Wyoming DD‑waiver wait list, rebasing study drive budget questions; 335 people remain on wait list

The Joint Appropriations Committee received a technical briefing on Wyoming’s developmental disabilities (DD) home‑and‑community‑based waivers and the program’s waiting list, with agency and LSO staff asking the committee to weigh tradeoffs between funding rates and funding people on the wait list.

LSO senior fiscal analyst Elizabeth Martineau told the committee that Wyoming administers two Medicaid waiver programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — the comprehensive waiver and the supports waiver — and that each participant receives an individual budget calculated by formula. She explained the supports waiver is a smaller, more flexible budget (annual maximums cited in testimony: $22,712 for participants birth through age 21; $26,511 for participants age 21 and older). The comprehensive waiver budget is calculated from three factors: the level‑of‑service score, living situation and age; budgets can range from roughly $21,000 to $210,000 depending on assessed need.

The wait list and emergencies: Martineau and Department of Health staff reported 335 individuals on the…