New California Medi-Cal Legislation So We Can Work

[Guest guest]

Hi Folks,

Last fall Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1113, a bill that would

improve California's Medi-Cal Working Disabled Program and make it

permanent. This would enable thousands more Californians with

significant disabilities to work, keep our Medi-Cal and IHSS *without

a share-of-cost*, save money without the $2,000 resource limit, have

a retirement account, AND allow people on retirement benefits to

utilize this program as well. The Governor generally supports our

goals, but vetoed the bill on a technicality. Assemblymember

Brownley has corrected the technical error in the bill, and has

reintroduced it as AB 851.

Please join us at our next VERY IMPORTANT teleconference about this

bill. See the agenda below. If you are unable to participate, but

want information about California's Medi-Cal Working Disabled Program

and AB 851, please contact Alana or Eli. Our contact information is

listed below.

The Assembly Committee on Health approved AB 851 yesterday with

bipartisan support. Now it will go quickly to the Assembly

Appropriations Committee. We must be ready to assist the bill's

author with getting AB 851 through the Appropriations Committee ASAP!

Please invite Consumers, Advocates, Medi-Cal Workers, Rehabilitation

Counselors, Employment Specialists, etc. to join us for this

important teleconference.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

1:30pm - 3pm Pacific Time

Call 1-800-977-8002 (Toll Free)

Participant Code 801456 #

Talk with you Thursday!

Sincerely,

Eli Gelardin & Alana Theriault

Co-Chairs - CWG Gaps Task Force

Eli Gelardin, Executive Director

Marin Center for Independent Living

415-459-6245

E-mail: mcileli @ gmail.com

Alana Theriault, Owner

Express Independence

510-388-2277

E-mail: expind @ comcast.net

CALIFORNIA WORK GROUP

On Work Incentives and Health Care the CWG

Gaps Task Force Teleconference Agenda

Thursday, January 17, 2008

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Reminders: To mute your phone press *6. Do note place the

teleconference on hold. E-mail corrections to the minutes at

gaps_task@...

3. Announcements

4. Discussion & Action Items

· Review the Purpose of AB 851 for new Gaps Task Force

Participants.

· Report on AB 851 in the Assembly Committee on Health.

· Develop Plan to get AB 851 through Appropriations

5. Schedule Next Teleconference

AB 851 does the following:

· Allows workers in Medi-Cal's California Working Disabled Program to

save their earnings in a separate bank account with no restrictions

on how much they can save.

· Allows workers to stay in the program for up to 52 weeks when

temporarily not working. The worker will pay the monthly premium to

stay in the program during this period as they seek new employment.

· Allows workers to continue working in the program at and after age

65, because AB 851 will exempt Social Security disability benefits

and retirement income received after an individual reaches 65 or

their Social Security full retirement age.

· Allows workers who leave the program to keep their Individual

Retirement Account or other retirement product they had while in the

program, even if they later enroll in other Medi-Cal programs based

on their age, blindness or disability.

· Removes the current 2008 sunset for the program, allowing workers

to plan employment and take new employment options based on the good

faith of California government to support the program indefinitely.

Contact:

Eli Gelardin, Executive Director

Marin Center for Independent Living

415-459-6245

E-mail: mcileli @ gmail.com

Alana Theriault, Owner

Express Independence

510-388-2277

E-mail: expind @ comcast.net