RESPITE BENEFIT

Respite services provide limited and temporary relief for families caring for beneficiaries with complex health care needs when the care needs require nursing services in lieu of the trained caregivers. Services are provided in the family home by hourly skilled and licensed nursing services as appropriate. To be eligible and authorized for respite, MDHHS must determine the beneficiary to have:

* Health care needs that meet the following criteria:

* That skilled nursing judgments and interventions be provided by licensed nurses in the absence of trained and/or experienced parents/caregivers responsible for the beneficiary’s care;

* That the family situation requires respite; and

* That no other community resources are available for this service.

* No other publicly or privately funded hourly skilled nursing services in the home that would be duplicated by the CSHCS respite benefit.

* Service needs which can reasonably be met only by the CSHCS Respite benefit, not by another service benefit.

Respite is reimbursed when provided by a Medicaid enrolled home health agency, a Medicaid enrolled registered nurse (RN) who is licensed to practice in the state of Michigan, or a Medicaid enrolled licensed practical nurse (LPN) who is licensed to practice in the state of Michigan and working under supervision according to the Michigan Public Health Code. It is the responsibility of the LPN to secure the appropriate supervision and maintain documentation that identifies the supervising professional.

A maximum of 180 hours of CSHCS Respite services may be authorized per family during the 12-montheligibility period. When there is more than one respite-eligible beneficiary in a single home, the respite  service is provided by one nurse at an enhanced reimbursement rate for the services provided to multiple beneficiaries. Allotted respite hours may be used at the discretion of the family within the eligibility period. Unused hours from a particular eligibility period are forfeited at the end of that period and cannot be carried forward into the next eligibility period.

Beneficiaries receiving services through any of the following publicly funded programs and benefits are not eligible for the CSHCS Respite benefit:

* Private Duty Nursing Benefit

* Children’s Waiver

* Habilitation Supports Waiver

* MI Choice Waiver

Requests for respite must be made in writing to MDHHS (refer to the Directory Appendix for contact information) and include
the following information:

* The health care needs of the beneficiary;

* The family situation that influences the need for respite; and

* Other community resources or support systems that are available to the family (e.g., CMH services, MDHHS services, adoption subsidy, SSI, trust funds, etc.).

MDHHS responds to all requests for respite in writing.