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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 2, 2004

Contact: CMS Public Affairs
(202) 690-6145

HHS Awards $15.7 Million to Help People with Disabilities Return to Work

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the award of $15.7 million in grants to 28 states and the District of Columbia to help people with disabilities find and keep work without losing their health benefits.

With today's announcement, HHS has given $57 million in Medicaid Infrastructure grants to 42 states and the District of Columbia under this program. The grants advance the goals of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, a law passed by Congress to encourage people with disabilities to work without fear of losing their eligibility under Medicare, Medicaid or similar health benefits.

"These grants will help states to develop programs for working people with disabilities enabling them to go to work and receive health coverage through Medicaid," Secretary Thompson said. "Fear of losing access to health coverage is a major obstacle for people with disabilities who want to work, and this program helps reduce that concern. With the help of these grants, states are making great strides in helping people with disabilities who are able to work with the proper supports."

Under this program, states use the grants to help people with disabilities retain their Medicaid coverage when they become employed, to help provide appropriate personal assistance services for those who need help bathing, dressing and other necessary activities, and to support other improvements to help people with disabilities to remain successfully employed. To date, more than 59,000 working people with disabilities have received health coverage under such programs.

The states receiving the funding in 2004 include: Alabama, $500,000; California, $500,000; Illinois, $500,000; Indiana, $500,000; Kansas, $500,000; Louisiana, $500,000; Maine, $500,000; Maryland, $500,000; Minnesota, $566,293; Nebraska, $500,000; Nevada, $500,000; New Hampshire, $1,385,041; New Mexico, $499,575; New York, $500,000; North Carolina, $500,000; North Dakota, $500,000; Ohio, $500,000; Oklahoma, $500,000; Oregon, $500,000; Pennsylvania, $500,000; South Carolina, $500,000; South Dakota, $500,000; Utah, $500,000; Vermont, $500,000; Virginia, $500,000; Washington, $500,000; West Virginia, $500,000; Wisconsin, $761,692; and the District of Columbia, $500,000.

The grants are part of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, which aims at eliminating barriers that unnecessarily hinder Americans with disabilities as they seek to participate fully in the life of their communities.

"Any program that supports the efforts of those with disabilities to be productive, gainfully employed individuals is good both for the people involved and the economy," said Dennis Smith, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "We encourage the business community to seek out this pool of workers."

More information on this Medicaid Infrastructure Grant program may be found on the CMS Web site: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/twwiia/. More information about President Bush's New Freedom Initiative is available at http://www.hhs.gov/newfreedom/.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: March 2, 2004

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