How to Apply for the NH CFI Waiver Without an Elder Law Attorney

You can self-file a Choices for Independence waiver application in New Hampshire without paying an elder law attorney, and many families do exactly that. The process has a free state support layer — ServiceLink offices in all 10 counties provide options counseling and help with the NHEasy portal — and the financial eligibility rules, while dense, are finite and knowable. If your parent's income is below $2,982 per month, countable assets are under $8,500 (the effective categorical limit after New Hampshire's resource disregard), and there are no look-back issues, you can navigate this yourself with the right preparation.

What you can't do is walk in unprepared. The CFI application has two gates — financial eligibility and clinical eligibility — and each has specific documentation requirements that, if incomplete, add weeks of administrative delay. Here's the complete sequence.

Step 1: Contact ServiceLink

ServiceLink is New Hampshire's Aging and Disability Resource Center network — the state-designated front door for anyone exploring long-term care options. There are offices in all 10 counties, and their services are free.

Call your county's ServiceLink office and request an intake for your parent. During this first conversation, the counselor will ask about your parent's living situation, health conditions, care needs, and financial picture. They'll explain which programs your parent may qualify for — the CFI waiver is the primary one for nursing-home-level elders who want to stay at home, but they'll also flag alternatives like Title XX Block Grant home care or the National Family Caregiver Support Program.

ServiceLink can walk you through the NHEasy online application portal step by step. They cannot, however, organize your documents, prepare you for the clinical assessment, give legal advice, or structure assets. That's the work you'll need to do yourself.

Step 2: Run the Financial Eligibility Self-Assessment

Before submitting anything, determine whether your parent is likely to qualify financially. The 2026 thresholds:

Income: Gross monthly income must not exceed $2,982. This includes Social Security, pensions, annuities, and any other regular income. If your parent's income is above this cap, consult an attorney about whether a Qualifying Income Trust (Miller trust) or another eligibility pathway is appropriate.

Assets: The base countable asset limit is $2,500. However, New Hampshire's resource disregard under He-W 856.07 (authorized by RSA 167:4-f) raises the effective categorical limit to $8,500 for CFI applicants. Many denial letters and even some DHHS staff don't mention this — it's one of the most commonly missed provisions in NH Medicaid eligibility.

Exempt assets: Your parent's primary residence is exempt up to $752,000 in home equity. One vehicle, household goods, personal effects, irrevocable burial funds, and term life insurance are also exempt. The house is the big one — most families hear "Medicaid" and assume they'll lose the home. They won't, as long as equity is within the cap and estate recovery protections are understood (more below).

Spousal protections: If your parent is married, the community spouse (the one staying at home) can retain the Community Spouse Resource Allowance — up to $162,660 in assets — plus a Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance of $2,705 per month from the couple's income. These protections exist specifically to prevent one spouse's need for care from impoverishing the other.

60-month look-back: DHHS reviews 60 months of financial records for transfers that could be considered divestments — gifts to children, property transfers, or payments made below fair market value. Any flagged transfer can result in a penalty period during which Medicaid won't cover care. If your parent made transfers within this window, talk to an attorney before filing.

The Aging in Place in New Hampshire Guide includes a 2026 Financial Eligibility Workbook that walks through each threshold with fill-in fields, so you can see exactly where your parent stands before the ServiceLink intake.

Step 3: Gather the Documentation Packet

This is where most self-filed applications stall. The NHEasy portal and the underlying DHHS review require specific documents, and submitting an incomplete file triggers resubmission requests that add two to four weeks per cycle.

The complete packet includes:

• Social Security cards for the applicant (and spouse, if married)
• 60 months of bank statements for every account
• Most recent statements for retirement accounts, CDs, money market funds
• Property deeds and most recent tax assessment
• Vehicle registration and title
• Income verification — Social Security award letters, pension statements, annuity contracts
• Insurance policies (life insurance, long-term care insurance, if any)
• BFA Form 800, DFA Form 770, and Forms 3735 and 3740
• Medical records relevant to functional limitations

The guide's Document Preparation Checklist maps every required item to the NHEasy submission sequence, so you can assemble the packet systematically instead of scrambling when DHHS requests something you didn't know they needed.

Step 4: Submit on NHEasy

NHEasy is New Hampshire's online benefits portal. You can file the CFI application here, and ServiceLink counselors can walk you through the interface. The portal is functional but not intuitive — the submission sequence matters, and doing it out of order can add weeks of processing delay.

After submission, DHHS assigns a financial eligibility worker who reviews the documentation. If everything is complete, financial determination typically takes two to four weeks. If documents are missing, you'll receive a request for additional information, and the clock restarts.

Step 5: Prepare for the Medical Eligibility Assessment

Financial eligibility is only half the gate. The clinical side requires a Medical Eligibility Assessment conducted by Acentra Health, the state-contracted clinical assessment agency. An assessor visits your parent — in-home or at a facility — and evaluates whether they need hands-on or direct supervisory assistance with at least two Activities of Daily Living (bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, continence).

This is the step that catches families off guard. The assessment is a brief visit, and parents with cognitive decline frequently mask during it — presenting as far more functional than they actually are. A parent who can't safely shower alone will tell the assessor "I do fine on my own." A parent who gets lost in their own house will navigate confidently with a stranger watching.

The guide includes a 14-Day Functional Care Log — a structured tool for documenting your parent's daily ADL struggles in the two weeks before the assessment. When the assessor arrives, you present this log alongside your parent, giving the evaluator contemporaneous evidence of functional limitations that a single-visit snapshot would miss. The guide also includes assessment-day strategies: scheduling during your parent's most difficult time of day, requesting permission to be present, and sharing the care log directly with the assessor.

Step 6: The Care Plan and Provider Selection

Once approved on both the financial and clinical sides, your parent is enrolled in the CFI waiver. A Case Management Agency is assigned (or you choose one — you have the legal right to select your CMA and home care providers). The case manager develops a Plan of Care that specifies the authorized services: personal care aide hours, homemaker services, adult day programs, home modifications, emergency response systems, and any other supports the assessment identified.

You also have the option of self-directed care — hiring a family member or trusted person as a paid caregiver at up to $20 per hour through a fiscal management service. This is particularly valuable when agency staffing shortages (the systemic issue at the center of the Fitzmorris v. Weaver litigation) mean authorized hours go unfilled.

Where You Genuinely Need an Attorney

Self-filing works for straightforward applications. These situations require professional help:

• Income above $2,982/month — consult an attorney about whether a Miller trust or another eligibility pathway is appropriate
• Recent asset transfers in the 60-month window — penalty calculation and remediation require legal expertise
• Complex estate assets — rental properties, business interests, jointly owned real estate
• Denial that you believe is wrong — the administrative fair hearing process benefits from attorney representation
• Guardianship needed — if your parent lacks capacity and hasn't signed powers of attorney, you'll need a probate court petition

Who This Is For

• Adult children whose parent likely qualifies for the CFI waiver and who want to avoid $6,000–$15,000 in elder law fees
• Families with straightforward finances who need a structured process to follow, not legal strategy
• Out-of-state caregivers who need every step, form, and phone number mapped so they can coordinate remotely
• Anyone who wants to determine whether their parent's situation is simple enough to self-file before committing to an attorney

Who This Is NOT For

• Families dealing with complex trusts, recent large transfers, or income above the cap
• Situations where legal capacity has already been lost and no power of attorney exists
• Families looking for someone to handle the application for them — this is a self-filing approach, not a concierge service

The Self-Filing Toolkit

For , the Aging in Place in New Hampshire Guide gives you every tool the self-filing path requires: the 2026 Financial Eligibility Workbook, the Document Preparation Checklist mapped to the NHEasy submission sequence, the 14-Day Functional Care Log, the MEA preparation strategies, the Self-Directed Care Enrollment Checklist, and the CFI Application Tracker that maps every step from the first ServiceLink call through annual redetermination. Combined with ServiceLink's free counseling, it's the complete self-filing system.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the entire CFI application process take?

From the first ServiceLink contact to receiving services, plan for roughly 45 to 90+ days for a straightforward application. Financial review and clinical assessment occur before care-plan development; incomplete documentation, a denial, or a waitlist can extend this significantly.

Is there any cost to apply for the CFI waiver?

The application itself is free. ServiceLink counseling is free. There is no fee to file on NHEasy. The only costs are your time and, if applicable, private-pay care during the waiting period.

What if the CFI waiver has a waitlist?

The CFI waiver is a capped program — approximately 5,400 slots. When enrollment is full, applicants are placed on a waitlist. While waiting, you should access interim programs: Title XX Social Services Block Grant home care (income limit $1,645/month for 2026), the National Family Caregiver Support Program (no income test), and community services through ServiceLink. The guide's Non-Medicaid Safety Net Tracker maps every alternative.

Can I start the application while my parent is still in the hospital?

Yes, and you should — especially if the hospital is pushing for nursing facility placement. Contact ServiceLink from the hospital and begin the intake process immediately. The guide's Hospital Discharge Action Card provides the exact sequence to follow when the discharge clock is running.

Does applying for the CFI waiver put my parent's home at risk?

Not during their lifetime. The primary residence is an exempt asset up to $752,000 in equity for eligibility purposes. New Hampshire does pursue Medicaid estate recovery after the recipient's death, but statutory deferrals protect the home when a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child is living there. The guide's Estate Recovery Worksheet walks through every deferral and exception.

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