This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 1996 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: HHS Press Office (202)690-6343
Under the voluntary experiments, persons with disabilities will be able to choose to receive cash with which to make their own personal care arrangements, instead of receiving services paid for directly by the Medicaid program. The cash would be coupled with information services to assist the recipient.
In the demonstration, the cash allowances will be paid directly to the disabled persons, enabling them to pick and purchase services they feel would best meet their needs. The counseling component will include various supportive services to help the consumer manage cash allowances, including information on hiring, training, supervising and paying personal assistants.
"Home care for people with disabilities is yet another area where we welcome innovative ideas, and we are pleased to be working with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in this demonstration," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "We want to help people with disabilities remain as independent as possible. And in this demonstration, we want to measure the improvements and efficiencies that may be possible when we provide greater discretion to individuals to make their own home care arrangements."
Arkansas and New York were selected from a pool of 17 states seeking to implement similar programs. The demonstrations will help determine how well cash payments can maximize consumer choice and promote efficiency. The "cash and counseling" approach also cultivates informal care, as consumers may hire relatives, friends or others to assist them in performing activities of daily living.
Arkansas will receive $448,294 and New York will receive $498,738 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to carry out the demonstrations. HHS "Office of Planning and Evaluation and the RWJ Foundation will co-sponsor a rigorous evaluation of the experimental approach. In addition, HHS' Health Care Financing Administration will work with the states in developing demonstration waivers allowing Medicaid benefits to be paid in cash.
The demonstration will be directed by Kevin J. Mahoney, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland Center on Aging.