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History of the Accomplishments of the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant

1. Medicaid Purchase Plan

The Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) Advisory Council developed the Louisiana Medicaid Buy in Program (Medicaid Purchase Plan, or MPP) was developed. The MPP was passed unanimously, authorized by Act 207 of the 2003 Legislature and signed by Governor Mike Foster on June 5, 2003.  Implementation went into effect in January 2004.

The central idea of MPP is that disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to: live independently; enjoy self-determination; make choices; contribute to society; pursue meaningful careers; and enjoy full inclusion and integration in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational mainstream of American society.

Funded at $500,000 yearly - 2002 thru 2009

  • MIG Advisory Council
  • Statewide Job Fairs
  • Disability Surveys
  • WIPA Extended Hours
  • AT Marketplace, Demonstration Program, & Loan Program
  • Work Pays Coalition

 

Requirements:

  • Must be at least age 16 but not yet age 65
  • Must have a ‘severe’ disability
  • At least equal to SSA listing criteria
  • Agency determines ‘disability’ if not receiving SS benefits
  • NO requirement to have or to use a ‘Ticket to Work’
  • Must be employed
  • Defined as working and paying taxes
  • NO minimum earnings Requirement

The MIG also implemented the Family Opportunity Act , which was created through the Federal Deficit Act of 2005 and implemented by the Louisiana Legislature in 2007.  The program went into effect October 1, 2007.  This program addresses the needs of children with disabilities born on or after October 1, 1995. The age increased to cover children with disabilities up to age 19 effective October 1, 2008.  As of March 2009, 383 children were enrolled with an additional 32 pending applications.

 

 

2. Job Fairs

In 2004 the Medicaid Purchase Plan through its Louisiana Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (LAMIG) began funding job fairs during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) that it continues to fund. These events occur on various dates in October in nine regions throughout the state.

The job fairs are designed to give persons with disabilities who are job ready full access to employers in one location to help them find jobs.  These events put talented individuals in direct contact with potential employers and give the employer an opportunity to meet face to face with potential employees. Anyone can attend the job fairs.  They are open to the general public; however employers are made aware that people with disabilities are the target population.

The job fairs have been coordinated by several lead agencies including Louisiana Workforce Commission’s Disability Program Navigator Initiative, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS), and Louisiana Business Leadership Network. Each local event is conducted by many agencies, organizations, groups and businesses to include the local Chambers of Commerce, Goodwill Industries, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), the Social Security Administration (SSA),  the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), APSE, the Advocacy Center, and LSU HDC.
Over the seven years of the job fairs, 1,300 businesses have participated across the state and 12,502 job seekers have come in search of employment.

 

3. Work Incentives Seminar Event

Work Incentive Seminar Events (WISE) are a Social Security Administration sponsored lecture sessions designed to disseminate information on various SSA sponsored initiatives to encourage SSA beneficiaries to seek and/or maintain employment.  Many SSA beneficiaries are wary of working while receiving SSA benefits, and rightly so.  Until the Ticket to Work legislation was created, SSA beneficiaries could be penalized for working while receiving SSA benefits (cancellation of benefits, for example).  However, with the Ticket to Work legislation, beneficiaries are now able to test their abilities to work while having a safety net of retaining benefits should medical or related issues prevent long-term employment.

In Louisiana, the Louisiana Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (Louisiana WIPA) Coalition, a partnership between LSUs Health Development Center and the Advocacy Center) is responsible for hosting and delivering Work Incentives Seminar Events (WISE) presentations.  WISE presentations began as stand-alone efforts.  However, in the past 3 years, Louisiana WIPA Coalition has partnered with the Louisiana Job Fair Committees to make WISE a part of the October Job Fairs. This collaboration has been beneficial to both efforts, as each has helped the other reach a larger audience.  Many job seekers are SSA beneficiaries who need work incentive information, and many beneficiaries, encouraged by the WISE presentations, use the job fairs to seek employment.

Both the WISE presentations and Job Fairs have received significant support from the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG).  The MIG has assisted by drawing community and partner agency support, promoting and advertising the WISE and Job Fairs, and providing logistical and supply support for the actual events.

WISE statistics
Advocacy Center WISE Events  2007-2010

2007- 165
2008- 178
2009- 193
2010- 132

 

4. Work Incentive Planning & Assistance (WIPA) Services

WIPA was established to provide information and advice on how work impacts Social Security benefits.  Services are available statewide and FREE of charge to SSI & SSDI beneficiaries.

Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) are trained and certified by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide advice and follow along services to help beneficiaries understand how work impacts SSA benefits and how work incentives can improve their success in employment.

Beneficiaries of Social Security often fear losing health care coverage or losing their SSI or SSDI benefits if they go back to work. CWICs can provide valuable information on available work incentives that will allow an individual to secure, maintain or advance in their employment, while maintaining necessary benefits.

 

5. Work Pays

Work  PAY$ is a consortium of agencies working together to increase the employment opportunities of person with disabilities in Louisiana.  Work Pay$ seeks to address employment barriers and obstacles to employment in Louisiana by understanding and collaborating to improve the available resources and services of the consortium.  Work Pay$ promotes a central message by communicating and demonstrating that people with disabilities make valuable contributions to Louisiana through employment.

 

6. High Level Leadership Council (HLLC)

The High Level Leadership Council (HLLC) is funded by the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) and is made up of over 50 State, non-profit, and consumer stakeholders. 

The Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) Director formed the HLLC to address employment barriers faced by persons with disabilities.  The Advocacy Center is the lead agency charged with supporting the activities, logistics and coordinating monthly meetings. The HLLC will develop a 5-year strategic plan to address gaps in employment and provide realistic actions steps to address these gaps. 

The HLLC meets monthly in Baton Rouge and will convene in December 2010 to finalize the strategic plan for submission to the Center for Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval. The Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) is the lead agency charged with writing the strategic plan. Upon approval of the strategic plan, MIG will move into the implementation phase with a projected start date of January 2011. To ensure full participation and input from the HLLC, sub-committees were established and are tasked with specific duties.    See below for details.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission in collaboration with the Work Pay$ coalition will lead the implementation of the strategic plan. For additional information on the HLLC, meeting dates and copies of meeting minutes, please visit Work Pay$ at www.work-pays.org and view the High Level Leadership Council page.

The HLLC sub-committees listed below will address the following activities:

HLLC Sub- Committees

Constituency
Tasked with evaluating the membership of the HLLC and ensure that as many agencies, efforts, programs and disabilities are represented. This committee will identify existing and potential partners necessary to the strategic planning process.

Data
Tasked with evaluating existing data sources, securing data necessary to the strategic plan process and identifying strengths and weaknesses in current data processes.  Further, this committee will address the data collection needs to be addressed in the strategic plan.

 Environmental
Tasked with developing a comprehensive snapshot of Louisiana’s employment environment.  Specifically this committee will describe and evaluate existing services to support people with disabilities in employment.  The economic, demographic and geographic environments of Louisiana should also be described.

Sustainability
Tasked with developing a plan for implementation of the strategic plan; identifying the sustainability plans of programs and services; identifying funding streams and collaborations and; ensuring that programs affiliated with the strategic plan have sustainability throughout the life of the plan.

 

7. Work Pays$ Tip Sheets

The Work Pay$ Tips Sheets were created by the MIG Council to provide accurate and easy to read information on various employment-related topics.  The development process was tedious but the results are truly exceptional.  MIG council members worked through several versions of tip sheets until a product that was both useful and understandable by its readers was finalized!

Throughout the years, the tip sheets have been shared with and used by MIG programs such as: the Louisiana's MIG, Work Pays, Work Incentives Planning & Assistance (WIPA) Coalition, High Level Leadership (HLLC) Council and other agencies. Due to the popularity and use of the tip sheets, two additional tip sheets entitled “Self Employment” and “Overpayment” are currently being developed by the MIG Council.

Tip Sheets previously developed by the MIG Council include:
1. Ticket to Work
2. Disability Benefits and Work
3. Looking For A Job
4. Knowing Your Rights
5. Supports to Work
6. After High School
7. Taxes

 

8. Medicaid Purchase Plan New Member Guide

Louisiana’s Medicaid Purchase Plan (MPP) Member Guide is designed to assist people with disabilities who are employed or returning to employment. The MPP Member Guide helps members to understand its benefits and services, and it provides information on other disability supports and services. 

The guide is divided into several sections which include:  abbreviations and acronyms, eligibility, Medicaid rights, member responsibilities to Medicaid, covered services, premiums, other health insurance, MPP services, Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Advisory Council, helpful contacts, and resources.

MPP has served a caseload over 82,857 members.  Over 14,022 applications were received and over 4,878 were approved for services.

 

9. Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Advisory Counsel

Established in 2001 by Senate Concurrent Resolution 79 and 2002 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 47, the Louisiana Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) Advisory Council is comprised of consumer, advocates and agency stakeholders from more than 25 statewide organizations and agencies.

            Some organization and agency stakeholders partners include:

  • Developmental Disabilities Council
  • HIB/AIDS Alliance
  • Independent Living Council
  • Mental Health Association
  • Mental Health Planning Council
  • NAMI-Louisiana
  • Public Mental Health Review Commission
  • Mental Health Planning Council
  • Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation

 

            The council was responsible for the development and approval of the Medicaid Purchase Plan for workers with disabilities. Having changed it's name to the Medicaid Purchase Plan (MPP) Advisory Council in 2009, the council continues to improve the quality of life for individuals in the state of Louisiana by making recommendations, providing advice, conducting and assisting with program outreach and education efforts, designing a quality Medicaid buy-in program that offers affordable healthcare coverage to people with disabilities actively working as well as participating in program evaluation and review.

 

10. Social Security Administration Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS)

MIG sponsored PASS training on 3/10/2009 in Alexandria LA. The Health and Disability Advocates, (205 W. Monroe, 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL) hosted this training event.

Marsie Frawley and Laura Gallagher Watkin organized and presented the training that focused on PASS, a work incentive designed to help SSA beneficiaries create resources in pursuit of employment goals.  Attendees included WIPA Community Work Incentive Coordinators (CWICs), Disability Program Navigators, and representatives from state government agencies. Approximately 25 individuals attended the training.  

Since PASS training was completed and WIPA lead a statewide PASS promotion effort, the number of active PASS plans has tripled in the state of LA.

 

11. Collaboration – Louisiana Style: Early Outreach Efforts of the MIG

Early collaboration efforts by the MIG set the groundwork for much of the current framework of outreach and teamwork efforts by agency members of the MIG.  One early outreach collaboration was the Ticket Roll Out.

The Ticket Roll-Out and Cross-Training were two early outreach efforts that included multiple events to promote employment and create a network of partners to serve the needs of consumers.

  • SSA Forums (September 2002) – New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Shreveport

 

  • MIG Road Shows (October and November 2002) – Thibodaux, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, New Orleans, Covington, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette
  • Statewide Ticket Videoconference Training (January 2003)

 

  • Statewide Disability Programs Videoconference (March 2003)
  • Advocacy Center Teleconference (July 2003)

 

  • MPP Roll Out 5 Cities (December 2003)
  • Medicaid Videoconferencing Training (February 2004)

 

  • Institute for Community Inclusion
  • Mental Health Employment Commission
  • Orange Day
  • Demonstration to Maintaing Independence and Employment
  • Work Incentive Clinics
  • Ticket Advisory Panel meeting (February 2005)
  • Vocational Supports waiver

A product of these early efforts includes the creation of the MPP Focus Group (September 2003) and the beginning of collaborative NDEAM Job Fairs (October 2004).  The Work Pays Coalition and present MIG teams are the current evolutions of these early efforts.

 

 

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