This Beyond the Basics town hall was held on May 11, 2020.

The town hall featured presentations from Sarah Lueck and Tara Straw, who provided an overview of updates on eligibility and enrollment issues. They also answered some frequently asked questions on SEPs, COBRA, and estimating income.

The town hall was an open forum for questions about eligibility and enrollment in marketplace coverage, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent federal legislation meant to address it.

From Health Reform: Beyond the Basics.  

Health Reform: Beyond the Basics is a project of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities designed to provide training and resources that explain health coverage available through Medicaid, CHIP, and the Marketplace. It is aimed at navigators, advocates, state and local officials and others who help consumers get and keep their health coverage.

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Paid Leave

Guide and Forms for Requesting Leave or Accommodations

The Center for WorkLife Law has issued Guides for Requesting Leave or Accommodations Needed Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic. From that page, you can click through specific topics to find fillable forms with all the information required legally required for an employer to grant a leave request. EXAMPLE: Request for Paid Sick Leave – for Caring for an Individual Who Has Been Advised to Stay Home or Self-Quarantine Because of Coronavirus.

Compilation of Families First and CARES Act paid leave benefits:



• Who has access to COVID-19 emergency leave benefits? (simple chart)

• More detailed chart

• Annotated chart (most detail) This comprehensive chart includes full details explaining who is - and who is not - included in benefits, as well as an overview of the benefits.

The above were developed by the Ohio Women's Public Policy Network, Policy Matters Ohio, PL+US, and Innovation Ohio, but are applicable nationwide. They are current as of April 30, 2020, and will be updated as needed based on additional legislative measures or rules. No applicable federal legislation has been enacted since then.

See also Paid Sick Days and Paid Leave Provisions in FFCRA and CARES Act [online; PDF] (Center for Law and Social Policy, 5/6/20)

Announcement from Indiana Disability Rights

Indiana's Primary Election Day is TOMORROW (June 2, 2020) and IDR staff will be available to answer your Election Day questions. Call 1-800-622-4845 from 6:00am - 7:00 pm (EDT) an we will respond to your call. If you don't talk to one of our staff directly, leave a voicemail with your name and your contact phone number and DO NOT leave your polling location. We will return your call as as soon as possible. 

Stimulus Payments & Representative Payees-What You Need to Know

From the National Center on Law & Elder Rights

Stimulus Payments & Representative Payees-What You Need to Know by Family Voices Indiana on Scribd

Changes to Indiana health coverage application processing during public health emergency

Effective May 22, 2020 and for the duration of the public health emergency, the Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning is relaxing certain rules when applying for health coverage benefits. Eligibility will be determined based on answers given on the application (or at an interview) and will not require supporting documentation. The Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) may reach out for documentation after the public health emergency declaration is lifted.   Important Information for Navigators: FSSA will continue to use electronic data sources to verify income, citizenship status and other eligibility factors whenever possible. If the information from these sources conflicts with the information on the application, FSSA may ask for paper documentation. Every question on the application should be answered. If questions are left blank, FSSA will not be able to determine eligibility and may ask for documentation or deny the application. For example, if the consumer has no income, they should not leave the question blank but should instead report “No”. Where the application asks for an income amount, they should enter $0 if they have no income. If the consumer has a job but is not currently working, they should include the employer’s name and indicate $0 income.

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From Cover Kids & Families of Indiana

Recruiting 8-10 families for Newborn Screening Content Focus Group

Family Voices, in partnership with Expecting Health, is recruiting 8-12 families to participate in a content focus group for Expecting Health’s newborn screening (NBS) education training program, Navigate Newborn Screening.

 

Families will be asked to complete a brief pre-test via Survey Monkey. Once they have completed the Survey Monkey pre-test, they will next be asked to complete the Navigate Newborn Screening module. Finally, after completing the pre-test, participants will be asked to complete a post-test via Survey Monkey. After the completion of the post-test, families will participate in a call to discuss your experience with the training.

 

Recruitment Criteria

 

Eligible participants will be:

 

·       Expectant parents

·       New parents (within 2 years of birth)

·       Families affected by NBS condition

·       Someone with a NBS condition

We are have a particular interest in getting the feedback of families that are members of underserved communities, including:

 

·       Rural and frontier families

·       Racially and culturally diverse families

·       Families that are economically disadvantaged

·       Families that are Medicaid eligible based on household income

 

Compensation

Family leaders who participate will be compensated a total of $200 for their time. Family leaders will be asked to sign a compensation contract.

 

If you fit the criteria and are interested in participating, please complete this survey,

 https://forms.gle/oUWGmS2gMq5RihB7A.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Allysa Ware at anware@familyvoices.org

Participant-directed attendant care and home care services available for A&D Waiver July 1, 2020

Participant-directed Attendant Care and Home Care Services Available for a&D by Family Voices Indiana on Scribd