Family Voices Indiana

By Emily McKinley, Health Information Specialist On December 16, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a bulletin further defining Essential Health Benefits (EHB), a critical element of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This provision of the act was initially designed and included in the legislation to ensure all Americans have affordable access to a comprehensive health care insurance policy. Essential Health Benefits define the categories of care that must be covered by all certified and non-grandfathered insurance plans beginning in January of 2014. (Grandfathered plans include some group and individual plans created and sold on or before March 23, 2010. For more information about grandfathered plans, please visit http://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/g/grandfathered-health.html .) Ten benefit categories are considered EHB. Those are: ambulating patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance use

Indiana Families and Professionals are invited to share their thoughts on early childhood systems and services by completing a short survey. Your input will support the work of The Sunny Start: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds initiative, a comprehensive, collaborative, statewide effort funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s (MCHB) Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems grant. The survey is online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/ s/SunnyStart If you prefer a paper version of the survey, please contact Sunny Start, ryrodger@iupui.edu , or Family Voices Indiana info@fvindiana.org If you have questions, please contact: Rylin Rodgers Emerald Consulting The Sunny Start Initiative ryrodger@iupui.edu 765 676 9262 Office 765 891 0075 Mobile 317-944-9760 Fax www.sunnystart.in.gov

Family Voices encourages its members to stay up-to-date on information that may affect their family. We've embedded the latest quarterly bulletin from DDRS to help you learn more about disability services in Indiana. We appreciate DDRS's efforts to share this information more readily with the public and we hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. Here are some highlights from the bulletin: DDRS Waiver Manual 2011 DDRS has added a Waiver Manual to the website to use as a guide for the DDRS’ Waiver program. Provider Questions and Answers Provider questions and answers from the October Quarterly Meetings are now posted on the BDDS web page under Quarterly Provider Meetings. This page will be updated after each Quarterly Meeting once all questions are complied and answered. Waiver Journey DDRS recently added the Waiver Journey to the website, which outlines how to apply for a waiver and the steps one goes through to receive services. BDDS and VR (Voc Rehab) Referra

Indiana's 2012 Legislative Session Welcome to the 6th edition of FV Indiana's Guide to the Legislative Session. This year brings a "short session" with the session that begins today, January 4, 2012 ending no later than March 14, 2012. This year the General Assembly will take a short break February 2 nd -7 th , because the Super Bowl held in Indianapolis will limit access to hotel rooms for out of town legislators. This session provides many opportunities for families to be involved, share your experience, and build relationships with legislators that will impact current and future decisions. This guide is intended to be a reference issue; in it you will find information on how a bill becomes a law, definitions and translations of acronyms, and information on the House and Senate leadership. We encourage you to contact your legislator, make the effort to introduce yourself, share your perspective and continue to build a relationship. Watch FV Indiana and other sour

Family Voices Indiana shares the following opportunity for you to share your voice about 911 accessibility. The Department of Justice is looking for your comments on making 911 more accessible and wants information on how individuals with disabilities use technology such as text, video, realtime texting, SMS, IM and email. The following is the podcast on Proposed regulations regarding equal access to 911 for individuals with disabilities. The podcast is provided in voice and American Sign Language (ASL) Commentary can be provided by visiting www.regulations.gov and searching for DOJ-CRT-2010-0007 or go to www.ada.gov .

FV Indiana knows that Medicaid waivers are very important to many Hoosier families. We appreciate that our members have been very involved in sharing your input about potential changes to the waiver system: both to your elected officials, and via community meetings with Julia Holloway (former DRRS director). As a reminder, the Medicaid Oversight Committee has been studying the proposed changes to the Medicaid waiver program originally included in HEA 1001 : ~Calculating budget neutrality on an individual basis ~Instituting a family care program ~ Evaluating placement options ~Requiring cost participation for families whose income exceeded 500% of the federal poverty level. Shane Spotts, Deputy Director of DDRS, will be sharing a draft report outlining potential changes with FSSA Secretary, Michael Gargano, and then it will be released to the public for further comment. Family Voices Indiana looks forward to working with FSSA, and other advocacy organizations, to keep y