Family Voices Indiana

February 2, 2018Joan Alker

Following the recent approval of Kentucky’s waiver, Indiana becomes the second major waiver approval by the Trump Administration which establishes more barriers to Medicaid coverage.
This is an unfortunate but not surprising turn of events. It’s worth noting that Indiana’s own evaluation shows numerous barriers to coverage already existing in Indiana’s HIP 2.0 program, yet these are not addressed – in fact they are likely to worsen under the new terms and conditions.
The most often highlighted of these is a work requirement – Indiana becomes the second state after Kentucky to receive CMS approval for this new approach – and likely the second state where litigation will be filed on this and other issues. (For a summary of the Kentucky case see National Health Law Program’s summary.)
Indiana’s work requirement has different twists and turns as compared to Kentucky’s (remember these waivers are extremely complex and hard to follow as I have said many times). Fo…

The Public Comment Period for Medicaid Waiver Renewal is Open The Indiana Family and Social Service Administration (FSSA) Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning (OMPP) and the Division of Aging (DA) intend to submit a proposed renewal to the Aged and Disabled Waiver (A&D) waiver and an updated version of the A&D waiver-specific Statewide. As part of the renewal process, FSSA is accepting public comment on the Waiver Renewal. To learn more about the renewal please click on the following link: http://www.in.gov/fssa/da/3476.htm The 30 day public comment period for the A&D renewal will run January 31, 2018 through March 2, 2018. Comments may be emailed to DAComments@fssa.IN.gov or mailed to the address below: FSSA–Division of Aging RE: A&D Renewal Public Comment
402 West Washington Street,
Room W454
P.O. Box 7083
Indianapolis, IN 46207

Part of parenting is being in charge of your child's medical care. Usually, it's no big deal. You take your child to the same doctor every time for routine checkups and sick visits, and that's about all you need to do. But what if your child has to see many doctors or spend a lot of time in hospitals? What if your child needs multiple tests and procedures? When your child has a serious injury or medical condition, things can get complicated — and costly — very quickly. You need an approach to medical care that is focused on your child in a way that will ensure the right type of care, delivered as quickly as possible by people who communicate with each other regularly — all at a price you can afford. You need what's called a "medical home" for your child. What Does the Term "Medical Home" Mean? A medical home isn't a place like a hospital or doctor's office. In fact, it's not a place at all. It's more like a way of keeping everything…

Contributed by Marci Wheeler, M.S.W.
The Consumer Education Fund (CEF) implemented by the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities (GPCPD) can help individuals with disabilities and family members with funding to participate in educational events. Educational activities include conferences, workshops, and other training formats as well as attendance at public forums, hearings, and task force meetings. The Consumer Education Fund (CEF) is designed and implemented to invest resources to support the participation of persons with disabilities and/or family members, who do not otherwise have the organizational or financial support, to attend educational events. Individuals or a sponsoring nonprofit agency or organization can request the forms and complete the paperwork. Upon request, an application that includes several forms, is promptly sent. Applications can be requested at any time and should be submitted no more than three months prior to the event. Completed applicatio…

Back in June, in a blog post I wrote about the stresses many of America’s 40 million family caregivers feel, I said: “Perhaps one day, Congress will pass something like the bipartisan Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act.” It recently did and President Trump has signed it into law. The RAISE Act aims to help relatives and partners who provide medical, household and financial assistance to loved ones. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine and a Next Avenue Influencer in Aging) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Representatives Greg Harper (R-Miss.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) spearheaded the legislation.
What the RAISE Family Caregivers Act Will Do
The RAISE Family Caregivers Act requires the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop, maintain and update an integrated national strategy to support family caregivers. And that support is sorely needed. “Family caregivers are the backbone of our care system in America. We need to make it easi…

from Center for Public Representation: The Money Follows the Person (MFP) Demonstration – first authorized in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 with strong bipartisan support and signed into law by President Bush – was designed to assist states with: (1) supporting Medicaid enrollees who want to transition from nursing facilities back to community-based settings; and (2) developing infrastructure to promote and enhance access to HCBS. Impact of Money Follows the Person Since its inception, 47 states have participated and over 75,000 individuals have been transitioned back to the community.According to independent evaluations by Mathematica:Participants report significant and lasting improvements in quality of life and community integration after returning to the community.Findings suggest that after individuals return to the community, their overall Medicare and Medicaid expenditures decrease by roughly 20%.States have made significant progress on “balancing” their long-term services a…

from AAP:
President Signs RAISE Family Caregivers Act
This week, the president signed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act (S.1028/H.R. 3759). This legislation, which AAP has actively pushed for over the past few years, requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop, maintain, and update a strategy to recognize and support family caregivers. The law also establishes a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to advise HHS on recognizing and supporting family caregivers. Family caregivers are of critical importance to children, especially the millions of children with special health care needs. Caregivers face financial, physical and emotional struggles as they provide much needed support for children such as transportation, medical care, feeding, care coordination and other activities.
This law takes important steps to engage the federal government and relevant stakeholders to start addressing the issues facing family caregive…