This is an interesting article inDisability Scoopwritten by Shaun Heasley about how a study finds that over half of Medicaid providers were unavailable to people on Medicaid. The reasons and statistics given in this article are interesting to ponder.

Half Of Medicaid Providers Unavailable, Report Finds

By Shaun Heasley

A significant number of doctors purportedly accepting Medicaid are not actually offering treatment to the programs beneficiaries, a new investigation finds.

More than half of primary care providers and specialists polled were not able to offer appointments to patients on Medicaid, according to areportreleased Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The reasons that physicians were unavailable to Medicaid beneficiaries which include many people with disabilities varied, but in 35 percent of cases investigators found that doctors werenot at the locations listed by the programs provider directory.

Callers were sometimes told that the practice had never heard of the provider or that the provider had practiced at the location in the past but had retired or left the practice. Some providers had left months or even years before the time of the call, Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson wrote in his report.

Meanwhile, 8 percent of providers indicated that they were not participating in the plan and a similar number of physicians said they were not accepting new patients.

For the report, federal investigators called a random sampling of 1,800 primary care providers and specialists that were listed as participating in Medicaid managed care plans in 32 states.

In cases where patients could schedule an appointment, investigators found that the median wait time was two weeks, though a substantial number of doctors were not available for at least one or two months.

Primary care providers were less likely to be available than specialists, though wait times tended to be longer for specialty providers, the report found.

When providers listed as participating in a plan cannot offer appointments, it creates a significant obstacle for an enrollee seeking care. Moreover, it suggests that the actual size of provider networks may be considerably smaller than what is presented by Medicaid managed care plans, Levinson said in his findings.

In a response to the report, Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said her agency will work with states to assess network adequacy and improve the accuracy of managed care organizations information.

Source:http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/12/09/half-medicaid-unavailable/19904/

Self-Determination Network News December 2014

Connect|Share|Learn|http://sdnetworkwi.org/

Share your Story!

Share your story about self-determination with us. Have you advocated for yourself or others to gain independence? Have you defied odds or proven naysayers wrong? Our stories provide opportunities to inspire and learn from each other. Check out ourStory sectionand share your story today!

It Only Takes "Five"

Take five minutes to check out what's happening on the Self-Determination Network:

• White House Fellow: Check out this awesome chance to be a fellow at the White House. Application deadline is January 15^th.

• Be Inspired: Find out what motivated one man to pursue building an athletic and rec center for people with physical disabilities.

• Stay Informed: Learn about how Family Care is expanding in 2015.

• Celebrity Controversy: Read about how Jerry Seinfeld is causing controversy by retracting his statement he made about having autism.

• Service Animal Issue: This is an interesting blog about an issue with pet owners trying to pass off their personal pets as service animals.

• All-terrain Wheelchair: Find out which county in Wisconsin now has an all-terrain wheelchair available for people with limited mobility. This allows people with physical disabilities to partake in several outdoor activities.

• Great Resource: Check out this great resource for transportation for people with disabilities.

• Learn: This is an interesting article about the United Nations Disability Treaty.

• More Transportation Options: This is a great article about how agencies in Central Wisconsin received grants that will increase transportation options for people with disabilities.

• Get Involved: Heres a chance to present at the Multiple Perspective Conference. Proposals are due January 5^th.

• Let your Voice Be Heard: Think College is looking for input on post secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities. The survey is available until December 20^th.

• Advances in Technology: Read about what a cable company is doing to accommodate people with disabilities.

• Call for Artists: This is a great chance for artists with disabilities to show their talent. Submissions due February 9^th.
  

• Stay Tuned: An article about how the House passed the ABLE Act. Congress is expected to vote on it soon.

• Watch: Watch this story about an incredible student athlete who is determined to compete despite having a debilitating disease.

• Post news or start a discussion: It's easy to do and a great way to share information and network with others!

New Members

Stop by to welcomeournewest members

• Shes on the board for InControl Wisconsin and adirector of a service provider agency.

• Hebegan the Disabled Division for the Wisconsin Water Ski Federationand has a passion to help people enjoy sports and recreation.

• Shes anIRIS Consultantwho wants to learn about self-determination issues.

• Shes a small business owner and alsoworks for IRIS.

• This person is a support broker whowants to join the advocacy effort.

• Sheworks with people to create meaningful lives in the community.

• Shesa parent who advocatesfor better supports for adults with disabilities.

Do you know someone who should join the Self-Determination Network? Spread the word andinvitefriends, families and other interested folks!

Upcoming Events

Here's a sample ofupcoming eventslisted on the Self-Determination Network:

• Teleconference: Section 504 & the ADA: Similarities & Differences: December 16^th, 12:00 to 1:00pm

• ADA Audio Conference Series Session: Accommodating Persons with Environmental Sensitivities: December 16^th, 1:00pm to 2:30pm, Online

• Facilitation and Person Centered Planning with PATH and MAPS: February 2^ndto 4^th, Friends Meeting House, Toronto, ON

• The Survival Coalition Disability Advocacy Day: March 17^th, Monona Terrace and Convention Center, Madison WI

Post your eventon the Self-Determination Network and it can be included in future Network News emails to members! Questions? Suggestions? ContactStacy Ellingen.

We are in the process of reevaluating and possibly revamping how Coffee Breaks are done. Were hoping to start them up again soon. If you have thoughts or ideas regarding Coffee Breaks, please contactStacy Ellingen. We certainly welcome any input.

The Self-Determination Network is powered by In Control Wisconsin and supported financially by ourmembersandSponsors. We couldn't keep this Network going with you! Find out how you can help support the Network.

An interesting article inDisability Scoop by Michelle Diament about where the ABLE Act stands. The House has approved it. Congress is slated to vote on it soon.

House Approves Tax-Free Disability Savings Accounts

By Michelle Diament

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to approve a bill that would establish a new way for people with disabilities to save money without risking their government benefits.

The Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act passed by a vote of 404 to 17 on Wednesday. The measure will now move to the Senate.

Under current rules, many individuals with disabilities can have no more than $2,000 in assets in order to qualify for needed government benefits. The ABLE Act would dramatically alter that scenario, allowing people with disabilities to establish special accounts at any financial institution where they could save up to $14,000 annually under current gift-tax limitations.

The accounts could accrue $100,000 without jeopardizing eligibility for Social Security and other government programs. Meanwhile, the legislation ensures that those with disabilities can retain Medicaid coverage no matter their ABLE account balance.

Funds deposited in the proposed accounts could be used to pay for education, health care, transportation, housing and other expenses. Much like 529 college savings plans, interest earned on savings in the accounts would be tax-free.

Speaking on the House floor ahead of the vote, the bills lead sponsor, Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., said its only fair that people with disabilities get an opportunity to save tax-free much like most Americans can already do in order to pay for college, health care and retirement.

What this does is simply give individuals with disabilities a chance at the American dream, Crenshaw said. They have hopes and dreams just like we all do and this will give them the tool to open the door to a brighter future, the way to realize their full potential.

With significant bipartisan support, the bill is being called the broadest legislation centering on people with disabilities to move forward since passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act a quarter-century ago.

Though widely supported in the disability community, a provision limiting eligibility for ABLE accounts to individuals with conditions occurring before the age of 26 has led tomisgivingsfrom some groups including the National Council on Independent Living, the National Disability Rights Network and United Cerebral Palsy.

Meanwhile, some members of the House objected to the bill over concerns that it will be paid for in part through tweaks to Medicare.

Source: zwww.disabilityscoop.com/2014/12/04/house-approves-accounts/19891/

MADISON VSA Wisconsin, the state organization on arts and disability, is accepting submissions for its annual Call for Art.

Wisconsin residents with disabilities age 5 and older are eligible and may submit one artwork.

Deadline for submissions is Feb. 9. Guidelines and a submission form for VSA Wisconsins Call for Art can be found online via a link atLeaderTelegram.com/links.

Submissions will be reviewed by a jury of arts professionals who will look for creativity, originality, and craftsmanship. The top 10 selections will be added to Creative Power: VSA Wisconsins Traveling Exhibition.

Work from all artists who submit to the 2015 Call for Art will be on view from April 13 through May 2 at the VSA Wisconsin Gallery, 1709 Aberg Ave., Suite 1, in Madison.

More information is available atsandra@vsawis.orgor 608-241-2131.

This is a great article inDisability Scoopwritten by Julio Ojeda-Zapata about how Comcast has developed new features to accommodate people who have visual impairments. In addition to the audio guide, Comcast is working on developing a voice controlled remote. These are awesome developments for people with disabilities.

With Eye On Disabilities, TV Gaining New Features

By Julio Ojeda-Zapata

When Comcast rolled out its Xfinity X1 cable boxes a few years ago, customers viewing experience took a major leap with a more-attractive interface, easier-to-navigate menus and other on-screen cues.

But such eye candy is of limited use to Comcast users who are blind or visually impaired.

Now the cable-television provider is taking a huge step to remedy this with the X1 Talking Guide, which it describes as the industrys first voice-enabled television user interface.

The guide features a female voice that reads aloud crucial TV-viewing information, such as show titles and network names. The voice serves as a guide as users hop from section to section including the show guide, recorded-show queue, on-demand directory and cable-box settings.

As you move across the menu bar, whatever is highlighted gets announced, said Tom Wlodkowski, a Comcast executive who spearheaded the project, and who happens to be blind. As you move horizontally across the program guide, it gives you the time, and as you move vertically within the grid it announces the new channel.

The voice reads aloud such things as show descriptions, the time remaining on a show, the price of a film rental, and ratings from Common Sense Media and Rotten Tomatoes. The Talking Guide also specifies which buttons the viewer should press on the remote while navigating menus.

X1 users will be able to activate the Talking Guide by tapping the remotes A button twice, or via the accessibility controls in the main settings menu. The option may not be available immediately, but Comcast said the Talking Guide should be broadly deployed by early December. All X1 users are set to get it eventually via automatic updates.

A company division dubbed the Comcast Accessibility Lab has been at work on the Talking Guide for more than a year as part of its broader mission to make Comcast technology more accessible to those with disabilities.

The Talking Guide remains a work in progress. Philadelphia-based Comcast said it will integrate searching capabilities into a future upgrade, along with the option to speed up or slow down the guides voice prompts.

The Talking Guide also helps unearth features for those with visual impairment that have been there all along, but were not easy to access. Some shows include auxiliary audio also called second audio program or SAP that describes what is happening on the screen for those who cannot see it. Getting at this feature via the Talking Guide is relatively straightforward, Comcast said.

SAP is available with roughly 50 hours of programming per quarter from each of the four major networks as well as from USA, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, TNT and TBS channels, it noted.

The Talking Guide is among a range of voice-related capabilities Comcast is perfecting. Others include the XR11 Voice Control Remote, which includes a microphone to issue spoken commands such as record, show me films about baseball or turn on closed captions. The company said it expects to release the remote later this year.

Comcasts mobile apps can tap into VoiceOver and Talkback, which are screen-reading features built into the Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems.

Comcast, in addition to creating new technology, said it runs a support center for the people with disabilities that fields about 10,000 calls per month.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/12/01/with-disabilities-tv-features/19879/

An article in Disability Scoopby Michelle Diament about how a vote on the ABLE Act is expected this week. This would potentially have a huge impact on the disability community.

Lawmakers Poised To Vote On ABLE Act

By Michelle Diament

Congress is set to act this week on legislation that would allow people with disabilities to save money without jeopardizing their government benefits.

Supporters say they expect the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act on Wednesday and theyre hopeful that the Senate will follow suit on Thursday.

This is historic for the disability community, said Sara Weir, interim president of the National Down Syndrome Society, which has pushed for the ABLE Act since 2006. I cant think of another piece of legislation that puts a stake in the ground that says that people with disabilities can work and save money.

The bill would allow people with disabilities to create ABLE accounts at any financial institution where they could deposit up to $14,000 annually under current gift-tax limitations. As much as $100,000 could be saved in the proposed accounts without risking eligibility for Social Security and other government benefits. Moreover, individuals could retain Medicaid coverage no matter how much money is deposited.

Modeled after the popular 529 college savings plans, interest earned on savings within the accounts would be tax-free. Money saved could be used to pay for education, health care, transportation, housing and other expenses.

With 85 percent of Congress co-sponsoring the bill, it is widely thought to have the votes needed for approval. However, the legislation is not without its critics.

Both the National Council on Independent Living and the National Disability Rights Network have taken issue with a requirement that an individuals disability must have occurred prior to age 26 in order to qualify for an ABLE account.

Its completely arbitrary, said Kelly Buckland, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living. Why 26? Why not 27, or 28 or 30?

Meanwhile, the conservative group The Heritage Foundation has attacked the bill as a decisive step in expanding the welfare state.

Weir from the National Down Syndrome Society said that assessment could not be further from the truth.

This is a bill that allows families and people with disabilities to save their own money. This is not a handout, she said.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/12/02/lawmakers-poised-able/19886/

Think College Seeking Public Comment

Think College is seeking public comment on Draft Program Accreditation Standards for Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities. The model Standards will be critical for financial aid and program approval in the future. Pleaseclick herefor the link to the survey and additional information. This online survey will be available until12/20/2014.

The Fifteenth Annual Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability:
April 13 - 14, 2015

The Multiple Perspectives conference is an ongoing exploration of disability as a reflection of the human condition seen through multiple lenses (theory, discipline, social constructs, personal experience, shared experience). Presentations should encourage conversations across the typical divisions, boundaries and disciplines. Proposers are encouraged to consider parallels, distinctions and intersections with race, gender and ethnicity. This years conference will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ADA -out progress and the journey ahead. What have we learned? Where are we going? What are the important questions for the next 25 years?

The Multiple Perspectives Conference is hosted by Ohio State Universitys ADA Coordinators Office is made possible thanks to the generosity of the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation Endowment Fund and ongoing support from The Ohio State Universitys Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Disability Empowerment.

Proposals are dueJanuary 5th, 2015

Visithttp://ada.osu.edu/conferences/2015Conf/callforproposals2015.htmlfor submission details.

A great article in theWisconsin Rapids Tribunewritten by Liz Welter about how agencies in central Wisconsin received money from the state Department of Transportation. The grants will increase transportation options for people with disabilities.

Transportation grants to increase services

By Liz Welter

Nonprofit and government agencies in central Wisconsin received portions of $3.4 million in grants awarded by the state Department of Transportation recently.

The grants will enhance and support local transportation options for older folks and people who have disabilities, said agency officials.

"This is a blessing," said BrandonVruwink, Wood County Economic Support and Employment Services division manager.

A $117,600 grant will provide the county with two medium-sized wheelchair-accessible buses for its transportation program.

"These buses have a low floor design, which means there are no stairs, and we don't need a wheelchair lift for someone who uses a wheelchair. This makes it easier for everyone who uses the buses,"Vruwinksaid.

"The key thing is by upgrading the fleet, we will save on maintenance expenses, and this allows us to continue the service we currently have,"Vruwinksaid.

Opportunity Development Centers Inc. inMarshfieldand Wisconsin Rapids received $25,600 for a wheelchair-accessible minivan to transport clients. The centers serve disabled adults in the county and use the buses for transportation to job and work sites, said JenniferBlum, ODC director of community and donor relations.

"The reason we're so excited about this particular minivan is that throughout all of ODC, we only have one wheelchair-accessible van,"Blumsaid. She said ODC will pursue a similar grant in 2015 to acquire another minivan.

TheBethelCenter inArpinwas awarded $43,200 to purchase a medium-sized bus with wheelchair access, said JohnLey, center executive director.

TheBethelCenter provides medical treatment for many residents who also need to attend appointments with physicians and other health care providers,Leysaid.

"These residents must see their physician or undergo treatment on an ongoing basis, and this bus makes transportation possible," he said.

The $81,097 grant for Portage County will replace an aging bus used by the county's Aging & Disability Resource Center, or ADRC.

"This allows us to replace our bus purchased in 2005 that is barely running," said DavidAdamczak, ADRC mobility management director.

The bus service provides transportation for county residents who qualify for meal services at sites in the county,Adamczaksaid.

"Our community is aging and more people are needing transportation services," he said.

Source: http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/story/news/local/2014/11/29/transportation-grants-increase-services/19631951/

This is an interesting article inDisability Scoopwritten by James Lynch about the United Nations Disability Treaty.

Senate Unlikely To Reconsider UN Disability Treaty

By James Lynch

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin is dismayed that his effort to extend the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the international community appears unlikely to gain the Republican support it needs to be ratified by the Senate.

Harkin, D-Iowa, who along with former Republican Sen. Bob Dole sponsored the ADA, which was signed into law by a Republican president in 1990, had hoped to win over another half-dozen Republicans to reach the 67 votes necessary to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

However, a GOP ally did a vote count and said there has been no movement among the Republican holdouts despite encouragement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, veterans groups and disabilities groups.

Im telling you, Im really dismayed, Harkin said late last week. I think it is just unforgivable that we dont join the rest of the world when we are the leader, when the convention itself was based on the ADA, that we dont join with the rest of the world in helping other countries change their polices, their programs, their structures to be more inclusive of people with disabilities.

Harkin has made the expansion of opportunities and rights for people with disabilities a major emphasis of his 30 years in the Senate. He had hoped to win ratification of the CRPD before retiring in January.

Hes been working with Republican senators including John McCain of Arizona, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire as well as Dole to persuade another five or six GOP senators to join eight or nine Republicans who either have voted for the treaty in the past or pledged their support this year.

Harkin thought he might win that support when earlier this month, the National Association of Evangelicals wrote Harkin to say it had dropped its opposition. It changed its position based on modifications of language on abortion and family issues in what are known as RUDs rules, understandings and declarations that would guide U.S. implementation of the treaty.

This is what gave me hope that we might change some hearts and minds on this, Harkin said. But it didnt do any good.

Based on the vote count, Harkin said, Theres no way we can bring it up.

So Im sad to say our veterans who are struggling with disabilities, other Americans with disabilities who want to travel overseas with their families or who might want to go to school overseas or work in a job overseas, well, if youve got a disability, you might forget about it, Harkin said.

A committee of representatives from the 140-plus nations that have ratified the CRPD will oversee implementation of the treaty.

But our voices will not be a part of it, he said.

If the U.S. had ratified the CRPD, the international committee would not have enforcement authority in the U.S. and interpretation of the treaty would be left to the Supreme Court, according to Harkin.

Im really dismayed, Harkin said. Its just not right to have this go down like this.

Source:http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/11/24/senate-unlikely-treaty/19868/