Fwd: Legislative Session 2010 Wrap-Up By APD Director Jim DeBeaugrine

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WaiverProvider.com May 2010

Legislative Session

2010 Wrap-Up

By Jim DeBeaugrine

Director of The Agency For Persons With Disabilities

The 2010 Legislative Session

concluded on April 30 with the Legislature completing its business on

time. The session had high and low points for the Agency for Persons

with Disabilities. A major high point for APD was the passage of the

individualized budget concept called iBudget Florida. I am extremely

grateful to the legislature for approving iBudget, which will give

unprecedented flexibility and self-direction to the people we serve

while also protecting the taxpayers of Florida. In addition, important provisions

to ensure the health and safety of the individuals we serve were

passed.

As you know, state revenues

have declined for the past four years, therefore news on the budget

front was not as positive. The legislature was forced to make some

difficult decisions which included a two-and-a-half percent decrease in

provider rates and a two-and-a-half percent decrease in tier caps.

APD is compiling a

Legislative Wrap-Up Report that will be posted on our Web site soon. In

the meantime, here are highlights of the legislation and how it affects

APD and the individuals we serve.

BUDGET

HB 5001

The budget passed

in HB 5001 totaled $1.013 billion in funding for APD. Of that

total budget, $805 million will go toward the Medicaid waiver.

HB 5003

The agency's

conforming bill to the budget specifies that APD has deemed the

Individual Cost Guidelines (ICG) and the Questionnaire for

Situational Information (QSI) as reliable and valid assessment

instruments to be used in determining individual tier placements.

Age is a client

characteristic to be used in the tier placement process as well.

Tier 1

expenditures are capped at $150,000 per client each year. However,

expenditures for clients in Tier 1 with a documented medical

necessity requiring intensive behavioral residential habilitation

services, intensive behavioral residential habilitation services

with medical needs, or special medical home care, as provided in

the Developmental Disabilities Waiver Services Coverage and

Limitations Handbook, are not subject to the $150,000 limit

on annual expenditures.

Due to a provider rate cut of 2.5 percent,

the caps of Tiers 2, 3 and 4 are reduced 2.5 percent. Tier 2 will

go from $55,000 to $53,625, Tier 3 from $35,000 to $34,125 and

Tier 4 from $14,792 to $14,422.

Previous

placements into Tier 4 for individuals that were formerly on the

Family and Supported Living Waiver are also clarified as

legislative intent.

The creation of

section 393.0622 in Florida Statutes establishes the iBudget

Florida system and specifies allocation methodologies, a phase-in

process for enrollment, training, and education to inform

individuals on the iBudget system, and an evaluation process for

the implementation of iBudget.

Hearing rights are

defined for Medicaid programs administered by APD. Any

developmental services applicant or client, or his or her parent,

guardian advocate, or authorized representative, may request a

hearing in accordance with federal law and rules applicable to

Medicaid cases and has the right to request an administrative

hearing pursuant to sections 120.569 and 120.57. These hearings

shall be provided by the Department of Children and Families

pursuant to section 409.285 and shall follow procedures consistent

with federal law and rules applicable to Medicaid cases.

The Services for

Children with Developmental Disabilities Task Force is created to make

recommendations and develop a plan for the creation of, and

enrollment in, the Developmental Disabilities Savings Program.

PRIORITY SUBSTANTIVE

LEGISLATION

HB 91

Requires that DCF

transfer calls reporting known or suspected abuse of a vulnerable

adult by someone other than a relative, caregiver, or household

member to local law enforcement, increasing the likelihood that an

investigation will take place to verify the health, safety, and

welfare of the vulnerable adult in question.

HB 1073

Clarifies the

requirements and expectations for employees working in

APD-licensed homes regarding abuse, neglect, and exploitation and

reflects the agency's position that all forms of abuse, neglect,

and exploitation committed against people with developmental disabilities

are unacceptable, regardless of the place where such acts are

committed. This legislation also makes residential facility staff

training requirements consistent with language in the Medicaid

waiver handbook, which addresses all forms of abuse, neglect, and

exploitation.

HB 7069

This legislation

provides for greater protection for individuals served in

APD-licensed homes and developmental disabilities centers. The

list of crimes covered by a Level 2 background screening for

individuals working in such settings is expanded and rescreening

procedures are codified.

iBudget Gets the Nod

The Florida Legislature

approved the development of the individual budgeting concept called

iBudget Florida during the recently concluded session. The iBudget

Florida program is intended to provide more self-direction and equity

while making the Medicaid waiver system simpler and more sustainable.

HB 5303 implements the plan for iBudget Florida developed by

stakeholders and APD which was submitted on February 1, 2010. The plan

can be found on APD's Web site at http://apdcares.org/ibudget/.

The agency is excited about

the positive changes iBudget Florida will bring to customers, families,

waiver support coordinators, providers, and APD staff. While federal

approval is still required before the program can officially begin, APD

anticipates beginning to implement iBudget Florida near the end of the

year. APD will continue to work with everyone in planning and

implementing the iBudget Florida system. The latest iBudget information

can be found on the APD Web site apdcares.org.

By Brazzell from APD

APD and UF

Start Law Externships

In partnership with the

University of Florida's Law School, APD has developed an administrative

law externship program in Gainesville. The objectives of this program

are to give law students the opportunity to practice before the

Division of Administrative Hearings, and to introduce them to a variety

of legal issues concerning Medicaid waiver services that APD faces.

These issues concern service denials, eligibility denials, and tier

assignments in the agency's community-based services programs.

The law students will do all

the case preparation under the supervision of APD Attorney

Waldman. The externship is expected to be a continuing offering of the

law school. The long-term goal is that this will become the model for

APD to establish an externship program statewide through other law

schools and replace private contracted legal services.

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