uses Louisiana's statutory definition of developmental disability. Then you can ask to be placed on the Request for Services Registry. For the New Opportunities Waiver specifically, you must be at least 3 years old, qualify for Medicaid, have OIDD approval, meet an ICF/IID level of care, and demonstrate that the other waivers cannot meet your needs. Children's Choice serves children under 19 with low to moderate needs whose families provide most of the care; the Supports Waiver serves people 18 and older.
You must first be determined eligible for OIDD services under Louisiana's statutory definition of developmental disability. This determination happens through your local governing entity and comes before any waiver.
For the New Opportunities Waiver you must need the level of care an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities would provide.
NOW serves people 3 and older. Children's Choice serves children under 19. The Supports Waiver serves adults 18 and older. Which waiver fits depends partly on age and partly on the intensity of need.
You must qualify for Medicaid. Once a waiver opportunity is offered, financial and medical evaluations happen together before services begin.
Once you are found eligible for OIDD services, you ask to be placed on the Developmental Disability Request for Services Registry. Everyone added to the registry is screened for urgency of need. When a waiver opportunity opens, it goes to the person who meets the criteria, falls within the urgency priority category currently being served based on funding, and has the earliest registry date within that category. So both factors matter — urgency decides which pool is being drawn from, and your date decides your place within it.
Louisiana's human services districts and authorities are the entry points into the system. They handle the eligibility determination — you do not apply to the state directly.
Open linkYour local governing entity determines whether you meet Louisiana's definition of developmental disability. This must happen before you can join the registry.
Placement is not automatic after eligibility — you have to ask. Your registry date is set when you are added, and it determines your order within your urgency category, so do this as soon as you are eligible.
Everyone added to the registry is screened for urgency of need. Because offers go to the urgency category currently being served, an inaccurate screening can leave you in a pool that is not moving. If circumstances change, ask for a re-screen.
When a waiver opportunity is offered, financial and medical evaluations are conducted together before services begin. Respond promptly so the offer is not lost.
Exact covered services depend on the waiver, assessed need, Medicaid rules, funding, and state program requirements. Confirm services, availability, and payment acceptance with the state, support coordinator, and provider.
Louisiana's waivers are built around principles of self-determination, and self-direction options let participants and families choose and manage their own supports rather than relying only on agency staff. Ask your support coordinator which services can be self-directed under the specific waiver you are offered.
Approved waiver services are paid by Louisiana Medicaid. Once enrolled, there is generally little or no direct cost for covered services.
Children's Choice is a limited package for children whose families provide most of the care. NOW is the comprehensive option and requires showing that the other waivers cannot meet your needs. If needs are substantial, that distinction matters when the offer comes.
In residential settings the waiver pays for services, not room and board, which is typically covered by the person's own income such as SSI.
Louisiana's EarlySteps program provides early intervention for infants and toddlers, separately from the OIDD waivers.
The New Opportunities Waiver serves people from age 3. Getting an OIDD eligibility determination and a registry date early is the most useful thing a family can do, since the date fixes your order within your urgency category.
Children's Choice serves children under 19 with low to moderate needs whose families provide most of the care. Plan the move to adult options before that ceiling arrives.
The Supports Waiver serves adults 18 and older, with an emphasis on employment and community life. Medicaid financial eligibility is generally assessed on the person's own income once they are an adult.
If eligibility or a waiver service is denied, reduced, or ended, you have the right to appeal and to request a Medicaid fair hearing within the deadline printed on your notice. Disability Rights Louisiana is the state's protection and advocacy agency and provides free legal services and advocacy statewide.
Protection & Advocacy agency for Louisiana
1-800-960-7705Visit siteToll free 1-866-783-5553 — 628 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge
225-342-0095Visit siteHuman services districts and authorities — your entry point for eligibility
Visit siteFree legal services and advocacy — 504-522-2337 locally, weekdays 9–5
1-800-960-7705Visit siteMedicaid eligibility and enrollment
Visit siteLocal help & referrals — dial 211
Visit siteTwo things together. Screening assigns you an urgency-of-need category, and offers go to whichever urgency category is currently being served based on funding. Within that category, the person with the earliest registry date is served first. So urgency picks the pool, and your date picks your place in it.
Not automatically. After you are determined eligible for OIDD services you have to ask to be placed on the Request for Services Registry. Do it right away, because your registry date is what fixes your order.
Louisiana publishes the registry dates currently being served. Compare that against your own registry date to see where things actually stand rather than relying on an estimate you heard secondhand.
The office was renamed in 2026 from the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities to the Office of Intellectual & Developmental Disability Supports. Older forms, brochures, and pages still use OCDD — it is the same agency.
Children's Choice is a lighter package for children under 19 whose families provide most of the care. NOW is comprehensive and requires showing the other waivers cannot meet your needs. The Supports Waiver serves adults 18 and older with an employment focus, and the Residential Options Waiver covers residential arrangements. Talk this through with your local governing entity before an offer arrives.
First you must be found eligible for OIDD developmental disability services, which uses Louisiana's statutory definition of developmental disability. Then you can ask to be placed on the Request for Services Registry. For the New Opportunities Waiver specifically, you must be at least 3 years old, qualify for Medicaid, have OIDD approval, meet an ICF/IID level of care, and demonstrate that the other waivers cannot meet your needs. Children's Choice serves children under 19 with low to moderate needs whose families provide most of the care; the Supports Waiver serves people 18 and older.
contact your local governing entity, get an oidd eligibility determination, ask to be placed on the request for services registry, make sure the urgency screening reflects reality, then enroll and choose providers. Start with Louisiana Office of Intellectual & Developmental Disability Supports.
Covered services vary by waiver and assessed need, and commonly include in-home supports, respite, supported employment, day services, behavior support, residential supports. Confirm specifics with the state and provider.
Once you are found eligible for OIDD services, you ask to be placed on the Developmental Disability Request for Services Registry. Everyone added to the registry is screened for urgency of need. When a waiver opportunity opens, it goes to the person who meets the criteria, falls within the urgency priority category currently being served based on funding, and has the earliest registry date within that category. So both factors matter — urgency decides which pool is being drawn from, and your date decides your place within it.
Approved waiver services are generally covered by Medicaid at little or no direct cost once enrolled, though some enrollees may owe a monthly patient responsibility based on income.
Louisiana's single point of entry, the four waivers, and how to find your local governing entity.
LouisianaEligibility criteria, services, and how people are selected from the registry.
LouisianaFind your local governing entity and Freedom of Choice providers.
LouisianaFree protection and advocacy legal services, including appeals help.
LouisianaFind waiver providers and services in Louisiana on Waiverly.
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