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July 17, 2014 12:00 am • Cathy Contarino 0
HomeHome // NewsNews // OpinionOpinion // ColumnistsColumnists
Strengthening Illinois’ home care program
An Illinois Medicaid program that gives adults withdisabilities vital home care assistance was unfortunatelythrust into the news recently. Fourteen workers in the MetroEast region were charged with alleged time fraud in the HomeServices Program and 15 workers were indicted in theSpringfield area.
As an individual with a disability, and a customer of theHome Services Program through the Illinois Division ofRehabilitation, I rely on personal assistants who assist me tolive independently and to go to work every day. I also serveas the executive director of IMPACT Center for IndependentLiving where we advocate with individuals with disabilities ofall ages to live full and fulfilling lives of our own choosing. Sothe news of the alleged fraud is very distressing.
Let’s be crystal clear: Any fraud in the Home ServicesProgram should not be tolerated whatsoever. And those whobreak the law should be held legally accountable.
The alleged time fraud and possible prosecutions shouldn’tbe a reason to completely undermine or diminish animportant and vital home care program that supports over32,000 customers to live in their own homes with dignity,security and privacy. The Home Services Program alsoemploys an estimated 26,000 workers whose service,professionalism, and commitment to consumers make this avaluable investment, especially for the taxpayers of Illinois.
The Home Services Program saves the state of Illinois tens of millions of dollars every year becauseit reduces institutional and nursing home costs. According to the Illinois Department of Health andFamily Services, the state pays an average of $4,250 a month for every resident in a nursing home,whereas home care assistance is only one-third of the costs.
But the most concerning issue that came out of the press coverage from the indictments werecomments that individuals shouldn’t be allowed to choose our own personal assistants. We shouldbe allowed to choose, for our own sense of privacy or personal security, to have a family member orsomeone we know and trust to be a personal assistant. That should be our right. One must considerthat a personal assistant is intimately involved in our lives and assists us with some of the most
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private aspects of a person’s daily routine, from cooking and cleaning, to helping to managemedications to bathing and personal hygiene.
Despite the recent news about wrongdoing, the truth is that the Home Services Program is onlygetting stronger because of five new and important fraud prevention measures implemented fromthe state.
• On May 22, the Illinois Department of Human Services announced a new timekeeping system forcaregivers to safeguard against fraud.
• The state is now requiring all personal assistants undergo mandatory training in preventing fraudand abuse.
• The state is now conducting background checks on personal assistants while also preserving theconsumers’ right to hire and choose their own provider.
• The state created an anti-fraud unit within the Department of Human Services to identify potentialsuspicious cases.
• The Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living, which our local CIL is a partner of, justrolled out a statewide program to provide training to people with disabilities on how to recognizeand avoid fraud, abuse and neglect.
All of these fraud prevention measures were either announced or enacted by the state before theserecent indictments as a sign that the state is already moving in the right direction.
I am someone whose life has been transformed because of the Home Services Program. It’s why I’mable to work, pay taxes and write this commentary from my desk and continue to advocate forequal rights for all. A few bad apples who were up to no good, who if convicted should be heldresponsible, shouldn’t take away my independence and the tens of thousands of other individualswith disabilities.
Cathy Contarino is executive director of IMPACT Center for Independent Living in Alton.
Copyright 2014 stltoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Illinois, Impact Center For Independent Living, Cathy Contarino, Illinois Department Of HumanServices
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