CKSN UPDATE    May 1, 2003         ABC for Health. Inc.

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. CASE TIP:  Medicaid Mileage, Meals and Lodging Cost Reimbursement
2. CASE TIP:  Maximizing All Available Health Benefits for Your Child Through
HealthCheck
3. Federal Summer Internship Program
4. DisABILITIES Books Website is Open
5. Youth Employment Training in Tomahawk, WI
6. Exceptional Parent Magazine Website
7. Transition Websites of Interest
8. Waisman Center Training
9. Upcoming Western Region HealthWatch Meeting
10. New Resources on ABC for Health Website


1. CASE TIP:  MEDICAID MILEAGE, MEALS AND LODGING COST REIMBURSEMENT

Costs of mileage, meals and lodging are Medicaid reimbursable benefits.  The actual reimbursement amounts and process may vary from county to county, but certain guidelines are consistent and will save a family substantial travel expenses.  The travel cost reimbursement applies to Medicaid as well as the Medicaid Purchase Plan, SSI and Katie Beckett.

Start the process with a phone call is made to the Medicaid transportation reimbursement staff at the county department of human services informing the staff of the upcoming trip(s).  Papers would then be sent to the family, which would be stamped or signed at the provider's office verifying that the appointment was kept.  This is turned back to the mileage reimbursement staff, the distance is calculated, and a reimbursement check is sent to the family.

Meals for the patient and drivers may also be reimbursed if the receipts are provided and the trip extends over a mealtime.

Lodging, such as motel costs, may also be reimbursed if the appointment is before a certain time in the morning or an overnight stay is required to complete the care.  In some circumstances when the family cannot afford to pay for the motel, the reimbursement staff will call the motel to authorize payment or have prior agreements with certain motels in the area.  A maximum reimbursement rate may be set for motel costs per night.  Also the hospital social worker may be involved in securing an affordable motel in the area.

If a family has backdated their Medicaid eligibility, an inquiry should be made to have those costs that have already occurred be reimbursed

Occasionally a family may not agree with the distances calculated for various routes by the reimbursement staff.   A phone call or meeting with the county staff, may help resolve the issue. If a family is still not satisfied they can request a fair hearing to resolve the issue.  These appeal forms may be obtained at the county department of human services.



2. CASE TIP:  MAXIMIZING ALL AVAILABLE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR YOUR CHILD THROUGH HEALTH CHECK

Parents may not realize that certain services that they considered, or perhaps were told were told were not covered by Family Medicaid (including SSI and Katie Beckett) may be available through another eligibility feature that requires all medically necessary services identified pursuant to a "HealthCheck" screening be covered. In Wisconsin HealthCheck-known as EPSDT on a federal level-requires that all medically necessary services for children that are identified pursuant to a HealthCheck screening be covered. The result of this federal law means that many services that parents believe may not be covered for their children incurred including certain medically prescribed food, case management or care coordination services as well as certain pieces of durable medical equipment will be covered if they deemed to be medically necessary and covered by the Federal Medicaid plan.   

The following HealthCheck (EPSDT) websites might be of interest...
1) www.dhfs.state.wi.us/Medicaid2/handbooks/partd_d1/chapters.htm
2) www.nhelp.org/children.shtml#EPSDT
3) www.nhelp.org/pubs/19990323epsdtfact.html



3. FEDERAL SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The American Association of People with Disabilities and Microsoft Corporation announce a summer internship program designed for college and university students with disabilities.  The program will provide ten students interested in careers in information technology with an 11-week paid internship at a federal agency in Washington.  For more information, visit http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030219/sfw019_1.html or contact Karen Avery at Independence First in Milwaukee, www.independencefirst.org


4. DisABILITIES BOOKS WEB SITE IS OPEN

DisabilitiesBooks.com serves the community of individuals with disabilities and their families and friends as well as the professionals who provide services to the disability community. They are inviting non-profit organizations to become Nonprofit Partners.  Nonprofit Partners receive a portion of the proceeds of sales through their websites.  For more information, visit http://www.DisABILITIESBOOKS.com

5. YOUTH EMPLOYMENT TRAINING IN TOMAHAWK, WI
The following program is being offered in Tomahawk for northern
Wisconsin.  To get more information about this program, please go to the
following website: http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/hrtw/TRAINING.HTML

Creating the Vision: Communities that Value Employment Opportunities for
Youth with Disabilities
Thursday, May 22, 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.
CESA 9 office, 304 Kaphaem Rd., Tomahawk, WI 54487
	
This free interactive forum will discuss innovative ways that youth with disabilities can work successfully in jobs of their choosing within the community.  For questions about registration, contact Deb Blackstone at the Children with Special Health Care Needs Northern Regional Center (715) 365-8030.  For questions about forum content, contact Beth Swedeen at (608) 263-6745.



6. EXECPTIONAL PARENT WEBSITE

Exceptional Parent Magazine offers a website that features many of their print articles, as well as other information and support for the special needs community.  Their site is at: www.eparent.com


7. TRANSITION WEBSITES OF INTEREST

Tom Gloss, Director of the Healthy and Ready to Work Program at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. forwarded the following websites...

1) The Social Security Administration has changed its URL to
www.socialsecurity.gov If you go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/work/Youth/youth.html you will find lots of great information specifically about youth with disabilities, transition and employment issues.

2) The Federal Office of Personnel Management has a site at
http://www.studentjobs.gov/ that includes opportunities for youth with disabilities. Make sure to check out the e-Scholar link, which contains specific information about funding for education and employment!

3) The Department of Labor has a youth-focused site at
http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services/




8. WAISMAN CENTER TRAINING

The Spring Infoshare, Beyond Bingo:  Aging Gracefully with a Developmental Disability will be held in May 16 from 9 am until 4:30 pm at the Dane County Alliant Energy Center.  Cost is $25 per person for Dane County residents, $40 for persons outside of Dane County or $5 each for consumers and support staff attending together.  To register, call (608) 265-9440 or email comm..training@waisman.wisc.edu


9. UPCOMING WESTERN REGION HEALTHWATCH MEETING

The next Western Region HealthWatch meeting will be held on May 13 at 10:45 am at the Chippewa County Courthouse.  For more information, contact Rose Marsh at 1-800-400-3678

Other CKSN HealthWatch contacts are:
Southern Region:  Barbara Katz, ABC for Health, Inc., 608.261.6939 ext 207
Southeastern Region:  Brad Holman, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, 414.266.3189
Northern Region:  Deb Blackstone, Family Resource Connection, 715.365.8030
Northeastern Region:  Steve Gerczak, St. Vincent Hospital, 920.433.8154

10. NEW RESOURCES ON ABC FOR HEALTH WEBSITE

Two new resources, Managed Advocacy in Action and The HealthWatch ToolKit are available for download in a PDF format on the ABC for Health website, www.abcforhealth.org  

Managed Advocacy in Action is a plan for developing a comprehensive system of advocacy in health care on behalf of children with special health needs.  This resource reports on the development and operation of the Families MAP project, and also provides a flexible blueprint for the development and growth of managed advocacy programs in other communities.

The HealthWatch ToolKit is a tool for parents, advocates, providers and others interested in getting a group of people together to focus on health care coverage and access issues for children with special health needs.  It provides a step-by-step guide on creating and running a HealthWatch committee in your community.