Program Description
Indiana’s CHOICE program is a statewide program that is designed to allow seniors who are at risk of nursing home placement to remain living at home or in the home of their caregiver and receive services, support, and care in those locations. CHOICE is an acronym for the program’s full name: Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled.
Under CHOICE, seniors, including those with Alzheimer’s disease, are eligible to receive many different types of assistance, from personal care to chore assistance to home modifications to medical supplies. The unifying factor among the services is that they are all intended to help the recipient live independently or to help families care for loved ones at home.
Eligibility Guidelines
General Requirements
Age and Residency
To be eligible for the CHOICE program, applicants must be at least 60 years of age. (If younger, they must have a physical or mental impairment.) Individuals must be Indiana residents, but there is no duration of residency requirement.
Functional Need
Candidates must have difficulty performing their activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom, etc.), and therefore, they are at risk of losing their independence (and being placed in a nursing home).
Financial Requirements
Income Limits
There are no hard income limits. However, co-payments, which are determined on a sliding scale, are required for persons with higher incomes.
Asset Limits
The value of the applicant’s assets cannot exceed $270,000. Being over the asset limit does not mean that one cannot qualify for services via CHOICE. Rather, one might have to pay part (or all) of the fees for services.
Other Requirements
Medicare or Medicaid funds must be used first if it is available to the applicant.
Benefits and Services
The CHOICE program provides a wide variety of benefits to eligible participants. These are determined at the time of enrollment and periodically reassessed as needs change. Benefits may include:
- Adult Day Service / Adult Day Care
- Case Management
- Congregate Meals – may be at a senior center, etc.
- Handy Chore Services – heating, plumbing, roofing, adding smoke detectors, snow removal, etc.
- Counseling – gerontology, individual, nutrition, and support groups
- Home Health Care – medication oversight, assistance with needed exercises
- Homemaker Services – housecleaning, errands, meal preparation, dishes, laundry, etc.
- Hot or Prepared Meal Delivery
- Legal and Information Assistance
- Durable Medical Equipment, Supplies, Assistive Devices – speech amplifier, adaptive switches / locks, raised toilet seat, etc.
- Modifications to a Home or Vehicle – grab bars, lifts, ramps, etc.
- Occupational and Physical Therapy
- Personal Care – assistance with mobility, toiletry, dressing, etc.
- Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)
- Private Duty Nursing
- Respite Care – in-home and out-of-home
- Transportation Assistance – non-medical and medical
- Pest Control
- Money Management
- Nutritional Supplements
Note that the above list is not comprehensive but includes the services most relevant and needed by the elderly. Multiple types of counseling and therapies are also covered.
How to Apply / Learn More
This program is available throughout Indiana and is administered by the Indiana Area Agencies on Aging. Interested individuals can contact their local office or call 800-986-3505 statewide. Current applicants are reporting longer than normal waiting times for benefits to start once qualified for this program.
Some information is provided about this program on the state’s website. Interested parties can also read the program’s Annual Report.
Medicaid eligible Indiana state residents might also be interested in the CDAC Program, which allows family members to be paid for their caregiving assistance. Alternatively, RCAP provides financial assistance for assisted living.
