by Ashley Gustafson | Dec 23, 2015 | Advocacy
Seven members of the Assembly Aging and Long Term Care committee submitted a letter to the Department of Health Services (DHS) on Friday, December 18th regarding the redesign of the Family Care and IRIS systems. In the letter, they suggest which items they feel are most important for DHS to consider in the redesign.
They emphasize that adequate planning and transition strategies will be necessary to ensure that Wisconsin is prepared to implement Family Care/IRIS 2.0. This includes establishing specific requirements of “readiness” before an Integrated Health Agency can do business in Wisconsin and establishing quality and performance benchmarks.
In the letter, they detail what they think should be included in the plans and contracts.
- They feel that stakeholder engagement is essential. Contracts should specify establishment of advisory committees and a system for consumers to provide feedback that includes information on their quality of life.
- Contracts should require Integrated Health Agencies (IHAs) to collect data to track nursing home admission rates and transition rates from nursing homes to home and community-based settings (HCBS) in order to reduce costly institutional placements and emphasize HCBS for people.
- Performance and program goals should be tied to payments and financial incentives. The state should regularly review quality benchmarks to determine whether or not IHAs are meeting standards and the IHAs should be compensated accordingly.
- Support should be available for eligible individuals including options and enrollment counseling provided by an independent source at no cost and ombudsman services to resolve complaints.
- The Department should ask IHAs questions to determine if they understand how to fully implement self-direction and person-centered planning.
- The state should establish and monitor benchmarks related to increasing the number of people employed in competitive integrated jobs.
- The state should document information on provider numbers and readiness to ensure that services will be delivered by qualified providers.
- The rights of enrollees should be protected including systems to manage incidents and appeals processes (such as the ombudsman program), the ability for enrollees to move from self-direction to directed care and vice versa without being penalized, and flexibility with open enrollment periods when people have a significant change in their care or providers.
- The state should take an active role in ensuring IHAs understand expectations. Quality and performance benchmarks should be monitored to ensure that services are delivered.
Click here to read the full letter.
If you would like to make sure that what is important to you is included in the new Family Care/IRIS 2.0 system, here are some Action Steps that you can take:
- Read the letter from legislators and decide which main points are important to you.
- Take the time to thank the legislators who signed onto this letter.
- Share a link to the letter with your own legislator and write a message about the points in the letter that are most important to you. Tell them how this impacts your life.
- Ask your legislator to contact the Department of Health Services on your behalf to inquire about how their Family Care/IRIS 2.0 plan will address certain points.
You can find legislator contact information by entering your address here (Find My Legislators): http://legis.wisconsin.gov/
by Ashley Gustafson | Nov 16, 2015 | Advocacy
The Department of Health Services (DHS) has two informational meetings scheduled this week to discuss the changes to coverage of autism treatment services that will take place in 2016. In July 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) directed that autism treatment services must be covered under the Medicaid State Plan. Currently, the Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) Waiver Program provides funding for autism treatment services that are not covered under ForwardHealth Programs such as BadgerCare Plus, Medicaid, or the Katie Beckett Program; however, starting January 1, 2016 a new behavioral treatment benefit will be provided under ForwardHealth.
Details for the informational meetings that are scheduled this week can be found below. (Please note that the meeting in Green Bay can be attended through a live webcast.)
November 17, 2015
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Brown County Public Library
Auditorium
515 Pine Street
Green Bay, WI 54301
Live webcast: http://livestream.com/DHSWebcast/Autism
November 18, 2015
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Northcentral Technical College
Auditorium
1000 W. Campus Drive
Wausau, WI 54401
For more information, please visit the DHS Behavioral Treatment Transition website at: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/clts/waiver/autism/index.htm
by Ashley Gustafson | Oct 6, 2015 | Advocacy
In the 2015–2017 State Budget, the Department of Health Services (DHS) is looking at making significant changes to the Family Care and IRIS Programs. The proposed changes will impact individuals who utilize long term care services in Wisconsin. The DHS is accepting general advice and counsel from the public regarding the future of Family Care/ IRIS. Several meetings and public hearings have already taken place throughout the state with the last public hearings being held TODAY, October 6th in Milwaukee and TOMORROW, October 7th in Madison. If you would like to submit testimony but cannot attend a public hearing in-person, you can participate via webcast. Click here to participate in a public hearing via webcast or to view recordings of previous public hearings.
You can also submit comments via email or U.S. Mail until October 30, 2015.
Send email testimony to: [email protected].
Send written testimony to:
Department of Health Services
Division of Long Term Care
Family Care and IRIS 2.0
P.O. Box 7851, Room 550
Madison, WI 53707-7851
For more information on the proposed changes to the Family Care and IRIS Programs, go to: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/familycareiris2/index.htm
by Ashley Gustafson | Sep 29, 2015 | Advocacy
Please note that changes have been proposed to the Wisconsin Medical Assistance Purchase Plan (MAPP). MAPP is a work incentive program that allows people with disabilities who are working, or are interested in working, the ability to “buy‐in” to Medicaid. MAPP is intended to support people with disabilities by enabling them to pursue jobs and careers without jeopardizing access to health and long term care coverage.
The MAPP Reform & Sustainability bill (LRB 2576) proposes the following changes:
- Institute a $25 premium for all participants under 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and a $50 or more premium for everyone over 150% FPL based on premium calculation.
- Treat earned and unearned income the same in regards to eligibility and premium calculations.
- Recognize in‐kind work as a form of self‐employment.
- Determine eligibility on the basis of the individual participant’s income and assets.
- For participants with adjusted income above 250% FPL, deduct all medical, remedial and long term care expenses from income to determine eligibility.
- Give participants the ability to contribute to their independence/retirement accounts without risking penalty in other Medicaid programs once they can no longer work or they retire.
- Report annually on the number of participants in the program, hours worked, wages per hour, total income levels, and other metrics that demonstrate increasing employment levels for MAPP participants.
For a PDF of the proposed bill, click here.
If you would like to support the MAPP Reform & Sustainability bill (LRB 2576), you can contact your legislator and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. Your legislator can add their name in support of the bill through the close of business TODAY, September 29, 2015.
You can find out who your State Senator and State Representative is by typing in your address under the “Find My Legislator” section on http://legis.wisconsin.gov/
by MAKE IT SOAR | Jun 25, 2015 | Advocacy
Do you have a really cool job? Are you proud of the work you do? Do you want to show legislator what your day of work is really like? If so, think about participating in the Take Your Legislator to Work Campaign that is coordinated by the Wisconsin Board for People With Developmental Disabilities (WI BPDD)! By filling out the application below, you could bring your local legislator to your workplace, and show them what your community-integrated job is all about. Participants will also get a free t-shirt, and can have lots of pictures taken with your legislator! If you have questions regarding this program, please contact Mitch Cornils at [email protected], (920) 731-9831 x111 or Beth Moss at WI BPDD at [email protected].
Take Your Legislator to Work Application
Step 1: Give your supervisor the Employer Letter
Step 2: Fill out and drop off the application at SOAR Fox Cities (211 E. Franklin Street Suite A Appleton WI 54911), email it to [email protected], or send it to Beth Moss at 101 E. Wilson St., room 219 Madison, WI 53703 or [email protected].
Take Your Legislator to Work
by MAKE IT SOAR | Jun 11, 2015 | Advocacy
There is a proposed piece of federal legislation that would eliminate sub-minimum wage certificates to employers of individuals with disabilities. The Transitioning into Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act (H.R. 188), is currently in the House of Representatives. This bill would amend section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and would cease the issuing of any special wage certificates from the Department of Labor. These certificates permit working individuals with disabilities to be paid at a wage under the current federal minimum-wage limit of $7.25/hour. If this bill were enacted, the Secretary of Labor would cease issuing any new wage certificates. In terms of transition, for profit entities would have 1 year of their certificate remaining, government entities would have 2 years, and non-profits would have 3 years before their certificate would be revoked. These time frames would be from the date the bill was signed into law. For support of the bill, it is currently cosponsored by 39 Representatives (21 – D, 18 – R) without any Wisconsin Representatives currently cosponsoring the bill. If you have questions or comments, please contact Mitch Cornils at (920) 731-9831 x111, mitch@soarfoxcities, or contact your local legislator.
