What Is Ohio's HOME Choice Program?

HOME Choice is an Ohio Medicaid program, funded through the federal Money Follows the Person initiative, that helps people move out of a nursing facility, hospital, or other institutional setting and back into their own home, a relative's home, or a small community setting (a group home of four or fewer unrelated residents). Ohio Medicaid reports that over 16,000 Ohioans have used HOME Choice to transition out of institutional care, with participants supported for up to 180 days while planning the move and for 30 days afterward, plus "wrap-around" services and equipment during the transition. This is essentially the reverse of the more commonly discussed PASSPORT waiver: PASSPORT (see our Medicaid and PASSPORT explainer) is generally for people trying to avoid nursing facility placement in the first place, while HOME Choice is for people already in a facility who want to move back to the community. Families exploring this option should contact HOME Choice directly at (888) 221-1560 or through their local Area Agency on Aging to start an assessment.