Washington State submits ARPA home and community-based services spending plan

Updated February 2023 

Quarterly spending plan reports

The state spending plan outlines targeted investments to enhance and expand home and community-based services (HCBS).

• The Health Care Authority and the Department of Social and Health Services submitted our updated quarterly state spending plan for the Medicaid home and community-based services funding in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.
• Original approved state spending plan (October 2021)

Background

The Washington State Legislature was in session when ARPA was signed into law. As part of the state’s 2021-2023 operating budget, the Legislature identified a list of investments to enhance, strengthen, or expand HCBS. That list is the basis for Washington’s initial HCBS spending plan. The Legislature invested $273 million in new state spending. These investments are described in detail in the spending plan. 

Washington plans to set aside the remaining $251 million needed to hit our spending targets for future spending subject to legislative deliberations. Many of the investment items were funded in the operating budget on an ongoing basis. Due to the timing of ARPA passage and federal spending guidance, Washington’s initial investment list captures spending between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022. The Legislature may choose to count spending on ongoing items through March 31, 2024, now that CMS has clarified the spending timeline. The state intends to update the spending plan through a quarterly update process as information emerges.