Family Voices Indiana

Family Voices Indiana hopes that its members will take advantage of opportunities to share the family voice in regards to policies that affect those with special health care needs and/or disabilities. This commission is charged with studying the proposed changes to the Medicaid waiver program originally included in HEA 1001. We encourage you to attend this meetings if at all possible: Select Joint Commission on Medicaid Oversight Tuesday, August 23 10 am State House 200 W. Washington St. Senate Chambers Indianapolis MEETING AGENDA (1) Update on implementation of the hybrid eligibility system. - Michael Gargano, Secretary, FSSA (2) Overview of preparation and development of healthcare exchanges and federal health care reform. - Seema Verma, Health Care Reform Lead (3) Overview of the Medicaid family planning State Plan Amendment. (4) Provider reimbursement rates and cost initiatives. - Pat Casanova, Director, OMPP (5) HP and MCOs contract p

Family Voices encourages its members to share the family perspective regarding these proposed changes. From DDRS: August 19, 2011 The Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) has made a commitment to transparency and public input in the policy development process. As a result, all new policies and policy updates will be posted online for public review and comment. The public comment period will last 30 business days from the date of posting, after which all policies will be removed from the website,, reviewed based on the public input, finalized and posted onto the DDRS Policy web page. The following policies will be posted on DDRS Draft Policies for Public Comment web page , on August 19, 2011 and will be available for review until September 19, 2011: Budget Allocations Providers Adding Counties and Services Provider Re-approval Transition Activities If you have any questions please e-mail DDRSpolicies@fssa.IN.gov

Family Voices shares this opportunity for you to share the family perspective with DDRS: The Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS), Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) invites the public to share comments regarding revisions to Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) Policy and Procedure Manual (PPM) Chapter: PPM 530-Post Secondary Training. INDIANAPOLIS September 19, 2011, Monday 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EDT) IN Government Center South Conference Center, Room 2 402 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46207 MISHAWAKA September 20, 2011, Tuesday 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (ET) Mishawaka Penn-Harris Public Library Lions Room, Lower Level 209 Lincoln Way East Mishawaka, IN 46545 BLOOMINGTON September 21, 2011, Wednesday 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT) IVY Tech Community College of Indiana Life Sciences Building, Room S102 501 North Profile Parkway Bloomington, IN 47404 An interpreter will be available at each public hearing location. You may view the PPM

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act introduced healthcare legislation to protect consumers, improve quality of care, lower overall costs of healthcare, and increase access to affordable care. Families raising children with special health care needs and/or disabilities were among the first to feel the impact of this legislation. Many families have benefited from the requirement that health plans cannot limit or deny benefits or deny coverage for a child younger than age 19 simply because the child has a “pre-existing condition”—that is, a health problem that developed before the child applied to join the plan; and the ability add or keep your children on your health insurance policy until they turn 26 years old. As we move closer to full implementation of the law in 2014 many of our members are interested in learning more about how it will impact them. We are excited by your interest and encourage you to stay engaged. One piece of the legislation that will touch many Hoosiers is th

This month's Family Voices Indiana newsletter features the DD Medicaid Waiver program in Indiana. For children with special health care needs and/or disabilities, this program is often crucial to support a child's long term needs. Since the waiting list is over 10 years long, it is important to apply now. A health information specialist can explain the program and help you apply. You can read more about this program by subscribing to our newsletter. Simply subscribe via Tiny Letter: http://tinyletter.com/fvindiana If you need more information or resources regarding Medicaid waivers or other health care financing options, please contact us at 317 944 8982 or email us via: Jennifer@fvindiana.org This Sunny Start sheet gives you an overview of the program: FS_MedicaidWaivers_DD (1)

Family Voices Indiana wants families to be aware of changes to services that they may need to access. According to a press release from Social Security: Effective August 15, 2011, Social Security field offices nationwide will close to the public 30 minutes early each day. For example, a field office that is usually open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will close daily at 3:30 p.m. “While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow us to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime for our employees,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. Many Social Security services do not require a visit to an office. For example, anyone wishing to apply for benefits, sign up for direct deposit, replace a Medicare card, obtain a proof of income letter or inform us of a change of address or telephone number may do so at www.socialsecurity.gov or