Family Voices Indiana

Any day now, the Trump administration is expected to publish new rules that will expand access to short-term, limited duration insurance (STLDI). The proposed rule would allow STLDI plans to extend up to almost a full year, along with other changes that enable consumers to purchase STLDI as an alternative to comprehensive insurance products currently sold on the individual market. STLDI does not have to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) consumer protections, such as the requirement to provide coverage of essential health services or the prohibition against denying coverage to sick people or charging them higher premiums. Recently, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releasedprojections of the impact of the STLDI rule. The federal agency predicted that 2 million people will enroll in STLDI plans once the rule is finalized. They also estimated that less than 500,000 of those people will end up purchasing plans that do not meet the agency’s definition of health i…

If your child has behaviors that impede his learning or the learning of others at school, be sure to ask about a functional behavior assessment and behavior plan.

On August 1, the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule on "short-term, limited-duration" insurance (STLDI) plans. See HHS press release. Under this rule, insurers will be able to offer insurance policies that do not offer the same "essential health benefits" or consumer protections that apply to plans meeting the standards of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Such STLDI plans were permitted under the ACA, intended for people transitioning between jobs or needing temporary coverage for some other reason. Under regulations issued by the Obama administration, these plans were limited to a maximum period of less than three months. Under the new rule, STLDI plans can cover an initial period of less than 12 months, and, taking into account any extensions, a maximum duration of no longer than 36 months in total. Premiums for these plans will be less expensive than premi…

MEDICAID RESOURCES A new report from the Georgetown Center on Children and Families (CCF) - Medicaid and CHIP Provide Health Coverage for Many School-Age Children, Yet Gaps Remain - provides state-level data on Medicaid coverage for children ages 6 through 18. The related blog post links to the school-district-level data on the percent of children on Medicaid. The Georgetown Center on Children and Families (CCF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have updated their state snapshots on children's Medicaid and CHIP coverage. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has developed state-specific EPSDT reports provide detailed information about each state Medicaid program's Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefits and how they compare to the AAP/ Bright Futures 4th edition guidelines and recommendations. The reports also outline the state's quality performance information on pediatric preventive care measures and best practices.…

MARCH 8, 2016 - 11 MINUTES READ
Reshared from mofamilytofamily.org, 4/29/2015: An attendee from a LifeCourse presentation contacted us with a question about the LifeCourse framework.  Here is the response that our director, Sheli Reynolds, sent: The two questions you asked about were:  Applying life course with non-verbal person Adult person who has developmental disability so behavior capabilities remain in younger life stage The LifeCourse framework and its tools are designed to assist anyone to think about what they want in their life and to then break that down into manageable steps to moving towards that vision, regardless of communication style or abilities. It is the person that is using the tool that must identify ways to communicate with the person to understand what they need or want. For a person who is non-verbal, it’s typically the family or a close caregiver that can interpret the things that make this person happy. My brother is 32.  He communicates using words, but does n…

from Center for Public Representation:



Thanks to your efforts, a billdelaying Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) for a year was signed by the President on July 30, 2018.  The new law extends by a year the deadline for states to implement EVV and gives more opportunities for stakeholder input.  Advocates like you have more time to work with Congress, the federal agency implementing EVV (CMS), and, most importantly, your state to address the significant concerns with EVV and its potential impacts on people with disabilities.

July 31, 2018 Read this statement online in full text and in plain language (PDF) text. The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is a national organization that supports the right of self-determination for individuals with intellectual and other disabilities. After carefully reviewing opinions that fail to affirm this right and jeopardize access to healthcare for people with disabilities, AUCD has decided to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. “The appointment of Judge Kavanaugh threatens civil rights protections for people with disabilities including access to healthcare,” said Andrew Imparato, Executive Director of AUCD. “Judge Kavanaugh’s record on the D.C. Circuit has failed to support the critical principle of self-determination for people with intellectual disabilities and the importance of access to healthcare for millions of Americans with disabilities.” Two cases in Judge Kavanaugh’s record form the primary basi…

This booklet is for youth who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and their parents, teachers, health providers, caregivers, or representatives. Your SSI could change when you turn 18 as you prepare to transition to higher education and employment. Many services and supports are available from Social Security, and other federal and state agencies to help you prepare for a successful transition to adulthood.

EN-05-11005 by Family Voices Indiana on Scribd

Sparrow Rose Jones

Sometimes a parent of an Autistic child will dismiss what I have to say about autism. One would think that 47 years of living Autistic would give me some measure of insight, but they say, "you're not like my child. You are so high functioning. You drive a car. You have university degrees. You write so clearly and articulately. My child's autism is severe. My child will never do those things. You're so functional, I can't even think of you as having autism at all."

I've written a fair bit about how painful those kinds of statements are to me. I've talked about how dismissive it is of me, my experiences, my struggles, my failings and my accomplishments. Telling me I'm "not impaired enough" to even call myself autistic reduces me to a static snapshot of this moment in time -- worse, of someone else's perception of this moment in time. There is so much of me they cannot see in plain text on the internet. They have look…