From the Arc of NC
An Update on the Personal Care Services/ Group Home Crisis
In late December, many people with disabilities who had been receiving Personal Care Services (PCS) began receiving letters from the NC Division of Medical Assistance stating they did not qualify under newly implemented guidelines. This includes the vast majority of those who had received PCS and lived in group homes. The Arc of North Carolina and other organizations advised these people to appeal their denials. While most of these appeals are expected to be denied, those appealing will be able to continue receiving PCS until the appeals process is exhausted.
The NC legislature had hoped the state appeals process would drag out due to the large number of appeals, effectively buying time to put together a short term fix for the PCS crisis. So far we are not seeing that happen. This month we have received reports from across the state that the Medicaid appeals process is in full swing. There have been multiple reports of mediation calls and meetings for those individuals who appealed their PCS denial. Mediation is just the first step of the appeals process, but the rapid speed at which the legal process is moving is a surprise to many.
This means the “short term” fix of changing the special provision on the $39 million for PCS to include those living in group homes needs to happen as soon as the legislative session begins in earnest on January 30.
Governor Perdue had reserved $1 million to provide emergency funds in place for those who were denied PCS. However, that safety net is set to expire on January 31, 2013- one day after the new legislative session starts in earnest.
The clock is ticking and we are still facing a crisis. Many of those who no longer qualify for PCS live in group homes and potentially face homelessness. We urge legislative leaders to act quickly to avoid placing further undue hardship on people with disabilities affected by this crisis.
