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Spotlight October 2006
Collaborative Efforts Result in $1200 Savings for Consumer
The Personal Assistance Services (PAS) Department and the Benefits Department at IndependenceFirst collaborated recently to help a family in need. Margarita, a Personal Care Worker (PCW) who works for her mother, had spoken to Lantona, her Nurse Care Coordinator, about the trouble they were having in trying to come up with the twelve-hundred dollar deductible that they had to pay twice a year for the Medicaid that Margarita’s mother has. That’s when collaboration at IndependenceFirst really paid off for a family in need!
Lantona referred Margarita to Sheri Bohl, one of IndependenceFirst’s Benefits Specialists. Margarita was looking for advice on whether she should pay her mom’s twelve hundred dollar deductible that was due that Friday. Since her mom needs personal attendant services which includes assistance with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing, she was worried about her mom not having continuous Medicaid coverage to pay for those crucial services. As her PCW, Margarita had been paying for her mom’s Medicaid deductible, with the money that she was earning to pay her own living expenses.
Sheri suggested that her mother could switch to the Medicaid Purchase Plan (MAPP), a Medicaid buy-in program that enables people to purchase their Medicaid coverage. The program is for people with disabilities who are working. In this program, individuals with income below one hundred and fifty percent of the federal poverty level can get the Medicaid at no cost to them. If they do have income over one hundred and fifty percent, they can get Medicaid by paying a premium based on their income. After speaking with Margarita, Sheri found out that her mom is babysitting for her grandchildren for pay, which meets the work requirement for MAPP.
Sheri advised Margarita to contact her mom’s case worker right away and explain that her mom is working and would like to switch to the MAPP program. Margarita was able to get in touch with the caseworker the next day, and mom was switched to MAPP. Margarita only had to send a letter to the caseworker stating that her mom is babysitting and receiving compensation for the work. By switching over to MAPP, Margarita and her mother no longer had to pay the twelve hundred dollar deductible so Margarita is able to use her own wages to pay for her own living expenses, and now mom does not have to pay money she can’t afford for her Medicaid coverage.
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For more information regarding MAPP, please contact Sheri Bohl, Benefits Specialist, at 414-291-7520 ext. 8333 (Voice/TTY) or email sbohl@independencefirst.org |