Mississippi Medicaid waiver guide
Learn how Mississippi 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 See something out of date?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.
Mississippi's ID/DD Waiver is held by the Division of Medicaid and administered day to day by the Department of Mental Health's Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Services are available statewide to people of all ages. You start by scheduling an evaluation at one of four regional IDD programs — North Mississippi Regional Center, Hudspeth Regional Center, Ellisville State School, or South Mississippi Regional Center. Mississippi calls its queue the Planning List, and there is one sequencing detail that matters: you can be placed on the Planning List based on level of care, but you must be determined Medicaid-eligible before you can actually be enrolled from it.
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People of all ages who would otherwise require ICF/IID placement
ID/DD Waiver services are available statewide to people of all ages who are eligible for or receiving Medicaid and who are determined to need the level of care provided in an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID). Medicaid eligibility can come through several routes, including SSI, TANF, the Disabled Child Living at Home category, or income up to 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. Level of care is re-evaluated annually to confirm ongoing eligibility.
You must be determined to need the level of care provided in an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. This is established through an evaluation at your regional IDD program.
You must be eligible for or receiving Medicaid. Qualifying routes include SSI, TANF, the Disabled Child Living at Home category, and income up to 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. Ask about Disabled Child Living at Home if a child's family income seems too high.
The waiver is available statewide and serves people of all ages — there is no minimum or maximum age threshold to clear.
Your Support Coordinator arranges an annual re-evaluation of level of care to confirm you remain eligible. This is an ongoing requirement, not a one-time determination.
When someone is determined to meet the same level of care criteria as a person applying for institutional admission, they may choose to have their name placed on the ID/DD Waiver Planning List. Being on the list is not the same as being enrolled — before you can be enrolled from the Planning List, you must be determined eligible for Medicaid. If Medicaid is not already in place, that determination is the step that will hold you up.
This is the first step. Contact one of the four regional centers — North Mississippi Regional Center, Hudspeth Regional Center, Ellisville State School, or South Mississippi Regional Center — to arrange an evaluation.
Open linkThe evaluation determines whether you meet the level of care an intermediate care facility would provide. That finding is what makes you eligible for the Planning List.
Placement is an option you choose, not something automatic. If you meet the level of care criteria, ask to have your name added.
You cannot be enrolled from the Planning List until you are determined eligible for Medicaid. Sort this out while you are waiting rather than after your name comes up — otherwise the wait extends at exactly the wrong moment.
Open linkOnce you meet enrollment requirements, a Support Coordinator from your regional center helps develop a Plan of Care listing the type and amount of services you are requesting. You also choose a provider for each service.
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.
Mississippi's ID/DD Waiver includes a Community Support Program and self-directed options that let participants and families take a role in arranging and directing their own supports. Ask your Support Coordinator which services can be self-directed under your Plan of Care.
Approved waiver services are paid by Mississippi Medicaid. Once enrolled, there is generally little or no direct cost for covered services.
One of the qualifying Medicaid routes allows income up to 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. Because that figure moves with SSI, confirm the current threshold rather than relying on an older number.
This Medicaid category can help a child qualify where household income would otherwise be a barrier. Ask about it by name before concluding a child is ineligible.
Mississippi's early intervention program serves infants and toddlers with delays, separately from the ID/DD Waiver.
School districts provide special education under an IEP. Waiver services are separate and additional. Because the waiver serves all ages, there is no reason to wait until school ends to seek an evaluation.
The waiver has no age threshold, so an evaluation and Planning List placement can happen well before adult services are needed — and getting Medicaid sorted in the meantime removes the main enrollment obstacle.
Support Coordinators arrange an annual level of care re-evaluation to maintain eligibility. Keep those appointments; a missed re-evaluation puts enrollment at risk.
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 Mississippi is the state's federally mandated protection and advocacy agency and has provided free advocacy to Mississippians with disabilities since 1982.
Protection & Advocacy agency for Mississippi
1-800-772-4057Visit siteAdministers the ID/DD Waiver through regional IDD programs
1-877-210-8513Visit siteStatewide help finding long-term services and supports
1-844-822-4622Visit siteMedicaid eligibility and waiver policy
1-800-421-2408Visit siteFree disability rights advocacy — 601-968-0600 locally
1-800-772-4057Visit siteLocal help & referrals — dial 211
Visit siteSchedule an evaluation at your regional IDD program — North Mississippi Regional Center, Hudspeth Regional Center, Ellisville State School, or South Mississippi Regional Center. That evaluation establishes the level of care that makes Planning List placement possible.
Not by itself. Before you can be enrolled from the Planning List you must be determined eligible for Medicaid. If Medicaid is not already in place, get that sorted while you wait rather than after your name comes up.
Several. Mississippi Medicaid eligibility for the waiver can come through SSI, TANF, the Disabled Child Living at Home category, or income up to 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. For a child, ask about Disabled Child Living at Home specifically.
No. The ID/DD Waiver is available statewide to people of all ages. That means there is no reason to delay an evaluation until adulthood approaches.
They help develop your Plan of Care, coordinate and monitor all your services regardless of funding source, and arrange the annual level of care re-evaluation that keeps you eligible. You also choose your own provider for each service.
ID/DD Waiver services are available statewide to people of all ages who are eligible for or receiving Medicaid and who are determined to need the level of care provided in an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID). Medicaid eligibility can come through several routes, including SSI, TANF, the Disabled Child Living at Home category, or income up to 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate. Level of care is re-evaluated annually to confirm ongoing eligibility.
schedule an evaluation at your regional idd program, establish the icf/iid level of care, ask to be placed on the planning list, get medicaid eligibility settled early, then enroll and choose providers. Start with Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
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.
When someone is determined to meet the same level of care criteria as a person applying for institutional admission, they may choose to have their name placed on the ID/DD Waiver Planning List. Being on the list is not the same as being enrolled — before you can be enrolled from the Planning List, you must be determined eligible for Medicaid. If Medicaid is not already in place, that determination is the step that will hold you up.
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.
How to reach the regional IDD programs, support coordination, and the Planning List.
MississippiEligibility categories, covered services, and waiver documentation.
MississippiMississippi's community support and self-direction option.
MississippiFree protection and advocacy services, including appeals help.
MississippiFind waiver providers and services in Mississippi on Waiverly.
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