HHS funds three state programs for the disabled
The Department of Health and Human Services has funded programs in three states to help the disabled maintain employment and also is supporting a state program to help SCHIP families buy employer-based insurance. In the first approval, funds have gone to Louisiana, Kansas, and Minnesota for demonstration projects to see whether additional services and support to working individuals with serious mental illness (Louisiana and Minnesota) or a number of different conditions (Kansas) will prolong their independence and employment.
A department spokesperson said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will test whether particular services and supports can assist individuals in maintaining their employment and self-sufficiency and decrease reliance on cash and other benefits. Together, the three states could spend up to $75 million on their projects over the next five years. During the projects, participants will be given a full Medicaid-like benefit package that could be used to supplement any benefit plan the person may have through an employer.
HHS said many health insurance plans have limits on certain types of treatments and services, especially for mental health care, and the program will supplement those caps. Those participating in the program will not have to meet the state’s Medicaid eligibility rules because the program is not part of Medicaid. HHS estimated more than 600,000 people leave the work force each year and enroll in the Social Security Disability Insurance Program that gives them Medicare coverage after a 24-month waiting period. The projects will help policy-makers determine whether early intervention and support could keep people on the job. Similar demonstrations already are under way in Mississippi and the District of Columbia to support workers with HIV/AIDS.
In the second approval, Idaho is being given greater flexibility in its Medicaid and SCHIP program to be able to help families of children in SCHIP to buy employer-based health insurance. The premium assistance program is intended to help 1,400 SCHIP-eligible children with family incomes at or below 185% of the poverty level. Idaho expects to provide enrollees eligible for SCHIP the option of enrolling in the premium assistance Access Card Program. Enrollment in Access Card would be in lieu of receiving benefits through the state plan.
Idaho operates a combination SCHIP program made up of a SCHIP expansion program called CHIP A, which covers children at or below 150% of poverty and a separate SCHIP program — CHIP B — for children above 150% through 185% of the poverty level.
Enrollment in Access Card allows families to purchase private or employer-sponsored insurance for a child, and the state reimburses an eligible participant’s premium up to $100 per month or up to $300 per month per family (or up to three children). Reimbursements of premium subsidies are paid directly to an insurance company participating in Access Card. Enrollment in a private or employer-sponsored plan is voluntary, and families may switch to direct state coverage any time. For families that choose Access Card, the benefit package depends on the private insurance purchased by the family; no minimum benefit package is required by the state. For CHIP A enrollees who choose direct coverage, the standard Medicaid benefit package will be provided — for CHIP B families who choose direct coverage, a Title XXI secretary-approved benefit package will be provided.
The Idaho program was approved under the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability initiative that encourages states to expand access to health care coverage for low-income individuals via Medicaid and SCHIP demonstrations.
The Department of Health and Human Services has funded programs in three states to help the disabled maintain employment and also is supporting a state program to help SCHIP families buy employer-based insurance.
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