{"id":25416,"date":"2013-08-12T14:08:08","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T18:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=25416"},"modified":"2013-08-12T14:08:08","modified_gmt":"2013-08-12T18:08:08","slug":"guest-column-transitioning-into-the-medicaid-long-term-care-program-what-recipients-need-to-know-about-how-to-choose-a-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2013\/08\/guest-column-transitioning-into-the-medicaid-long-term-care-program-what-recipients-need-to-know-about-how-to-choose-a-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Column – Transitioning Into The Medicaid Long-Term Care Program: What Recipients Need To Know About How To Choose A Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Justin Senior, Florida Medicaid Director, Agency for Health Care Administration<\/p>\n

\"\"Does Medicaid pay for your long-term care services? If so, this is important information you need to know. The way you receive long-term care services is changing soon. Your services will be provided by a managed care plan. The Agency wants to make sure the change to the Medicaid Long-term Care program is as easy as possible for you.\u00a0 This change is not for all Medicaid recipients.\u00a0 This message is only for those who get long-term care services.\u00a0 For example, those currently receiving help in their home for baths, eating and dressing; adult day health care; home-delivered meals; homemaker services, or who live in assisted living with Medicaid paying for part of the bills may need to transition into the Medicaid Long-term Care program.<\/p>\n

As a Medicaid long-term care recipient, you have the option to choose the managed care plan that best fits your individual needs.\u00a0 All plans cover the same basic services, but some plans offer additional benefits.\u00a0 We encourage you to use a choice counselor to help you learn about the additional benefits offered by each plan in your area.\u00a0 There is no cost to talk to or meet with a choice counselor.<\/p>\n

If you live in Medicaid Region 8, which includes Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Lee or Collier counties and you are required to enroll in the Long-term Care program, you were already mailed a letter about this change.\u00a0 You should have also received a packet that included information about the different plans available in your area.\u00a0 At this point, you need to make a choice regarding which of these plans you would like to enroll in.\u00a0 You should make this choice no later than August 22, 2013.\u00a0 If you do not make a choice before this deadline, you will be assigned to the plan listed in your letter.\u00a0 Again you do not have to make this decision alone.<\/p>\n

There are three ways to learn more about the plans in your area and make a choice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Use the website:\u00a0 www.FLMedicaidManagedCare.com<\/a> . It was made to help you.\u00a0 This website allows you to select the county you live in.\u00a0 From there, you can view information about the Long-term Care program and about each plan in your area.<\/li>\n
  2. Talk with a choice counselor on the phone:\u00a0 Call 1-877-711-3662 or the TDD number at 1-866-467-4970.<\/li>\n
  3. Meet with a choice counselor in person:\u00a0 Call 1-877-711-3662 to schedule an appointment.\u00a0 A choice counselor may be able to meet you in your home or at another location where you are comfortable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When choosing a plan, you may want to consider the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • What services do I think I need?\u00a0 Assisted Living?\u00a0 Personal Care?\u00a0 Adult Day Care?<\/li>\n
    • Which plan has the providers I currently use or think I will need?<\/li>\n
    • Are the providers I need a part of the plan?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The choice counseling call center operates between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.\u00a0 Please consider the questions above and be prepared to provide the Florida Medicaid number or Social Security number and birth date for the person who will be enrolling.<\/p>\n

      The Agency\u2019s mission is to provide better health care for all Floridians and we take that very seriously.\u00a0 We understand that the health care system can be hard to understand. \u00a0That is why the Agency has Medicaid offices throughout the state.\u00a0 If you need help finding a provider or have any issue with Medicaid, please contact your local Medicaid office at 239-335-1300 or 800-226-6735.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      By Justin Senior, Florida Medicaid Director, Agency for Health Care Administration Does Medicaid pay for your long-term care services? If so, this is important information you need to know. The… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25416"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}