Self-Direction and FMS in New Mexico

All states: self-direction map

New Mexico self-direction at a glance

Last verified against state sources: 2026-10-13.

Which Medicaid programs in New Mexico offer self-direction?

New Mexico has two Medicaid self-direction programs today: the Mi Via Self-Directed Waiver and the Self-Directed Community Benefit (SDCB) inside Turquoise Care, the state's Medicaid managed care program. In both, the participant or a person the participant designates acts as the employer of record (EOR) and also manages an annual budget. A third, narrower option lets members direct their own personal care inside the Agency-Based Community Benefit. A fourth program, the Supports Waiver, has ended.

• Mi Via Self-Directed Waiver: a 1915(c) waiver that serves people of any age with intellectual or developmental disabilities, autism or medically fragile conditions who meet an ICF/IID level of care. It is run by the New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA) through its Developmental Disabilities Supports Division. The participant has both employer authority and budget authority. The participant builds a service and support plan and an annual budget with a consultant, and a third-party assessor approves it. The size of the budget is set by age and level of care. Participants may hire their own employees or use vendors and provider agencies.
• Self-Directed Community Benefit (SDCB), Turquoise Care: serves Turquoise Care members who meet a nursing facility level of care and have an assessed need. It is run by the Turquoise Care managed care organizations (MCOs) under HCA rules. The member has both employer authority and budget authority. The MCO sets the annual budget from a comprehensive needs assessment, and the member writes a care plan within it with a support broker who works for or is contracted by the MCO. A member must receive Agency-Based Community Benefit services for 120 calendar days before switching to SDCB.
• Agency-Based Community Benefit (ABCB) personal care, consumer-directed model: serves Turquoise Care members who meet a nursing facility level of care and get personal care through an agency. It is run by the MCOs and their contracted personal care agencies. The member oversees their own personal care, and the agency acts as fiscal intermediary for the paperwork. There is no budget authority. The rule text we read does not say directly whether the member or the agency is the legal employer in this model. In the separate consumer-delegated model the agency does all the employer tasks.
• Supports Waiver (ended): this 1915(c) waiver had a participant-directed model for people on the Developmental Disabilities Waiver wait list. CMS lists it as terminated on September 28, 2025. It is not a current option.

Employer authority means the participant, or the EOR acting for them, recruits, hires, manages and can dismiss the workers. Budget authority means the participant also manages a set amount of money for services. The rules are in the New Mexico Administrative Code: 8.314.6 NMAC for Mi Via and 8.308.12 NMAC for the Community Benefit.

Who handles financial management services (FMS) in New Mexico?

New Mexico uses one statewide arrangement for both self-direction programs. Palco provides the financial management services for Mi Via and the Self-Directed Community Benefit in partnership with Conduent. The state's term is financial management agency (FMA). The FMA runs payroll and pays employment taxes, while the employer of record (EOR) stays in charge of hiring and managing the workers.

An FMA is the go-between that connects the participant to the Medicaid payment system. Under the Mi Via rule it helps the participant or EOR with employer duties and processes payroll, including employment taxes and insurance. Under the Community Benefit rule the FMA is an entity that contracts with the MCO, and it processes payroll and pays federal, state and local employment taxes for the member and the EOR.

• Employer of record: the EOR is the participant or a person the participant designates. The EOR recruits, hires, manages and ends the employment of workers and approves their timesheets. The EOR is not paid for that role.
• Who can be the EOR in SDCB: the MCO makes the final call on whether a member can be their own EOR. A minor, or a person under financial guardianship or conservatorship, cannot. A designated EOR cannot also be the member's paid employee.
• Palco: Palco's New Mexico page says the state and Conduent have partnered with Palco since 2020. HCA's EVV page tells self-directed employees to keep their direct deposit and W-4 information current with Palco.
• Conduent: runs the Consolidated Customer Service Center, receives self-direction enrollment forms by email or fax, and offers online enrollment for EORs and employees.
• FOCoS Online: the timesheet and payment system used in both programs. Employees keep their address current there, and EORs approve time there.
• ABCB consumer-directed personal care: there is no separate FMA. The personal care agency acts as fiscal intermediary.

Two points could not be confirmed. We did not find a readable state document that says which company holds the prime FMA contract, or whether Mi Via and SDCB are covered by one contract or two. We also did not find any statement that participants can choose among FMA vendors, and only one arrangement is named in the sources. For either question, ask the Consolidated Customer Service Center at 1-800-283-4465.

Who can be a paid caregiver under self-direction in New Mexico?

Relatives can be hired and paid in New Mexico self-direction, with limits. A spouse, a parent of a minor child or a guardian of a minor (the rules call these legally responsible individuals) can be paid only in extraordinary circumstances and only with approval decided case by case. No worker is paid for more than 40 hours in a week.

• Mi Via: relatives, authorized representatives and personal representatives can be hired and paid, though not as consultants or support guides. A paid relative or legal representative cannot also be the employer of record. A legally responsible individual may be paid only in extraordinary circumstances, with written state approval recorded in the service and support plan, and not for tasks they would ordinarily do for a household member without a disability.
• Self-Directed Community Benefit: legally responsible individuals and spouses may be paid providers only under extraordinary circumstances after formal MCO approval, decided case by case.
• ABCB personal care (consumer-directed and consumer-delegated): the member may choose a family member as caregiver, except the member's spouse. Family are not paid for help they would otherwise give as natural supports.

Hours are capped in both budget programs. No Mi Via employee may be paid for more than 40 hours in a consecutive seven day work week, and the same cap applies to a legally responsible individual across all the recipients under 21 that they serve. In SDCB no provider may exceed 40 hours of paid work in one work week per employer of record, and timesheets run on a two week pay schedule set by the FMA.

Does EVV apply to self-directed workers in New Mexico?

Yes. Self-directed workers in New Mexico check in and out of their shifts in AuthentiCare, the state's electronic visit verification (EVV) system from Fiserv. In the Self-Directed Community Benefit the rule makes EVV a condition of payment for self-directed personal care. For Mi Via we did not find a rule that ties pay to a verified visit.

• Self-Directed Community Benefit: the Community Benefit rule says use of the EVV system is required for payment of self-directed personal care services. EORs must have personal care and respite workers use the state-approved system. Since August 1, 2025, automatic confirmation for SDCB EORs in AuthentiCare has ended, so EORs complete approvals themselves in AuthentiCare and FOCoS Online, according to an HCA newsletter.
• Mi Via: workers in five services check in and out by phone or app: homemaker/direct support, exception rate homemaker, in-home living supports, respite and exception rate respite. The service list comes from an HCA-hosted AuthentiCare instruction sheet. The Mi Via rule itself does not mention EVV. It ties payment to online timesheets approved by the EOR.
• ABCB personal care: the rule says EVV is required for payment of personal care services. Agencies use AuthentiCare or an approved third-party system that sends its visit data to AuthentiCare.

Two points could not be confirmed. We did not find a published EVV exemption for live-in caregivers of self-directed participants. We also did not find whether a Mi Via employee's pay is held when a shift has no verified EVV record. HCA's EVV page is silent on both. Ask the Consolidated Customer Service Center at 1-800-283-4465 (press * for EVV login or technical issues).

What is changing next for self-direction in New Mexico?

We did not find a confirmed upcoming change to self-direction in New Mexico as of our last check on October 13, 2026. Several recent changes are already in effect, and a few newer state documents could not be read. Anyone relying on the details above should check them against the current documents.

• Supports Waiver ended: CMS lists the New Mexico Supports Waiver as terminated on September 28, 2025. HCA's registers page lists a final rule titled Supports Waiver Repeal (8.314.7 NMAC) dated May 19, 2026. We did not find the repeal's effective date.
• Mi Via renewed: CMS shows the Mi Via waiver renewed effective October 1, 2025, running to September 30, 2030.
• Community Benefit rule amended: the registers page lists a final amendment to 8.308.12 NMAC dated October 23, 2025. We did not find what it changed or when it took effect.
• Policy manual revised: the Turquoise Care Managed Care Policy Manual has an edition effective August 11, 2026 in which the Self-Directed Community Benefit section is marked revised. We could not read the revised text.

To learn whether these documents changed the paid family rules, the 40 hour cap or EVV, ask HCA, the member's MCO or the Consolidated Customer Service Center.

New Mexico self-direction sources

• New Mexico Health Care Authority: Mi Via Self-Directed Waiver
• New Mexico Administrative Code 8.314.6: Mi Via Home and Community-Based Services Waiver
• New Mexico Administrative Code 8.308.12: Managed Care Program, Community Benefit
• Palco: New Mexico programs
• New Mexico Health Care Authority: Electronic Visit Verification (EVV)
• New Mexico Health Care Authority: AuthentiCare instruction sheet for Mi Via
• CMS: NM Mi Via ICF/IDD Waiver (0448.R04.00)
• CMS: New Mexico waiver descriptions
• New Mexico Health Care Authority: Registers

Related reading

• Self-Directed Medicaid Home Care Services in 2026
• Understanding Self-Direction and FMS
• Self-Direction Fiscal Intermediary: A Guide for Participant-Directed Care
• 5 Big Challenges in Self-Directed Care And How FMS Providers Can Solve Them
• Self-direction in every state (map)
• New Mexico EVV requirements

Other states with one statewide FMS vendor

Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming. See every state on the self-direction map.

Page history

• October 13, 2026: Page rewritten and checked against state sources.

This page is a reference, not legal advice. State rules change, so confirm details with the state before you act on them.

Ankota provides software for FMS organizations and agencies that support self-direction. If you would like to talk through your program, contact Ankota or read more about Ankota's self-direction and FMS software.