PAAT PROGRAMS
Upcoming Event
Registration Now Open! 15th Annual "Bridges to Better Advocacy" Conference
This
three-day conference focusing on AT funding and advocacy strategies
will be held on November 1-3, 2011 (Tuesday - Thursday) at the Hilton
Garden Inn, Austin, TX. Registration is available at www.nls.org/Conference%20Flyer%202011.pdf .
Sign up by July 29th for Super Early Bird rate! Agenda and speakers are now final!
November 1st Preconference (full day): "Medicaid, AT and Litigation"
(focus on state and Federal court) (Speakers: Jane Perkins, National
Health Law Program, Jennifer Giesen, Minnesota P&A, Lew Golinker, AT
Law Center, Jim Sheldon and Diana Straube, National AT Advocacy Project).
Two-Day Conference Highlights: "Medicaid Challenges for 2012," "Americans with Disabilities Act and Employment: Recent Case Law," "Mobility Equipment: A Physical Therapist's Perspective," "Confronting Challenges of Dual Eligibility in Medicaid DME Cases," and "Enforcing the Fair Housing Act to Obtain AT."
To learn more about these upcoming events, contact Jim Sheldon at jSheldon@nls.org.
"Did You Know?" Series
These
very short postings will not cover every possible issue on a topic;
rather, the intent is make the reader aware of key information to
support your AT advocacy. To date, there are 14 postings available at: http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know.htm.
The most recent four postings:
"Grants and Charities as Funding Sources for AT," available at http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know/Grants%20and%20Charities.pdf
"Workers Compensation and AT," available at http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know/workers%20comp.pdf
"Medicaid Funding of Ramps," available at http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know/medicaid%20funding%20of%20ramps.pdf
"Medicaid Notice Requirements," available at http://www.nls.org/did%20you%20know/medicaid%20notice%20requirements.pdf
Coming Soon: "Adoption Subsidies and AT"
The "AT Advocate" Newsletter
This longstanding publication of the National AT Advocacy Project is published a minimum of three times per year. Our most recent newsletters and lead articles:
Fall 2010, "Consumer Rights in the Medicaid Process: Understanding and Protecting those Rights Should Ensure More Access to Assistive Technology," available at http://www.nls.org/av/fall%2010.pdf .
Spring-Summer 2010, "Practical Ethics for the Disability Attorney: When Can You Interview the Employees of Your Adversary?" available at http://www.nls.org/av/summer%2010.pdf .
Coming Up (Winter-Spring 2011): "Special Medicaid Eligibility Rules for Persons with Disabilities"
Recent Training
Training Highlights from National Disability Rights Network Conference:
Jim
Sheldon presented or co-presented several times during the June 6-9,
2011 conference: "Ensuring Effective Transition to Integrated
Employment" (all day institute). Contact Jim Sheldon at jSheldon@nls.org for more information.
Training Highlights from Vermont
On June 10th, Jim Sheldon presented at Vermont Legal Aid's annual "College" for its Statewide Staff: "Medicaid and AT: Turning a 'No' into a 'Yes.'" and "Social Security/SSI Work Incentives." Handouts are available.
Recent TA
Many individuals get at least some of their equipment funded through Medicaid waiver programs. The caller inquired about waiver funding for a speech generating device for a child. We
provided information on how to use the links on the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website to find information about
the various waiver programs that exist in a state. We
also assured the caller that Medicaid waiver recipients are entitled to
all the same rights available under the traditional Medicaid program,
including the right to a fair hearing and (for children under age 21)
the right to have the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and
Treatment or EPSDT provisions applied when deciding a child's case
(Contact Diana Straube at dstraube@nls.org for more information).
Although
our primary mandate is to serve PAAT attorneys and advocates (and
others in the P&A network), we do provide TA to a range of other
callers. This caller had developed and was seeking to market a Dry Mouth Pump (marketed as a solution to chronic dry mouth). Having found our Frequently Asked Questions publication on HCPCS codes (http://www.nls.org/av/FAQ's%20HCPCS.pdf), he asked about the need for a HCPCS code for the device and the steps for obtaining a code. We
discussed these issues and provided him links to the CMS website for
the HCPCS application and authoritative information about when a code is
needed. If questions, contact Diana Straube at dstraube@nls.org.
