Narrative: d. 2. H. i.

Medical Assistance, the state’s Medicaid program, is administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) and State Services for the Blind (SSB) collaborate closely with DHS in the provision of a variety of Medicaid services: Waiver Programs: Medicaid participants with disabilities who need a defined level of care and choose to live in the community may be eligible for one of the following waivers to help fund the cost of community living and supportive employment: * Brain Injury Waiver: the person must have a traumatic, acquired or degenerative brain injury and require the level of care typically provided in a nursing facility or neurobehavioral hospital. * Community Alternatives for Disabled Individuals (CADI) Waiver: the person must have a disability and require the level of care typically provided in a nursing facility. * Developmental Disability Waiver: the person must have a developmental disability or related condition and require the level of care typically provided in an Intermediate Care Facility for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (ICF/DD). There is joint planning occurring between the Waiver Programs and the state funded Extended Employment program to maximize the number of people who can access competitive integrated employment through the provision of supported employment services. Many counties have waiting lists for waiver services. VRS and SSB access Medicaid dollars to pay for durable medical supplies such as wheelchairs, hearing aids and communication boards. Medicaid has limits on what they will pay for specific items. If the rehabilitation counselor feels the consumer would benefit from an “upgrade” to the item, Vocational Rehabilitation can pay the difference between the Medicaid payment and the cost of the upgraded product. Medicaid will apply the VR payment to the consumer’s spenddown. Minnesota’s Medicaid Infrastructure Grant was a joint project of the Department of Human Services, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (VRS and SSB) and the State Council on Disability. Collaborative efforts started utilizing grant funding has been continued using state appropriations, including: * Disability Linkage Line (DLL): The DLL is a partnership between DHS and the Centers for Independent Living to provide disability related information and referral resources for Minnesotans with disabilities. Assistance is available in the areas of accessible housing, personal care services, transportation, employment, disability benefits, assistive technology, and other community resources. Services are available through a toll free number or online at www.MinnesotaHelp.info. The most recent expansion of the DLL has been in the area of benefits planning and benefits analysis for beneficiaries of Social Security benefits. * Disability Benefits 101: DB101 (www.db101.org) is a free online service operated by the Disability Linkage Line that was initially developed using Medicaid Infrastructure grant funding. The program allows people to plan for their future by providing estimator sessions showing how income will impact benefits, explores effective use of work incentives, helps people establish work goals, and provides answers to questions through live chat, phone or email. The program includes short videos of success stories. Many of the DLL staff are certified Community Work Incentive Coordinators and can provide benefits analysis services if there are complex issues. Utilizing Department of Labor – Disability Employment Initiative funding, a new section on Work Benefits for Youth has been added. In addition to VRS and SSB staff being actively involved in the development of the online program, consumers were actively involved in the BETA testing to make sure the program was accessible to people with disabilities. * SGA Project: the Institute on Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts – Boston has received RSA funding to demonstrate effective strategies to assist SSDI beneficiaries achieve income above the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level. Minnesota VRS is one of the demonstration sites. At time of enrollment, the SSDI beneficiary is assigned a counselor, placement specialist and financial specialist. Eligibility for services is presumed within three days and the Employment Plan is developed within 30 days of application. VRS has partnered with the DLL to provide financial counseling in VR offices. RSA funding was used to provide the benefits planners with financial literacy training so that in addition to benefits planning the financial specialists can provide assistance with improving credits scores, paying off credit card debt, and developing savings plans. It is hoped that the combination of rapid engagement and financial planning services will lead to better outcomes. Although the SGA Project does not receive any Medicaid funding, the financial specialist positions would not have been possible without the initial collaboration with the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant.