The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is opening a 30-day public comment period on its findings about home and community-based service long-term care settings that were identified for heightened scrutiny review. Review is needed to determine if these settings are truly home and community based and not institutional. This public comment period is in accordance with federal requirements.

DHS operates several home and community-based services long-term care programs under federal authority from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Medicaid waiver funding for these programs can only be used to support people living in community-based settings, and cannot be used to support someone who is living in an institution. Review is needed for settings that are located within another facility that provides inpatient treatment (like a skilled nursing facility), on the grounds of a public institution (like an inpatient facility that is financed and operated by a county, state, municipality, or other unit of government), or because of other factors that may lead to isolating some people from the broader community.

DHS has conducted a heightened scrutiny review process and determined there is enough evidence to show CMS that these settings are not institutional in nature and that they meet CMS’ compliance requirements. The evidence from the heightened scrutiny review is documented in “evidentiary summaries.”

Public comment is an opportunity to support or rebut information DHS obtained from its heightened scrutiny reviews of facility-submitted documentation and onsite visits.

Find more information about the public comment period, along with a list of the settings and their evidentiary summaries, on the DHS website.