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Indiana's PathWays Waiver, Explained

The PathWays Waiver pays for care services inside a licensed Residential Care Facility -- not room and board, which runs through RCAP instead.

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What the PathWays Waiver is

Short answer

The PathWays Waiver, part of Indiana PathWays for Aging launched July 1, 2024, pays for care services -- not room and board -- for Hoosiers 60 and older, inside a licensed Residential Care Facility that holds a provider agreement.

Who administers it

The Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning runs the waiver statewide; CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions handles local case management for Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Boone and Hancock counties.

What it covers, and what it does not

Covered: personal/attendant care, structured family caregiving, respite, case management, home modifications, and adult day services. Not covered: room and board -- that is the separate Residential Care Assistance Program (RCAP), which must be arranged alongside PathWays, not instead of it.

Waitlist

At the program's July 2024 launch, 9,015 people were on the PathWays waiting list statewide out of 39,842 total slots. Current figures change; confirm today's status with CICOA before assuming a long wait or a short one.

Where to get free help in your area

CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions, Indiana's Planning & Service Area 8, is the Area Agency on Aging covering every county this site serves — Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Boone and Hancock — plus Morgan and Shelby. That means there is one regional agency to call regardless of which of these six counties a family is searching from.

CICOA's Resource Center (317-803-6131, or 317-254-5465 main line, 800-432-2422 toll-free) offers information and referral, PathWays Waiver case management, caregiver support programs, home modification help, and Meals on Wheels-type nutrition services — all free of charge.

Start here first. Before paying for a private geriatric care manager, a free call to CICOA's Resource Center will surface benefits and programs a family may not know exist.

Questions families ask

Who has to report suspected elder abuse in Indiana?

Indiana is a mandatory-reporting state: anyone who suspects neglect, battery, or exploitation of an endangered adult (18 or older, incapacitated, and harmed or threatened) is required to report it, not just healthcare or facility staff.

My parent is being discharged from an Indianapolis hospital in 72 hours. What now?

Ask the case manager for the discharge plan in writing, confirm whether your parent was admitted as an inpatient or held under observation status (only inpatient stays count toward Medicare's skilled-nursing benefit), and ask which facilities have actually accepted the referral -- not just which ones were contacted.

Does Medicare pay for a nursing home stay after a hospitalization?

Medicare covers a limited skilled-nursing-facility stay only after a qualifying inpatient hospital admission, for rehabilitation, not long-term placement. Time spent under observation status does not count, even after multiple nights in a hospital bed -- ask the hospital directly which status applies.

Which Indianapolis-area hospital systems most often discharge patients to senior care?

IU Health, Ascension St. Vincent, Community Health Network, Franciscan Health and Eskenazi Health handle the bulk of Indianapolis-area discharge planning, alongside Hendricks Regional Health, Riverview Health, and Hancock Regional Health in the collar counties.

Can I push back on a hospital discharge date?

Yes, and it is usually less fixed than it sounds, particularly if no safe plan exists yet. Ask the case manager directly what happens if no placement is confirmed by the target date, and involve the hospital's patient advocate if the timeline feels unsafe.

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