Consumer/Participant Direction

Via IHSS Plus, participants are able to receive certain expanded in-home services as part of Medi-Cal. Before, payments for these services were not matched by a federal contribution and were administered through a separate program. The analysis looks at implementation and service use in 2005, compares recipients’ outcomes and institutionalization rates to those in the original IHSS program, and complements the State’s evaluation and other research on paying family caregivers.

Here are resources used to educate consumers about MN’s Consumer Directed Community Supports, Personal Care Assistance, and Road to Independence programs. The first handbook gives guidance on the processes and protections of consumer direction and also provides sample care plans and assessments. The handbook on personal care assistance is available in English, Somali and Vietnamese and reviews eligibility, management, and use of services. The last guide assists in moving out of an institution.

One-Stop Career Centers serve a diverse range of customers. These include individuals with a variety of educational and work backgrounds, as well as individuals with a wide range of disabilities and support needs. An effective way to serve this broad customer pool is to provide One-Stop services according to the principles of what is known as “universal design,” using common strategies that benefit many groups. This brief discusses the benefits of One-Stop services in detail.

Young people and their families are in the best position to make choices about working when they have good information about the impact of work on benefits. The Social Security and Medicaid/MassHealth programs have work incentives that can help young people give work a try, and provide a “safety net” in case the job does not work out. The purpose of this booklet is to give families and professionals working with young people some practical, hands-on information about work incentives.

Do you have questions about the different models of fiscal services in consumer-directed care? The first fact sheet compares the Fiscal/Employer Agent (either government or vendor), Agency with Choice, and Fiscal Conduit models. The second illustrates the factors that influence the costs of these different models.

Twelve states received Cash & Counseling Replication grants in October 2004. Here, the Replication States’ experiences in developing and implementing their new programs are documented in three stages: planning; design/development; and implementation/enrollment. The appendix includes summaries of the states' grant initiatives.

The three-year study examined relevant policy, program design, and cultural implications that may have an impact on enabling self-directed Medicaid beneficiaries to save money without losing benefits. Using extensive stakeholder engagement, six elements were studied: savings models; costs and benefits of self-direction; Federal tax policy; state policy context; participant needs; and an implementation plan.

Program history, outcomes and recommendation of areas for future study are summarized. The study was commissioned to compare participant demographics to another IL program; measure cost of services and administration and see what participants purchased; gauge satisfaction and unmet needs; and understand disenrollment rates and reasons.

As part of this Act, requirements were instituted involving the state's ADRCs and the global budgeting process used to support them. The Act provides specific directives that address financing and management plans, implementation and operation of the Medicaid LTC expenditure reforms, and requires an annual report, one of which is also included here, that documents reallocation of funds to home and community based care.

A central part of consumer direction is ability of the consumer to manage the budget and decide what to purchase. Evaluation data and anecdotes are given to show how this ability influences the outcomes of program participants.