How to apply for the Elderly and Disabled Waiver in North Mississippi

The Elderly and Disabled Waiver is the reason a lot of people in this part of the state are still living at home rather than in a nursing facility. It is also one of the least explained programs in Mississippi, largely because the explaining is spread across three different organizations.

Here is the whole thing in one place, including the local office that handles it for Lee, Pontotoc, Union, Chickasaw, Monroe, Lafayette, and Itawamba counties.

What the waiver actually is

Medicaid will pay for a nursing home for someone who needs that level of care. A waiver is Medicaid agreeing to spend some of that same money on care at home instead, because staying home is usually both cheaper and better. That is the whole idea in one sentence.

The Elderly and Disabled Waiver, usually shortened to the E and D Waiver, is the statewide version of that for older adults and for adults with physical disabilities. Services covered under it include:

• Personal care services, meaning hands-on help with bathing, dressing, eating, meal preparation, and housekeeping
• Case management by a registered nurse and a licensed social worker
• Adult day services
• Home delivered meals
• Expanded home health services
• In-home respite and institutional respite for family caregivers
• Transition assistance for someone moving back home from a facility

Who qualifies

There are three separate gates, and an applicant has to clear all three. Failing any one of them stops the application, which is why so many families give up partway through without understanding what went wrong.

The medical gate

The applicant has to need the same level of care a nursing facility provides. In practice that is measured by an assessment score, and Mississippi currently requires a score of 50 or higher on the Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports assessment. This is the gate that surprises people. Needing a lot of help is not automatically the same as meeting nursing facility level of care.

The age gate

The applicant must be at least 21. The waiver covers older adults and adults with physical disabilities alike. Children and young adults under 21, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are served by different waivers.

The financial gate

For 2026 the individual income limit for long-term care Medicaid in Mississippi is $2,982 a month, and the countable asset limit for a single applicant is $4,000. For a married couple where both people are applying, those figures roughly double, to $5,964 and $6,000.

The word doing the work there is countable. A primary home, one vehicle, and personal belongings are generally not counted, and the rules for a married couple where only one spouse applies are different again and considerably more generous. Do not rule your family out based on a bank balance alone.

Who runs it in our counties

This is the part that is genuinely hard to find. Mississippi Medicaid sets the rules, but the day-to-day case management is handled by regional Planning and Development Districts. For this corner of the state that is Three Rivers Planning and Development District, whose waiver program covers Calhoun, Chickasaw, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc, and Union counties.

Every one of the seven counties we serve sits inside that list. If you live in Lee, Pontotoc, Union, Chickasaw, Monroe, Lafayette, or Itawamba county, Three Rivers is your case management office.

How to actually start

1. 1

   Call Mississippi Access to Care or Three Rivers

   Either number above will get you to someone who can screen the situation and tell you whether the waiver is the right program to pursue. Mississippi Access to Care exists specifically to give unbiased information about long-term care options, and it is free. Have the person’s date of birth, Medicaid or Medicare numbers if they have them, and a rough picture of their income to hand.

2. 2

   Get the Medicaid eligibility side moving

   The applicant has to be eligible for Medicaid, either through Supplemental Security Income or by meeting the long-term care income and asset limits. This runs through the Division of Medicaid, and it is the part that takes the longest, so start it early rather than waiting for the assessment.

3. 3

   Complete the level of care assessment

   A nurse assesses the applicant and scores their need. This determines whether they meet nursing facility level of care. Be accurate rather than optimistic. Families often describe a good day, and the assessment is supposed to capture the ordinary one. If your mother can walk to the mailbox on a good morning but needs help to reach the bathroom most nights, say both things.

4. 4

   Get assigned a case management team

   Everyone on the waiver is assigned a local team consisting of a registered nurse and a licensed social worker. They build the plan of care, decide the mix and amount of services, and coordinate the providers who deliver them.

5. 5

   Choose your providers

   Once a plan of care exists, services are delivered by Medicaid-approved providers. You are not simply assigned to whoever is nearest, and it is reasonable to ask your case manager what your options are.

How long it takes, and what to do meanwhile

Nobody should tell you a precise timeline, because it depends on how quickly the Medicaid eligibility side clears and whether a slot is available. Plan for weeks rather than days, and for months rather than weeks if the financial eligibility is complicated.

That gap is the real problem for most families, because the reason they started the application is that something is already unsafe. A few hours a week of private-pay care during the wait is a common bridge, and it is usually a much smaller number than people expect. Our guide on what in-home care costs in Mississippi has the real ranges.

A common mix-up worth clearing up

The E and D Waiver is not the only waiver Mississippi runs. There is a separate Independent Living waiver, a Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury waiver, an Assisted Living waiver, and an Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities waiver. If the person you are caring for has an intellectual or developmental disability, the ID and DD waiver is very likely the one you want, not this one. Mississippi Access to Care can point you at the right one in a single phone call.

Eligibility for the Elderly and Disabled Waiver is determined by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, not by a care agency. Income and asset limits change annually. Confirm current figures with Medicaid or with Three Rivers before making any decision based on them.