Friday, October 17, 2008 - Medicaid Discussed

NEWS from the North Dakota Department of Human Services

600 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck ND 58505-0250



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2008



Contacts: Jake Reuter, Program Manager, Medical Services Division, 701-328-2321, or jwreuter@nd.gov, or Heather Steffl, Public Information Officer, N.D. Dept. of Human Services, 701-328-4933



Transitioning elderly and people with disabilities from institutions is subject of Oct. 20 meeting



BISMARCK, N.D. – Stakeholders advising the North Dakota Department of Human Services on grant-funded efforts to transition Medicaid-eligible individuals from institutional to home and community-based services are meeting October 20, 2008, 1-4 p.m. in the Pioneer Room, Judicial Wing of the Capitol in Bismarck. The public is welcome to attend.



Meeting agenda items include: national Money Follows the Person grant training, affordable housing proposal, Aging and Disabilities Resource Center update, Tribal community services, transition services, home and community-based service capacity planning, marketing and public education strategies, barriers to transitions, Rebalancing Fund utilization plan development, and other business.



The Money Follows the Person stakeholder committee includes consumers and their family members, service providers, advocates, agency staff, the centers for independent living, and other interested persons and entities. They act in an advisory capacity to help guide the implementation of North Dakota’s $8.9 million federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grant.



The federal Money Follows the Person initiative works to strengthen access to home and community-based long-term care services and to transition Medicaid-eligible individuals from institutional care to home and community-based services. Participation is voluntary.



Individuals who need special accommodations to attend should contact project manager Jake Reuter at 701-328-4090 or jwreuter@nd.gov. Information about the grant is posted on the department’s Web site at http://www.nd.gov/dhs/info/pubs/mfp.html.

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