• Accessing Training Funds
• Supplemental Security Income
• Indiana’s Family Supports Medicaid Waiver (FSW) and the Community Integration and Habilitation Medicaid Waiver (CIH)

Indiana’s Family Supports Medicaid Waiver (FSW) and the Community Integration and Habilitation Medicaid Waiver (CIH) Go into Effect September 1st

Contributed by Marci Wheeler, MSW

 

On September 1, 2012, The NEW Family Supports Waiver will replace the Support Services Waiver.  All those individuals who receive services under the Support Services Waiver will, as of 9/1/12, receive services under the Family Supports Waiver. 

The NEW Family Supports Waiver will:

·  Raise the annual cost limit of an individual’s budget to $16,250 with gradual increases of this amount anticipated in the future.

·  Add a new service called Participant Assistance and Care which will provide another level of support for the individual in their own home or in the family home.

·  Once again, furnish Case Management as a distinct activity to waiver participants.

·  Allow eligible individuals ages 18 through 24, who have aged out, graduated, or permanently exited from their school setting, to enter waiver services without waiting, if funded slots are available.

·  Be used as the basic entry point to receive waiver services. Anyone applying for a Medicaid waiver, through the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Field Services Office (BDDS), for someone with a developmental disability (which includes autism, Asperger Syndrome and PDD/NOS), will apply for the Family Supports Waiver (FSW).

Below are all services that are covered under Indiana’s Family Supports Waiver:
 
·       Adult Day Services
·       Case Management
·       Prevocational Services
·       Respite
·       Supported Employment Follow-Along
·       Occupational Therapy
·       Physical Therapy
·       Psychological Therapy
·       Speech/Language Therapy
·       Behavioral Support Services
·       Community-Based Habilitation - Group
·       Community-Based Habilitation - Individual
·       Facility-Based Habilitation - Group
·       Facility-Based Habilitation - Individual
·       Facility-Based Support Services
·       Family and Caregiver Training
·       Intensive Behavioral Intervention
·       Music Therapy
·       Participant Assistance and Care
·       Personal Emergency Response System
·       Recreational Therapy
·       Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies
·       Transportation
·       Workplace Assistance

The BDDS Office is where you can get an Application Packet to apply for the FSW. To locate your local Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services (BDDS) Office, visit their website at http://www.in.gov/fssa/files/BDDS.pdf.

Important: Community Integration and Habilitation Medicaid Waiver
Effective September 1, 2012 there will no longer be an Autism Waiver or a Developmental Disabilities Waiver (DD Waiver). Please note the changes to take place:

·  For those on the DD Waiver, the name will change, as of September 1st, to the Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (CIH).

·  For those on the Autism Waiver, they will be transferred to the Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (CIH).

For those that will be on the Community Integration and Habilitation Medicaid Waiver (CIH) as of 9/1/12:

·  Case Management will be added as a Waiver service to the CIH Waiver.

·   For those with Adult Foster Care services through the CIH Waiver, the name of the service will change to Structured Family Caregiving.

·  The Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver will be used as a "needs based" waiver ONLY for people who meet specific criteria. To move onto the CIH waiver, an individual must meet specific eligibility/priority criteria, which is still being developed.

Updates to Medicaid Waivers Waiting List Status as of 9/1/12

As of September 1st, ALL those on the waiting list for DD and/or Autism Waivers (now to be combined into CIH Waiver) and Support Services Waiver (now to be called Family Supports Waiver) will be put on the waiting list for Family Supports Waiver according to their earliest application date.

The Division of Developmental Disability and Rehabilitative Services understands that there are individuals who have been waiting for years for Medicaid waivers and who are near the top of the Autism or DD Waiver waiting lists. They want to work with individuals who are in this situation on a case by case basis to determine how they should be served through the FSW or the CIH Waiver.

If your family member is already on the Medicaid waiver waiting list though the BDDS Office, you can check their status on the waiting list by using the following portal: http://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/4328.htm.

Updates of Waiver Service Case Management: Providers as of 9/1/12
 
These programs are approved to provide case management as a waiver service as of 9/1/12:

·  Advocacy Links, LLC, 574-229-5065

·  Columbus Medical Services, Inc./The Columbus Organization, 610-592-0292

·  Indiana Professional Management Group, Inc. (IPMG), 317-585-5944

·  Unity of Indiana, 317-458-0113
 

For further help in understanding Indiana’s upcoming Medicaid Waiver changes, and/or assistance in applying for the Family Supports Medicaid Waiver, contact an advocacy organization.  Family Voices is a one such organization. To check on Waiver changes posted by Family Voices, visit their website at http://www.fvindiana.org  or call 317-944-8982.

Arc of Indiana (http://www.arcind.org/) can also be helpful with these types of questions. For further help in understanding Indiana’s upcoming Medicaid Waiver changes and/or assistance in applying for the Family Supports Medicaid Waiver, contact the Arc of Indiana at 800-382-9100 and ask to speak with a Family Advocate.