K Plan / Community First Choice Option from Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid)

Last updated: October 25, 2024

 

Overview of Oregon K Plan / Community First Choice Option

Oregon’s K Plan provides Medicaid-funded home and community based services (HCBS) for seniors and persons with disabilities who require a level of care equivalent to that which is provided in a nursing home. Formally called the Community First Choice State Plan Option, benefits are available to prevent and delay unnecessary nursing facility admissions. With this intent in mind, attendant services are provided, which includes assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). These activities include bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, preparing meals, light housecleaning, and laundry. Other potential benefits include personal emergency response systems, safety and accessibility home modifications, and home delivered meals.

The services offered under this program may be provided by licensed agency workers or program participants have the option to self-direct their attendant care. This allows a program participant to hire their own caregiver, including a friend or select relative. Qualified relatives (18+ years old) include children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, but unfortunately, not spouses nor legal guardians. Program participants who cannot self-direct their own care, may choose a representative to do so on their behalf. The representative cannot also be the paid caregiver. The financial aspects of being an employer, such as tax withholding and issuing caregiver payments, are handled by the state.

 While spouses cannot be paid to provide care via the Oregon K Plan, they can be paid to provide care via the Spousal Pay Program, which is part of the Consumer-Employed Provider (CEP) Program. Furthermore, there is an additional consumer-directed program that allows friends and family, including spouses, to be the paid caregiver. This is the Independent Choices Program (ICP).

K Plan services can be received in one’s own home, the home of a friend or relative, an adult day care center, an adult foster care home, an assisted living residence, or a memory care facility, which provides specialized care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. These services are an entitlement; meeting the state’s Medicaid eligibility requirements guarantees one will receive benefits without being put on a waiting list.

The K Plan, also called Community First Choice (CFC), is a Medicaid State Plan Option that was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is a 1915(k) State Plan Amendment. In OR, the Medicaid program is called the Oregon Health Plan (OHP). The Medicaid program specific to the aged, blind or disabled through which medical and long term-care services are available is the Oregon Supplemental Income Program-Medical (OSIPM).

K Plan / CFC program participants can simultaneously receive long-term care from other OR Medicaid programs, such as the Aged & Physically Disabled Waiver, given the services are not duplicative.

 What is the Community First Choice Option?
The Community First Choice (CFC) Option, established by the Affordable Care Act, allows states to provide limited home and community based services (HCBS), such as personal care assistance, via their state’s Regular Medicaid program. Previously, states mainly provided HCBS via 1915(c) Medicaid Waivers, which limit the number of participant enrollment slots. Therefore, wait lists commonly exist. In contrast, CFC benefits are available via a state’s Regular Medicaid program, which does not limit the number of program beneficiaries. This means the availability of home and community based services via the CFC Option is open to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria.

 

Benefits of the K Plan / Community First Choice Option

Follows is a list of potential home and community based services and supports available via the K Plan. While all program participants receive case management, an individualized service plan determines which other benefits a program participant receives.

– Attendant Care – includes personal care assistance and homemaker services (i.e., bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, mobility, basic housecleaning, laundry, shopping for essentials)
– Backup Systems / Assistive Technology – i.e., personal emergency response systems, medication reminder devices, automatic faucets, fall sensors, lift chairs, wandering alerts
– Chore Services – i.e., heavy cleaning for safety purposes, removal of hazardous debris outdoors
– Community Transportation
– Consumer Training – voluntary training for persons self-directing their care – i.e., how to select, manage, and fire caregivers
– Durable Medical Equipment – i.e., walkers, wheelchairs
– Home Delivered Meals
– Home Modifications – home access ramps, hand rails, grab bars, electronic door openers, raised toilets, non-skid surfaces, lowering counters / sinks for wheelchair access
– Medication Management
– Memory Care Support – observation, supervision, and intervention for cognitively impaired persons for safety purposes
– Nurse Delegation / Care Coordination
– Relief Care – alternative care if primary caregiver is unable to provide care
– Positive Behavioral Support Services
– Transition Services – provides basic household items / furnishings, housing application fees, background / credit check fees, cleaning deposits, security deposits, utility deposits for persons transitioning from a nursing home back home or into the community

While CFC / K Plan services and supports can be provided in adult foster care homes, assisted living residences, and memory care facilities, the cost of room and board is not covered.

 

Eligibility Requirements for K Plan / Community First Choice Option

K Plan’s long-term care services and supports are for Oregon residents of all ages who are eligible for OR’s state Medicaid plan, or specific to seniors, the Oregon Supplemental Income Program-Medicaid (OSIPM). Additional criteria follows and is relevant for the elderly (65+ years of age).

 The American Council on Aging provides a quick and easy Medicaid Eligibility Test for Oregon seniors requiring ongoing assistance. Start here

 

Financial Criteria: Income, Assets & Home Ownership

Income
The applicant income limit is equivalent to 300% of the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR), which increases annually in January. In 2024, an applicant, regardless of marital status, can have a monthly income up to $2,829. When both spouses are applicants, each spouse is considered individually, with each spouse allowed income up to $2,829 / month. When only one spouse is an applicant, the income of the non-applicant spouse is not counted towards the income eligibility of their spouse. Furthermore, monthly income from the applicant spouse can be transferred to the non-applicant spouse as a Spousal Income Allowance, also called a Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance, to prevent spousal impoverishment.

In OR, there is a minimum income allowance of $2,555 / month (eff. July 2024 – June 2025). This allows an applicant spouse to supplement their non-applicant spouse’s monthly income, bringing their income up to $2,555.  There is also a maximum income allowance, which in 2024, is $3,853.50 / month. While this potentially allows a non-applicant spouse a higher income allowance, any additional amount above the minimum income allowance is dependent on one’s shelter and utility costs. A Spousal Income Allowance, however, can never push a non-applicant’s total monthly income over $3,853.50.

Assets
In 2024, the asset limit is $2,000 for a single applicant. For married couples, with both spouses as applicants, each spouse can have up to $2,000 in assets. When only one spouse is an applicant, the assets of both the applicant and non-applicant spouse are still limited. This is because Medicaid considers the assets of a married couple to be jointly owned. In this case, the applicant spouse can retain up to $2,000 in assets and the non-applicant spouse is allocated a larger portion of the couple’s assets as a Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA).

The CSRA allows the non-applicant spouse to keep 50% of the couple’s assets, up to $154,140. If 50% of the couple’s assets falls under $30,828 the non-applicant spouse can keep all of the couple’s assets, up to this amount.

Some assets are not counted towards Medicaid’s asset limit. These generally include an applicant’s primary home, household furnishings and appliances, personal effects, and a vehicle.

Assets should not be given away or sold under fair market value prior to applying for long-term care Medicaid. This is because OR Medicaid has a 60-month Look-Back Rule for applicants of long-term home and community based services. Violating this rule results in a Penalty Period of Medicaid ineligibility.

 To determine if you might have assets over Medicaid’s countable limit, and if so, receive an estimate of the amount, use our Spend Down Calculator

Home Ownership
The home is often the highest valued asset a Medicaid applicant owns, and many persons worry that Medicaid will take it. For eligibility purposes, Oregon Medicaid considers the home exempt (non-countable) in the following circumstances.

– The applicant lives in the home or has “Intent” to Return, and in 2024, their home equity interest is no greater than $713,000. Home equity is the current value of the home minus any outstanding mortgage. Equity interest is the portion of the home’s equity value that is owned by the applicant.
– The applicant has a spouse living in the home.
– The applicant has a disabled or blind child (of any age) living in the home.
– The applicant has a minor child (under 21 years old) living in the home.

Learn more about the potential of Medicaid taking the home.

 Oregon residents who require personal care assistance, but do not require the level of care provided in a nursing home, should consider OR’s State Plan Personal Care Program (SPPC).

 

Medical Criteria: Functional Need

An applicant must require a Nursing Facility Level of Care (NFLOC). For the K Plan / CFC, the tool used to determine if this level of care need is met is the Client Assessment and Planning System (CAPS). An applicant’s ability to complete Activities of Daily Living (i.e., transferring from the bed to a chair, mobility, eating, toileting, bathing) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (i.e., housekeeping, medication management, shopping, laundry) are assessed. Relevant to some persons with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, behavioral problems, such as regular attempts to leave the facility or removal of one’s clothes, are also considered. A diagnosis of dementia in and of itself does not mean one will meet a NFLOC. A service priority level is generated during the assessment process. There are 18 levels, with 1 being the highest level of assistance required and 18 the least. For the K Plan, an applicant must receive a service priority level between 1 and 13.

 Learn more about long-term care Medicaid in Oregon.

 

Qualifying When Over the Limits

Having income and / or assets over Medicaid’s limit(s) does not mean an applicant cannot still qualify for OR Medicaid. There are a variety of planning strategies that can be used to help persons who would otherwise be ineligible to become eligible. Some of these strategies are fairly easy to implement, and others, exceedingly complex. Below are the most common.

When persons have income over the limits, Miller Trusts, also called Qualified Income Trusts, can help. “Excess” income is deposited into the trust, no longer counting as income.

When persons have assets over the limits, Irrevocable Funeral Trusts (IFTs) are an option. These are pre-paid funeral and burial expense trusts that Medicaid does not count as assets. Other ways in which applicants can “spend down” excess assets include buying household items and furnishings, trading in one’s vehicle, and taking a vacation.  Medicaid-Compliant Annuities provide another way for persons to lower their countable assets. This technique turns a lump sum of cash into a monthly stream of income. There are many alternative solutions when the applicant has assets exceeding the limit.

Inadequate planning or improperly implementing a Medicaid planning strategy can result in a denial or delay of Medicaid benefits. Professional Medicaid Planners are educated in the planning strategies available in OR to meet Medicaid’s financial eligibility criteria without jeopardizing Medicaid eligibility. There are also planning strategies that not only help one meet Medicaid’s financial criteria, but also protect assets from Medicaid’s Estate Recovery Program and instead preserves assets for family as inheritance. These strategies often violate Medicaid’s 60-month Look-Back Rule, and therefore, should be implemented well in advance of the need for long-term care. However, there are some workarounds, and Medicaid Planners are aware of them. For these reasons, it is highly suggested one consult a Medicaid Planner for assistance in qualifying for Medicaid when over the income and / or asset limit(s). Find a Medicaid Planner.

 

How to Apply for Oregon K Plan / Community First Choice Option

Before You Apply

Prior to submitting an application for K Plan / CFC services, applicants need to ensure they meet the Oregon Medicaid eligibility criteria. Applying when over the income and / or asset limit(s) will be cause for denial of benefits. The American Council on Aging offers a Medicaid Eligibility Test to determine if one might meet Medicaid’s eligibility criteria.

As part of the application process, applicants will need to gather documentation for submission. Examples include copies of Social Security cards, Medicare cards, life insurance policies, property deeds, pre-need burial contracts, bank statements up to 60-months prior to application, and proof of income. A common reason applications are held up is required documentation is missing or not submitted in a timely manner.

 

Application Process

To apply for the K Plan / Community First Choice Option, applicants should contact their local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) office or Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) office. See contact information by county.

More about the K Plan. Persons can also contact the Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) at 1-855-673-2372. The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Office of Aging and People with Disabilities administers the K Plan.

 

Approval Process & Timing

The Medicaid application process can take up to 3 months, or even longer, from the beginning of the application process through the receipt of the determination letter indicating approval or denial. Generally, it takes one several weeks to complete the application and gather all of the supportive documentation. If the application is not properly completed, or required documentation is missing, the application process will be delayed. Based on federal law, Medicaid offices have up to 45 days to review and approve or deny one’s application (up to 90 days for disability applications). Despite the law, applications are sometimes delayed even further.

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