PASSPORT vs MyCare Ohio: Which One Fits Your Mom?

Does your mom have a red, white, and blue Medicare card AND an Ohio Medicaid card? She belongs on MyCare Ohio.

Does she only have Ohio Medicaid? If she is 60 or older, she belongs on PASSPORT. If she is under 60, she belongs on the DODD waiver, not on either of these.

Everything else in this article is the explanation behind that two-line answer.

1. How old is she? PASSPORT is 60 and older only. MyCare Ohio has no upper age limit but requires both Medicare and Medicaid.

2. What is in her wallet? A Medicare card AND a Medicaid card means dual-eligible. Only a Medicaid card means Medicaid-only. The card matters more than what she remembers.

3. Does she live in Lucas County (or another MyCare county)? MyCare Ohio runs in 29 Ohio counties, including Lucas. If she lives outside those counties, MyCare is not an option and PASSPORT is the path.

4. Is she at risk of needing a nursing home? Both programs require a nursing-facility level of care determination. That is a clinical assessment done by the Area Office on Aging or her MyCare plan.

5. Is she already on Medicaid? If yes, the waiver application is shorter. If she is not on Medicaid yet, we file Medicaid first, then the waiver. The Medicaid application alone can take 45 days.

PASSPORT covers personal care, homemaker, adult day services, respite, home-delivered meals, non-medical transportation, the personal emergency response button, and minor home modifications like grab bars and ramps.

MyCare Ohio covers everything PASSPORT covers, plus the medical side of her benefits. Doctor visits, hospital stays, prescriptions, durable medical equipment, and care coordination all run through her MyCare plan.

The big practical difference is that MyCare consolidates her Medicare and Medicaid into one plan with one care manager. PASSPORT only handles the DODD waiver side, and her Medicare stays separate.

Neither program pays for 24-hour live-in care. Neither pays for room and board in an assisted-living facility. Neither pays an unlimited amount of hours, the assessment determines the cap.

Neither one will start paying retroactively, so the day you start the application is roughly the earliest day services can begin once the program is approved.

We tell people not to get attached to the program name. The right answer is whichever one she actually qualifies for. Plenty of families come in convinced they want PASSPORT because a neighbor mentioned it, but their mom has Medicare and belongs on MyCare. The application is just as fast and the services are essentially the same. The wrong application costs you 30 to 60 days, so it is worth one phone call to get it right the first time.

Question 1: Is the applicant on Medicare? If yes, look at MyCare Ohio. If no, look at PASSPORT.

Question 2: Age 60+? Both waivers require this. Under 60, look at DODD waiver.

Question 3: Lives in a MyCare Ohio county? MyCare is regional. Lucas County is included. Confirm at Ohio Medicaid.

Question 4: Wants one plan that handles doctor + Rx + waiver? MyCare. Wants separate Medicare and Medicaid administration? PASSPORT.

Question 5: Already has a doctor outside the MyCare network they want to keep? PASSPORT preserves more flexibility.