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MGH Community News |
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MGH Community News |
| August 2012 | Volume 16 • Issue 8 |
Highlights
Sections Social Service staff may direct resource questions to the Community Resource Center, Lindsey Streahle, x6-8182. Questions, comments about the newsletter? Contact Ellen Forman, x6-5807. |
Homelessness Prevention: RAFT Program Returns The Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) homelessness prevention program is back! After several years of minimal funding ($260,000 statewide), RAFT has been funded by the Legislature at $8.76 million for fiscal year 2013 (that started July 1, 2012). This means that RAFT is once again a statewide program. RAFT is run by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), in collaboration with ten partner agencies. Eligibility:
Benefits: A maximum of $4,000 per family in a 12 month period. Assistance Types for those living independently:
To support families living in a co-housing situation RAFT will also allow incentive payments to primary tenant and landlord including: |
Travel expenses are available to families moving out of state. RAFT providers will identify the most economical strategy to support an out-of-state move. In limited circumstances RAFT funds may be used for certain other expenses. See FY'13 RAFT administrative plan/program guidance for details. To Apply: Families cannot simply request a RAFT application. The administering agencies will generally rule-out other alternatives and community benefits before referring a family to RAFT. Families should contact their local RAFT administering agency (note this includes the Housing Consumer Education Centers such as MBHP, and additionally the Central MA Housing Alliance in Worcester and the North Shore Regional Resource Center in Lynn). More Information:
-Adapted from August Updates: RAFT Prevention Program Is Back and New Family Shelter Eligibility Standards Are in Effect, Kelly Turley, Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, August 20, 2012; MBHP’s fact sheet “Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT)” and FY'13 RAFT administrative plan/program guidance.
Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter Restrictions- Phase 1 Has Started As reported last month (Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter Restrictions, MGH Community News), new Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter restrictions are being implemented. To qualify for EA shelter, families who are doubled-up or staying in a place not meant for human habitation must demonstrate that they are facing substantial health and safety risks. Since August 6th, the Department of Housing and Community Development has been using more restrictive health and safety standards to determine families' eligibility. According to a statement from the Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, based on the experiences over the past few weeks of families seeking shelter, the documents released by DHCD, and conversations with DHCD to date, DHCD already has been excluding or can exclude from shelter families who:
Additional changes related to eligibility for families experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence, fire, flood, natural disasters, and certain no fault evictions are set to take effect in September, after 60 days' advance notice to the Legislature. DHCD will hold a public hearing about the new regulations in early October. In the meantime, DHCD has opened a 90-day public comment period. Comments can be addressed to Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein and sent to:
Please also share a copy of your comments with the Coalition. For regular updates see the EA Regulation Page on the Coalition’s website. -Adapted from August Updates: RAFT Prevention Program Is Back and New Family Shelter Eligibility Standards Are in Effect, Kelly Turley, Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, August 20, 2012. TAFDC Children's Clothing Allowance: Increased Welfare Benefits and Eligibility for the Month of September For the month of September, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) will once again increase the income eligibility limits and payment standards for the TAFDC program. This increase in the payment standard is known as the clothing allowance benefit, and occurs only in September. Families participating in the TAFDC program will receive up to an additional $150/eligible child. Families can receive a clothing allowance for each child currently receiving TAFDC benefits or eligible to receive benefits. Ineligible children include children who are:
Families will receive $150/child if they are participating in the TAFDC program as of September 1st or if they apply by September 1st and are approved later; families that receive TAFDC for only part of September will receive a prorated clothing allowance. Please note: The clothing allowance benefit is considered income under Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, a.k.a. Food Stamp) rules. As with other increases in income, the receipt of the clothing allowance can lead to a temporary decrease in SNAP benefits for some families. For more information, please contact your local DTA office . TAFDC Income Eligibility Limit Increase: The TAFDC income eligibility limits will increase for September: the eligibility standard will be increased by $277.50 for each eligible applicant or recipient under age 19. This means that many low-income working families that normally are over-income for TAFDC benefits will become eligible for the clothing allowance. Although these families will not receive cash benefits, they may be able to receive one year of MassHealth benefits and subsidized child care, in addition to the clothing allowance. For more information , please contact DTA or Kelly Turley at the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless: 781-595-7570 x17 or kelly@mahomeless.org. -Adapted from Accessing the Clothing Allowance: Increased TAFDC Benefits and Eligibility for the Month of September, Kelly Turley, Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, August 28, 2012. Immigration: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Applications Now Accepted As of August 15, 2012, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting DACA applications from hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants across the country, allowing them to live and work without fear of deportation in the land where they were raised. The date marks the end of the 60-day waiting period since President Obama announced his administration's decision to institute the new policy. You may request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals if you:
As the President emphasized in his June 15 announcement, deferred action is a "temporary stopgap" that provides no permanent legal status to these young people. An analysis by the Immigration Policy Center estimates that over 900,000 youth between the age of 15 and 30 could benefit from the policy immediately. In Massachusetts, the estimate is 12,210 immediate beneficiaries. Additional Information and FAQs Cost: The total fees will be $465. What is deferred action? If my case is deferred, am I in lawful status for the period of deferral? Can I extend the period for which removal action will be deferred in my case? Yes. Unless terminated, individuals whose case is deferred pursuant to the consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals process will not be placed into removal proceedings or removed from the United States for a period of two years. You may request consideration for an extension of that period of deferred action. You must also request an extension of your employment authorization at that time. Will the information I share in my request for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals be used for immigration enforcement purposes? Information provided in this request is protected from disclosure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice To Appear or a referral to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the criteria set forth in USCIS’s Notice to Appear guidance at www.uscis.gov/NTA . If USCIS does not exercise deferred action in my case, will I be placed in removal proceedings? If your request for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals is denied, USCIS will apply its policy guidance governing the referral of cases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA). If your case does not involve a criminal offense, fraud, or a threat to national security or public safety, your case will not be referred to ICE for purposes of removal proceedings except if DHS determines there are exceptional circumstances. For More Information
Information sessions MIRA will be offering FREE DACA APPLICATION ASSISTANCE on a limited basis. For more information and resources on DACA and a list of upcoming information sessions and application assistance sessions: www.miracoalition.org/en/resources/dream-deferred-action -Adapted from FINAL PRESS ADVISORY: Hundreds of DREAMers Will Attend Forums on Deferred Action, MIRA Coalition, August 09, 2012 and the USCIS Brochure I Am a Young Person Who Arrived in the United States as a Child (Childhood Arrival). How Do I…Request Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals? Gov. Signs Bill Changing the CHINS Program Massachusetts is overhauling the way it handles troubled kids. In early August Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill that changes the state's Children In Need of Services program, also known as CHINS. This new legislation, which will be phased in over the next three years, creates a network of family resource centers across the state where kids can receive social services; it requires school districts to come up truancy prevention programs before referring students to juvenile court; and it transfers responsibility of handling troubled kids from the juvenile court system to the state's Health and Human Services office. “The community programs will be the front door,” said Marylou Sudders, president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which lobbied for the changes. The CHINS program deals with about 8,000 children a year. Advocates have lobbied for years to change the program, which they say needlessly brings wayward teenagers into the juvenile justice system and creates a stigma that can make them feel like criminals. The bill also prohibits children from being arrested, confined in shackles, or placed in a court lockup unless they are accused of breaking the law. -See the full Boston Globe article… The RIDE- New Location for In-Person Transactions The MBTA has opened its new CharlieCard Store in downtown Boston. Adjacent to the Red and Orange Lines at Downtown Crossing Station, the CharlieCard Store is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Users of The RIDE seeking to add value to their account will use this office rather than the former Back Bay site which is now closed. Other transactions available at the CharlieCard Store include obtaining a required photo ID for a Senior Pass, Transportation Access Pass (TAP), or Blind Access Pass. Also at the CharlieCard Store, customers may
Our patient handout on setting up The RIDE has been updated with this new information. On the Staff Access area of our website go to Transportation > User instruction sheet, once approved – Setting up The RIDE . -Adapted from: http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/news_events/?id=25385&month=&year= New Mass. Law Allows Drug Coupons for Prescription Drugs A new Massachusetts law will allow patient to use pharmaceutical company coupons to get discounts on prescription drugs. A longstanding ban against the coupons in Massachusetts — the last state to prohibit them — was lifted as part of the state budget signed by Governor Deval Patrick on July 8. Patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid are still barred from using the coupons, because federal regulators consider them illegal kickbacks. The law expires in 2015 unless it is renewed. Under it, the state must conduct a detailed analysis to determine if health care costs rise after the lifting of the coupon ban. The review will examine whether patients are more faithful about taking their medications and whether there are changes in the use of generic, versus brand-name, drugs. -See the full Boston Globe article…
Notes from McInnis House tour 7/12/12 Tour provided by Kathleen Saunders, NP Director of Case Management
-Thanks to Kathleen Saunders and Sarah Ciambrone, MD for the tour and revising these notes for publication.
Medicare Surpasses Private Plans in Cost Control A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) finds that Medicare controls spending better than private plans do. Yet in the midst of current deficit-reduction debates, where Medicare reform remains front and center, some policymakers claim that Medicare spending is unsustainable. These same policymakers argue that controlling the nation’s deficit requires drastic changes to Medicare’s structure—including making beneficiaries pay more for less health security. Yet data on Medicare spending does not support such claims. Overall, health care spending slowed towards the end of the decade, but more so in Medicare than among private plans. The report finds that between 2000 and 2010, Medicare spending per enrollee grew at a lower rate annually than did spending among private payers. While the reasons behind this spending slowdown are not well-understood, the report partly attributes a number of specific policy changes, such as measures taken to reduce hospital spending and increased utilization of generic drugs. Proposals that would cut Medicare and shift costs to beneficiaries fail to recognize that Medicare is an innovator in delivery—and cost—reform that can improve spending in the health care system as a whole. As the NEJM report concludes, Medicare should not be restructured; rather, policymakers should look to the program for examples of how to successfully contain costs. Read the NEJM article, “Medicare and Medicaid Spending Trends and the Deficit Debate.” - From Getting Medicare Right, Medicare Watch, Volume 3, Issue 31, The Medicare Rights Center, August 16, 2012, http://www.medicarerights.org/issues-actions/medicare-watch-archive/2012-31.php. Medicaid Managed Care Program Doesn’t Reduce Costs Insurers that contract with the state to manage the care of low-income Medicaid patients are expected to save money, in part by negotiating lower prices with health providers. But a new report by the state inspector general found that the plans (Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan, Fallon Community Health Plan, Health New England, Neighborhood Health Plan, and Network Health) pay higher fees to many hospitals and doctors than the traditional Medicaid program pays for the same services. In the 2011 fiscal year, the higher payments cost taxpayers $328 million, the report said. Hospitals that dominate their region or have a highly recognizable name and strong reputation were paid the most, up to 2.5 times the standard Medicaid rate, the investigation found. The report did not examine whether the managed care plans, which rely on case managers to prevent unnecessary care and help people manage chronic illnesses, save money over the long term. It focuses instead on shorter-term variation in payments to health care providers. Gregory W. Sullivan, the since departed inspector general. said these plans, which covered 490,000 people last year, fear losing members to competitors if they exclude popular hospitals and doctors. That undermines the plans’ leverage in negotiations, allowing these hospitals and doctors to charge higher rates. In the report, Sullivan’s office recommended that the state use its contracts with the plans to cap payments to hospitals at 5 percent above the state-set rate and to doctors at 10 percent above that rate. The plans renegotiated with providers last year to lower prices, but it is not clear whether the changes reduced disparities in how much they collect. The trade group representing the plans criticized the report, saying it does not present a fair picture of their benefits. -See the full The Boston Globe article… Affordable Care Act: the Prevention and Wellness Provisions You May Have Missed Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law 28 months ago and largely upheld in June by the Supreme Court, it’s illegal for insurers to charge consumers a co-payment for a long list of health care services designed to prevent disease. In fact, while they have been largely overshadowed by the furor over the requirement that everyone carry health insurance, there are many provisions in the law designed to encourage wellness, fitness and prevention. It’s an effort to improve health and reduce the ever-escalating cost of health care. Under the law, the following health care services, and many others, must be offered free. Adults: Screening for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, colorectal cancer and depression; immunizations; obesity counseling and help quitting smoking. Women: Screenings for gestational diabetes and cervical cancer; well-woman visits. Children: Behavioral assessments, body mass index measurements, vision and lead screening. Seniors: Under Medicare, bone mass measurement, prostate cancer screening, cholesterol and cardiovascular screening, flu shots. -See the full Washington Post article…
APA Stands Up for Transgender, Gender-Variant Individuals The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has issued official position statements of support for access to healthcare and a repeal of laws and policies that discriminate against individuals who are transgender and gender variant. The APA's new Access to Care position statement declares that the organization
The new discrimination position statement declares that the APA
The position statements are available on the APA's Web site. -See the full Mescape.com article…
Music Therapy Brings Dementia Patients 'Back to Life' The surprising popularity of a 6-minute video uploaded to YouTube last spring is bringing enthusiastic attention to music therapy programs as a possible way to improve symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia. A program known as Music and Memory was created by former social worker Dan Cohen as a way to "awaken" memories in these patients through the use of personalized music selections played on mp3 players. A documentary about him and the program, entitled Alive Inside, is currently in production; it is a video clip from this documentary that garnered unbelievable attention. With more than 6 million views, the clip features "Henry," an elderly man with dementia who is first shown slumped over in his chair, barely acknowledging those around him. But after headphones are slipped on him, he instantly lights up and becomes more animated, even humming along with the music. More dramatically, after the headphones are taken off, he is shown being able to answer questions and even sings snippets of his favorite songs. "This is not a cure, but we are increasing patients' level of engagement," Dan Cohen told Medscape Medical News. He reports that the program is currently being used in 50 nursing homes in 15 states and in Canada — although his goal is to eventually reach homes all across North America. Information about donating iPods and other mp3 players to the program is available on Music and Memory's Web site. -See the full Medscape.com article… Ethnic minorities are less likely to be seen by psychiatrists and more likely to be seen in primary care, and lower rates of recognition of depression in primary care may result in disparities in treatment. A 10-year analysis (1995-2005) of depression in ambulatory care found that, although disparities were largely eliminated in psychiatric care, they remained in primary care for blacks and Hispanics in particular. Disparities ran the gamut from diagnosis, to referral for counseling, to prescription for antidepressants. These disparities can be partially explained by cultural and linguistic barriers.
-See the full Medscape.com article…
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