Re: The cost of doing the right thing, Cost Plan Rebasing. (UNITED WE STAND)

[Guest guest]

Kathy and all, This topic is of vital importance to all of us, and I'd love to see more discussion. I'm not sure I am correctly interpreting what you're saying. I don't understand why this is a wedge driving us apart. My interpretation is that this year's cost plan will be based on last year's expenditures. So if families spent less than their funding, with the rationale as you state "using only what services you need," and if they get less money this year, but still more (5% more) than they spent last year, why is that necessarily going to "bite you?" If what one spent was what was needed, why be angry that one is not getting more, by extension, getting more than one needs? I am quite aware of the many abuses of the home and community bases services waiver (big waiver), i.e., folks who pay themselves for watching their own

children, folks who double and triple pay their providers because the money is there, after all, etc. Those on CDC plus, if they continually have money left in their cost plan at year's end, maybe a little adjustment is not such an outrageous idea? My son is on the FSL, and we use every penny of it. I don't resent those families on the big waiver, but I do feel that if they're not using all of the funding available, or not using it properly (again, paying themselves come to mind, although there are other abuses), a re-evalutation of funding IN THESE CASES may not be inappropriate, in these times of severe cut-backs across the board.

Please note, and let me clarify this very carefully: I'm not defending the massive across-the-board cuts in services that are happening, I'm saying that some folks - a minority - don't need and/or aren't using appropriately the full amount of the funding that they do get. And many, many others are suffering because of it.

kathleen_buerosse wrote: Are you one of the many families who believe in using only whatservices you need from med waiver so that funds are not wasted andmore people can get much needed services. Well now your fiscalresponsibility is coming back to bite you in the arse. I believedthat every little bit we all do to help each other cost us in some way. I read the article below and tried to see it from all points of viewand I am still of the opinion that, whether intentional or not, thisis just another wedge driving us apart. People on the wait listresent those who have med waiver. Some people on med waiver feel theway about people on CDC+. For those of you who missed my response to a

post from Mr. Sequenziaearlier this week, I will post it again as a new thread. We cannotstand by and watch helplessly as cuts are implemented and a singlevoice is not heard, unless you are rich and famous, but then you don'tneed med waiver. ********The 2007 Florida Legislature required APD to implement cost planrebasing effective January 1, 2009. The text of Section 292.0661(6),F.S.(2008) is as follows:(6) Effective January 1, 2009, and except as otherwise provided inthis section, an individual served by the home and community-basedservices waiver or the family and supported living waiver fundedthrough the Agency for Persons with Disabilities shall have his or hercost plan adjusted to reflect the amount of expenditures for theprevious state fiscal year plus 5 percent if such amount is less thanthe individual's existing cost plan. The Agency for Persons withDisabilities shall use actual paid claims for

services provided duringthe previous fiscal year that are submitted by October 31 to calculatethe revised cost plan amount. If an individual was not served for theentire previous state fiscal year or there was any single change inthe cost plan amount of more than 5 percent during the previous statefiscal year, the agency shall set the cost plan amount at an estimatedannualized expenditure amount plus 5 percent. The agency shallestimate the annualized expenditure amount by calculating the averageof monthly expenditures, beginning in the fourth month after theindividual enrolled or the cost plan was changed by more than 5percent and ending with August 31, 2008, and multiplying the averageby 12. In the event that at least 3 months of actual expenditure dataare not available to estimate annualized expenditures, the agency maynot rebase a cost plan pursuant to this subsection. This subsectionexpires June 30, 2009, unless

reenacted by the Legislature before thatdate.

[Guest guest]

What is FSL?

> Are you one of the many families who believe in using

only what

> services you need from med waiver so that funds are not wasted and

> more people can get much needed services. Well now your fiscal

> responsibility is coming back to bite you in the arse. I believed

> that every little bit we all do to help each other cost us in some

way.

>

> I read the article below and tried to see it from all points of

view

> and I am still of the opinion that, whether intentional or not,

this

> is just another wedge driving us apart. People on the wait list

> resent those who have med waiver. Some people on med waiver feel

the

> way about people on CDC+.

>

> For those of you who missed my response to a post from Mr.

Sequenzia

> earlier this week, I will post it again as a new thread. We cannot

> stand by and watch helplessly as cuts are implemented and a single

> voice is not heard, unless you are rich and famous, but then you

don't

> need med waiver.

>

> ********

> The 2007 Florida Legislature required APD to implement cost plan

> rebasing effective January 1, 2009. The text of Section 292.0661

(6),

> F.S.(2008) is as follows:

>

> (6) Effective January 1, 2009, and except as otherwise provided in

> this section, an individual served by the home and community-based

> services waiver or the family and supported living waiver funded

> through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities shall have his or

her

> cost plan adjusted to reflect the amount of expenditures for the

> previous state fiscal year plus 5 percent if such amount is less

than

> the individual's existing cost plan. The Agency for Persons with

> Disabilities shall use actual paid claims for services provided

during

> the previous fiscal year that are submitted by October 31 to

calculate

> the revised cost plan amount. If an individual was not served for

the

> entire previous state fiscal year or there was any single change in

> the cost plan amount of more than 5 percent during the previous

state

> fiscal year, the agency shall set the cost plan amount at an

estimated

> annualized expenditure amount plus 5 percent. The agency shall

> estimate the annualized expenditure amount by calculating the

average

> of monthly expenditures, beginning in the fourth month after the

> individual enrolled or the cost plan was changed by more than 5

> percent and ending with August 31, 2008, and multiplying the

average

> by 12. In the event that at least 3 months of actual expenditure

data

> are not available to estimate annualized expenditures, the agency

may

> not rebase a cost plan pursuant to this subsection. This subsection

> expires June 30, 2009, unless reenacted by the Legislature before

that

> date.

>