Family Voices Indiana

Family Voices is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for the health and well-being of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families. We are extremely concerned about the separation of immigrant children from their families because of the dangers it poses for children with pre-existing special health care needs and the strong likelihood that it will harm the health of all of the separated and detained children. Children and youth with special health care needs include those with medical conditions, mental health challenges, and physical, developmental or intellectual disabilities. These range from the apparent (e.g., cerebral palsy or other significant physical or intellectual disabilities) to the invisible, subtle, or intermittent (e.g., autism, anxiety disorders, epilepsy, and depression). Given the prevalence of CYSHCN in the United States – about one in five children– it is inevitable that some of the immigrant children now in custody

Author: Susan Agrawal • Original Date: 11/19/2015 In 2008, we published an article on writing winning insurance appeal letters in Complex Child Magazine. It has always been one of our most popular articles, and has been shared and excerpted thousands of times. Since 2008, however, the insurance appeals process has changed slightly, providing more routes of appeal for most families. In addition, insurance plans that are part of the marketplaces set up by the Affordable Care Act have greater protections that allow for different types of appeals. In order to include this new information, we are updating the original article below to include the recent changes in appeals. STEP 1: TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND PREPARE FOR THE FIGHT Like most parents of children with disabilities, you are likely to receive numerous denials from your insurance company. Insurance companies rely on the fact that most people are too busy to appeal, or that they do not understand that they have the right to app

Independence Day Special! Congressional Recess Members of both the House and Senate are on recess until they return for legislative business July 9 th , which means your senators and representative will be home and more accessible. Action Steps: Meet with your members of Congress or their staff, or invite them to visit you. Connect with them at a public event and ask a question. Submit an op-ed to your local paper. Use Facebook or Twitter to engage your members of Congress. Budget and Appropriations The House Appropriations full committee markup has been postponed until after the July recess citing scheduling conflicts. The draft report for the House FY19 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is available on the  House Appropriations Committee website . HRSA, which includes LEND, begins on page 19. The vast majority of disability program saw no change from FY18.  On June 26, the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appr

Charting the LifeCourse Focusing on Adulthood 4Pager by Family Voices Indiana on Scribd

Learn more about the important Medicaid and disability issues your members of Congress need to hear more about: Get involved!   You can help protect Medicaid by telling  your Members of Congress to: SUPPORT  the  EMPOWER Care Act  to fund the Money Follows the Person program (House & Senate). SUPPORT  the  bills  on Electronic Visit Verification that delays implementation requirements for personal care services for a year (House & Senate). OPPOSE  the  bills  that would prioritize institutional care in Institutions for Mental Illness (IMDs) over community based care (House &Senate). OPPOSE  any  spending cuts  in the federal budget that would hurt people with disabilities and the Medicaid program (House & Senate). Call your  Members of Congress : Call the Capitol Switchboard at:  (202) 224-3121 (voice)   or  (202) 224-3091 (tty) and ask to be connected to your senators or representatives. You can use this  easy tool  to find your members of Congress

The Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services, Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services would like to announce that Caregiver Support Services funds will be available for the fiscal year 2019 beginning July 1, 2018. The purpose of Caregiver Support Services is to provide short-term relief for the primary caregiver to the extent state funds are available during fiscal year 2019 (i.e., July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019 ).  Caregiver Support Services may be approved and accessed to: an individual that meets the state definition of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities level of care  and the primary caregiver selects an eligible provider.  Please note: Caregiver Support Services will not be available to the primary caregiver if the individual is receiving  or begins to  receive similar services from any other State or Medicaid funded program.  The Caregiver Support Services is 100 percent state funded and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Prev

UPCOMING WEBINARS AND CALLS Leveraging Digital Tools to Treat Patients along the Continuum of Care Wednesday, July 11, 2:00-3:00 ET FierceHealthCare/Appian (one presenter is from Nemours Children's Hospital)   Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Policymakers and Practitioners Wednesday, July 11, 4:00-5:00 ET The Dibble Institute   NEW  Assistive Technology Resources for Family Caregivers and Respite Care Providers Announced Thursday, July 12, 2:00-3:00 ET The AT3 Technical Assistance and Training Center    NEW  Where the Magic Happens: A Guide to Grassroots Organizing for Consumer-Driven Delivery Reform! Thursday,   July 12, 2:00-3:00 ET Community Catalyst Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation To learn about the guide,  Where the Magic Happens: A Guide to Grassroots Organizing for Consumer-Driven Delivery Reform !   NEW  Putting Medicaid to Work Tuesday, July 17, 1:00-2:00 ET USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalis