Home-delivered meals

What the manual describes

What this service can help with

• Preparation, packaging, and delivery of nourishing meals
• Remaining in the person's natural home when meal preparation would otherwise require paid staff
• Special menus for health, religious, or cultural needs when appropriate
• Health, independence, quality of life, and prevention of institutionalization as part of the person-centered service plan

Source-backed working pathway

To establish you'll probably need:

These steps translate the cited manual section into a practical review sequence. Confirm the current local process before acting.

1. 1

   Describe the meal-access problem with the support coordinator.

   Explain which meals the person cannot prepare or obtain, what creates the barrier, and why meal delivery may allow the person to remain at home without paid staff for meal preparation.

   Evidence: manual 6.15 service description
2. 2

   Review natural supports and local no-cost meal options.

   Document whether a natural support can prepare the meals and whether a local no-cost home-delivered meal program can meet the need. The manual describes this waiver service as a supplement rather than a replacement for those local services.

   Evidence: manual 6.15 service description
3. 3

   Add the approved meal support to the person-centered service plan.

   The plan should identify the meal-delivery need, the expected schedule, and any health, religious, or cultural dietary requirements. The plan must also address how the person's health care needs are being met.

   Evidence: manual 6.15 service description and limitations
4. 4

   Identify a qualified Home Delivered Meals agency.

   Confirm that the agency has the required Department of Mental Health contract and Missouri Medicaid enrollment and can meet the approved delivery schedule and dietary needs.

   Evidence: manual 6.15 provider requirements
5. 5

   Confirm authorization, referral, and the delivery start plan.

   Confirm the authorized number of meals, who sends the referral, the delivery days and address, and how changes or missed deliveries are handled. The manual requires a provider to initiate a new order within 72 hours of referral when the person-centered service plan specifies that requirement, but it does not publish one statewide consumer intake form.

   Evidence: manual 6.15 service description and billing information

Important boundaries

Limits that may affect fit or authorization

• Home Delivered Meals is available through the Community Support Waiver only.
• The person must be unable to prepare some or all meals, have no natural support available to prepare them, and have the service included in the person-centered service plan.
• The service supplements rather than replaces local no-cost home-delivered meal programs.
• The waiver service cannot provide a full regimen of three meals per day.
• The service may not be used when another paid or natural support is required during the meal time.
• The manual's billing table lists a maximum of two meals per day and fourteen meals per week; current authorization and limits must be confirmed before relying on those amounts.
• Comprehensive and Community Support waivers remain under a temporary renewal extension through December 27, 2026, or until CMS grants final approval. Confirm the currently approved rules with the support coordinator; proposed renewal changes are not automatically active.

Do not assume this part

Questions to confirm locally