Family Voices Indiana

Brandi Kuhlenschmidt  serves as a Health Information Specialist for the  Evansville/Southwest Indiana region .  Brandi is mom to two daughters Audrey and Anna. Anna was diagnosed with Autism just before her third birthday.  Brandi was born and raised in Evansville and has spent the last several years learning to navigate the system to provide the best possible future for Anna.   Brandi is excited to work with Family Voices Indiana to help other families on their journey find all of the services and resources they need to give their loved one the supports they need. Brandi has spent the past fifteen years working with families and children in the not for profit sector and will use that experience, as well as all of the experience she has gained raising Anna, to help families educate themselves and feel empowered as they care for someone with a special health care need and/or disability.     Kate Sondgerath  is our specialist in the  Lafayette/Tippecanoe County  area. Kate is the mother

by Lauren Agoratus, FVNJ, SPAN  “Churn” in health care coverage means moving from health plan to health plan based on changes in eligibility.  If families of children with special health care needs have a change in income or life circumstances, such as getting or losing a job and insurance that goes with it, they and their child may lose or gain eligibility for different health care plans.  And, families whose income fluctuates during the year may lose or gain Medicaid or CHIP coverage.   Such churn often causes disruptions in coverage, even if a child becomes eligible for a public program due to a decrease in income. Good News/Bad News The Commonwealth Fund discovered that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will help families who have income or life changes by not dropping coverage completely.  However, there is concern about what will happen when children with disabilities move back and forth between Qualified Health Plans (QHP) in the Marketplace and Medicaid or CHIP (State

Family Voices shares this important information from CMS: Administration has closed approximately 450,000 citizenship and immigration status data matching cases and another 210,000 are in progress; warns remaining consumers to respond quickly or their Marketplace coverage could end The Federal Health Insurance Marketplace began sending notices this week to consumers with a citizenship or immigration data matching issue (also called an inconsistency) who have not responded to previous notices via mail, email, and phone. While the Federal Marketplace has already received documents and cleared a large number of data inconsistencies related to citizenship or immigration status, consumers who have not yet responded must act now and submit supporting documents by September 5 or their Marketplace coverage will end on September 30. A citizenship or immigration data matching issue can happen when the information reported in a consumer’s application, such as a Social Security or Per

The Indiana State Department of Health’s Sunny Start: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds initiative is a comprehensive, collaborative, statewide effort to implement a strategic plan to support a coordinated system of resources and supports for young children from birth through age five and their families. Sunny Start , in collaboration with  Family Voices Indiana , has updated a series of financial fact sheets to aid families in locating and understanding important resources to assist them and their children, including those with special healthcare needs. These fact sheets are an overview of state and federal programs that support the health and well-being of children. They include eligibility guidelines when applicable, and link the family or professional with the appropriate agency. Families and professionals find these fact sheets to be easily understood and a reliable source of information. The recent update assures that they include any recent changes to these programs. Th