Interest lists for HCS and Texas Home Living

An interest list is not a denial, and it is not an approval. It is a waiting record used when more people want a program than the state can fund at one time. For Home and Community-based Services (HCS) and Texas Home Living (TxHmL), you ask the local authority (LIDDA) that serves the person’s county to add the program to that record.

How a name gets on the list

Contact the LIDDA for your county. After intake and a discussion of preferences, the authority adds HCS, TxHmL, or both to the person’s Community Services Interest List record. HHSC describes the interest-list date as the request date. Statewide, HHSC uses those records to offer services, generally to the person who has been on the list the longest.

That is the official outline. Individual situations can be more detailed — for example, HHSC’s handbook and rules describe special date rules for some people under 22 who live in an ICF/IID or a nursing facility. Ask the LIDDA to explain how a request date is set in the case you are dealing with, and keep your own notes of when you asked.

How waiting works

Placement is described by HHSC as first-come, first-served, subject to available funding.
We will not guess how many years a wait might last. It varies, and unofficial numbers go stale quickly.
HHSC states that people may receive other Medicaid or community services they qualify for while they wait, and that receiving other services does not take away a place on the list.
Eligibility for HCS or TxHmL is determined by HHSC when an offer to enroll is made — not when the name is first added.
When a name comes to the top of the list, HHSC says the person will be contacted by a state office or the local authority. Keep contact information current with the LIDDA so that call can reach you.

Official pages to read

For interest lists in some other waiver programs, HHSC points people to 877-438-5658. Confirm that number on the official interest-list page before you rely on it.