120 slots open for Aged and Disabled Waiver

One year ago the state Bureau for Medical Services announced that enrollment in the West Virginia Aged and Disabled Waiver Program was frozen. Since then applications have still been taken, but those found medically eligible were put on a waitlist called Managed Enrollment.

Today the Governor announced that 120 people on that list may now become enrolled and receive services.

As of November 13 there were 1,713 people on the managed enrollment list who are medically eligible for services and waiting. The 120 slots will be filled by those individuals who have been on that list the longest, according to Penney Hall, Program Manager for the Aged and Disabled Medicaid Waiver program. "Those individuals will be notified by mail that there is a slot opened and they will need to choose their service model. If they choose Traditional Model they will also have to choose their case management and homemaker agencies."

Medicare Premiums and Deductibles 2013

Part A generally pays inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health. Most beneficiaries do not pay a premium for Part A since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.

Part B generally pays a portion of the cost of physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and other items.

Here below are the premiums, deductibles, and copays for Medicare Parts A and B for 2013:

Part A
Hospital Deductible		$1184
Hospital Copay	days 61-90	$296/day
	days 90+	$592/day
Skilled Nursing Facility Copay	days 21-100	$148
Part B
Premium for individual by income	<$85k	$101.90
	$85k to $107k	$146.90
	$107k to $160k	$209.80
	$160k to $214k	$272.70
	>$214k	$335.70

LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2012: open teleconference 11-27-12 2:30p ESP

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) is holding an open teleconference on Tuesday, November 27, at 2:30 p.m. EST to discuss his bill, The LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2012. The LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2012 “proposes several amendments to the Older Americans act (OAA), the country’s largest vehicle for funding and delivering services to older people. The OAA is currently up for reauthorization and includes no mention of LGBT older adults. Participants in the call will learn more about the bill, and its potential impact on aging providers and LGBT older adults.”

The presentation, followed by a Q&A session, will feature:

• Senator Michael Bennet
• Michael Adams, Executive Director, SAGE
• Brad Clark, Executive Director, One Colorado
• Sandy Markwood, CEO, National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a)
• Shari Wilkins, Program Coordinator, SAGE of the Rockies

Phone number: (805) 399-1200, participant access code: 917325. No RSVP is required.

For a summary and full text of the bill and an overview of the legislative status of this bill check out www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s3575

Have an older worker who could benefit from assistive technology?

NEW ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS WEB SITE
http://atconnects.com/employers
Introducing the RESNA Catalyst Project’s Assistive Technology for Employer and Business Web Portal

The RESNA Catalyst Project (www.resnaprojects.org) provides technical assistance to Statewide Assistive Technology Programs, Alternative Financing and Access to Telework Programs, and Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology programs. RESNA is the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, a professional organization dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of people with disabilities through increasing access to technology solutions.

In 2011, the RESNA Catalyst Project began a new initiative focusing on the use of Assistive Technology (AT) for employment and business solutions. This initiative includes the development of an AT for Employer/Business Web Portal (http://atconnects.com/employers) designed to provide AT exclusive resources for businesses, employers, and those who work with employers to get people with disability employed.

Specifically, the AT for Employer/Business Web Portal features information on AT solutions in the workplace, finding help to access AT through the AT Act Entities, a consultant data base directory of RESNA Professionals and the services and expertise each offers to employers, publications on AT and Employment, various resources for employers to explore, and the partners who have worked with the RESNA Catalyst Project to create the Portal including the United States Business Leadership Network, Job Accommodation Network, the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Southeast TACE, and the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration.

The online location of the Portal is housed on the National Public Internet Site for AT (AT Connects), operated by the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability’s (http://atconnects.com/). For more information about the AT for Employer Web Portal, please contact the RESNA Catalyst Project staff, or visit www.resnaprojects.org to learn more about AT Act programs and the RESNA Catalyst Project.

Power Restoration Schedules after Superstorm Sandy

Over 350,000 customers lost power as a result of Monday's superstorm. Over 3 feet of snow fell in parts of the highlands bringing down trees and powerlines and trees on powerlines.

West Virginia counties covered by Mon Power (a subsidiary of First Energy Corporation) are listed on the following website including number of customers with outages, number of customers restored, and expected schedule of restoration for communities within each county: www.firstenergycorp.com/content/customer/outages_help/Sandy/WVOutagesCity.html and here are estimated restoration dates. You can also get updates by following MonPower's twitter @MonPOwerWV

Counties covered by Appalachian Power are listed on the following website including when restoration is expected to be complete www.huntingtonnews.net/48365. You can get updates by following Appalachian Energy's twitter @appalchianpowe (not a typo, there's no "r" at the end)