Question 1

What exactly does the CAP/DA Medicaid waiver cover for a parent aging in place in Apex?

Accepted Answer

The Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults (CAP/DA) is North Carolina's Medicaid 1915(c) home- and community-based services waiver for adults 18+ who need a nursing-facility level of care but want to remain at home. It covers up to 18 in-home and community-based services, including adult day health, in-home aide services, home modifications and equipment, meal preparation, respite care, personal emergency response systems, and consumer-directed care that lets the beneficiary hire and supervise their own caregiver.

Question 2

How do I actually apply for CAP/DA if my mother lives in Raleigh?

Accepted Answer

Apply for long-term-care Medicaid generally through Wake County's Department of Social Services, and apply for CAP/DA specifically by contacting a local CAP/DA case management entity serving Wake County; the CAP/DA program is administered overall by the NC Division of Health Benefits/NC Medicaid within NCDHHS. The NC Medicaid Contact Center (888-245-0179) can help direct families to the correct local starting point.

Question 3

Is CAP/DA the same thing as Medicaid paying for assisted living in Wake County?

Accepted Answer

No. CAP/DA is a home- and community-based waiver that serves people living in their own home, not in a licensed adult care home or assisted living facility, so it does not pay for assisted living room and board or services. North Carolina has no Medicaid waiver dedicated to assisted living; room and board there is instead covered through the non-Medicaid State/County Special Assistance program.

Question 4

What is State/County Special Assistance, and is it a Medicaid waiver?

Accepted Answer

State/County Special Assistance (SA) is a state- and county-funded cash supplement that helps pay the room-and-board cost for eligible low-income residents of licensed adult care homes and family care homes — it is explicitly not a Medicaid waiver or Medicaid program itself. SA recipients do become automatically eligible for Medicaid, which then covers separate medical and personal-care costs, but the SA cash payment for room and board comes from state and county funds, not the Medicaid program.

Question 5

Did North Carolina's 2023 Medicaid expansion change anything about nursing home coverage for my father in Durham?

Accepted Answer

No — North Carolina's ACA Medicaid expansion, effective December 1, 2023, created a separate eligibility pathway covering low-income adults ages 19–64 generally, and it did not change the eligibility rules, income limits, or asset limits for long-term-care Medicaid (the aged/blind/disabled category covering nursing facility and waiver services). Nursing facility Medicaid eligibility continues to run through its own, generally lower, income and asset tests.

Community	Care type	Address	County
Brookdale North Raleigh	Independent Living	1200 Carlos Drive Raleigh, OH 27609	Wake
Amedisys Home Health Care - Raleigh	Home Health & Home Care	3921 Sunset Ridge Rd, Suite 102 Raleigh, OH 27607	Wake

Home Health & Home Care in your metro

Questions families ask

Not sure where to start?