Thank you for all the advocacy this week! There is a lot of information to share: Great news from HFS:Illinois Medicaid & CHIP Eligibility Changes and Requests to Address COVID-19 HFS is requesting CMS approval of eligibility changes as a part of a package of requests to maximize flexibility within the Medicaid program. Examples of... Read more »
Federal Advocacy $2T Third Relief Package Signed into Law Thank you for advocating to include people with disabilities in this bill. Here are some of the positive things in the bill: The exemption of non-profits who receive Medicaid has been removed. Including non-profitorganizations that receive Medicaid funds is a big win and important for our... Read more »
Hi Folks, The Division just released a DRAFT bulletin regarding Homebased Services and Fee For Services. Please review. Federal Advocacy Thanks to all those who advocated to the Senate around the third relief package. We didn’t get everything we wanted but there are some good things – see below. Now we need to you call... Read more »
Hi Folks, Thanks to the more than 320 people who joined the webinar this morning with Director Stark. I will be following up with an FAQ from your questions in the next day. Please contact your Independent Service Coordination agency with questions and for immediate crisis issues, you can emailjennifer.gentile@illinois.gov. We are working to schedule... Read more »
Good Afternoon Advocates We hope everyone is hanging in and keeping safe. Resources I wanted to share a new blog post by my co-worker and mom, Megan Poole Mutti and a fact sheet about Home Activities for Families: Ideas to Help Keep Kids of All Ages Occupied and Entertained, pulled together by my co-worker and mom,... Read more »
Urge Congress to Include the Needs of People With Disabilities in Coronavirus Relief Legislation People with disabilities are more likely to have underlying health conditions – this means that they will be disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and need immediate support! Legislation is quickly moving through Congress to respond to this global crisis.We need... Read more »
Corona/Covid 19 We continue to monitor the public health issues facing us and our communities. As you are aware, most meetings larger than 30 have been canceled or rescheduled, including at the state capital with the legislative session being canceled next week. The Going Home Coalition is continuing to take registration for the May 14... Read more »
Arc of Illinois Events In light of concerns around the corona virus and the fact that many Arc leaders and families either have general healthconcerns or live with someone who has health concerns, we are making adjustments to many of our events. For March and April, we have moved some, hope to reschedule others and... Read more »
Statewide Transition Plan – Thanks to all those self-advocates, families and community organizations who submitted comments around the draft Statewide Transition Plan to implement the home and community based services settings rule. Here are our comments. As a reminder, this is just the first step in implementing the settings rule. The state will pull themes from... Read more »
The Arc of Illinois: Call To Action – Comments Needed! Speak Up for Community Living! Turnout for Townhalls, Webinar and Comments Needed! You have several opportunities this week and next to speak up to ensure that HCBS waiver dollars are spent on community like settings. Remember HCBS waiver dollars are limited, unlike institutional spending and... Read more »