Family Voices Indiana

The Arc of Indiana Legislative Memo January 12, 2018 The Indiana General Assembly ended its first full week of work with many committee hearings and mostly the dropping of bills lists. We are still waiting for all filed bills to be made public and we expect that to take place early next week. As a reminder, this session is a short session set to adjourn by statute on  March 14 . The Arc of Indiana has already started reading and tracking bills and will keep you updated as bills of interest to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are released.  Governor Eric Holcomb provided his second State of the State address this week. Workforce issues were the first item he addressed. As the Governor laid out his goals it was clear that people with disabilities could play a huge role in meeting his objectives. We will be talking to his office and others in his administration to share our thoughts about his employment agenda and make sure they are thinking about people wi

In America today, we all need health insurance. You do. Your kids do. It's not a "nice to have" anymore — it's a "must-have." And that's the law. In most cases, parents who aren't covered (or don't have their kids covered) by health insurance might have to pay a fine each year. Going without also means that if someone gets sick or is injured, a family might have to pay all the bills for care received. That can cost a whole lot more than paying for coverage. To help people get health insurance, the federal and state governments set up a health insurance marketplace (also called the health care exchange). This makes it easier than ever to get coverage, but the process can seem a bit confusing. Here's what to do to get health insurance. Getting Started Before you look for a health insurance plan, check to see if you or your child can get coverage some other way. The government considers a person covered if they have Medicare, Medicaid,

  The Indiana Department of Insurance recommends you review these five policies at the beginning of the new year. Indianapolis — Make a resolution to review your policies and coverage. The start of a new year is a great time to reevaluate your insurance coverage needs. Changing circumstances may require updated policies. Did you have a baby? Get married? Purchase a new home or car? Indiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Stephen W. Robertson warns Indiana consumers not to assume anything when it comes to their coverage, “Check to make sure you have the right protection. Be sure to contact your agent if you have any questions about your coverage. Making sure you are properly covered will help alleviate financial surprises in the future.” Your agent or company can help determine whether your coverage is adequate or if you might need to make adjustments. Even if you haven't experienced a life-changing event, you could be eligible for discounts or new insurance products tha

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 : National Day of Action to #SaveCHIP! This week marks  100 days  since Congress  failed to extend   full funding  for the successful, bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides 9 million U.S. children and pregnant women with comprehensive and affordable health care coverage.  Since CHIP funding expired on September 30,   2017, Congress has only managed to enact t emporary, inadequate funding patches, delivered at the last possible moment with no comprehensive relief or assurance to states .  This has manufactured an emergency with real consequences for children, families and pregnant women, and for the states, which operate CHIP programs. In fact, states are already notifying families that they may not have a source of health coverage for their children, should Congress fail to enact a long-term extension of CHIP funding. How you can help: Join the nation’s leading children’s health, medical and advocacy organ

At a moment of reckoning in the United States about sexual harassment and sexual assault, a yearlong NPR investigation finds that there's little recognition of a group of Americans that is one of the most at risk: adults with intellectual disabilities. The series starts on  Monday, January 8  and runs through  January 18th . Jan 8 : Morning Edition. Correspondent Joe Shapiro talks about the series with host Steve Inskeep Jan 8 : All Things Considered: The epidemic of sexual abuse of people with intellectual disabilities. Numbers obtained by NPR show they are sexually assaulted at rates more than 7 times those for all adults without disabilities.   Jan 9 : Morning Edition: A visit to a Sex Ed class for people with intellectual disabilities. They talk about how they want relationships, but how the sexual violence of their past often gets in the way.   Jan 10 : All Things Considered: On cases that go unnoticed when people have difficulty commun