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CONTACT: Stephanie Marquis, 608-266-1683
WAUKESHA COUNTY ENTERS INTO FAMILY CARE
MADISON - Secretary Karen Timberlake today
announced the launch of Family Care in Waukesha County. Family Care will
provide more choices and improved access to health and long-term care
services for hundreds of seniors and people with disabilities in the area.
"Family Care will give senior citizens and disabled
individuals in Waukesha County the option of receiving the long-term care
they need within their homes or communities," said Secretary
Timberlake. "This initiative improves health care quality and access,
saves taxpayers money and, most importantly, it keeps people healthy and
independent. We are pleased to have Care Wisconsin and Community Care as
partners in this program."
Secretary Timberlake was joined at the Care Wisconsin
Offices in Waukesha by Ken Eimers, Chief Operating Officer of Care
Wisconsin, community leaders, advocates and service providers to celebrate
the occasion.
Waukesha County, Community Care and Care Wisconsin are a
part of the Family Partnership Care Management Coalition (FPCMC), one of
the public/private partnerships to receive a planning grant for long-term
care reform from Governor Jim Doyle and DHS.
"We are proud to be part of Family Care in Waukesha
County," said Eimers. "This is a positive step forward to
ensuring that frail seniors, adults with developmental disabilities and
adults with physical disabilities get access to quality services when they
need them and don’t go on a waitlist."
Care Wisconsin and Community Care started Family Care in
Waukesha County on July 1, 2008. Initial members will include more than
700 individuals who have been waiting for services in Waukesha County and
1,142 individuals who have been participating in Waukesha’s Medicaid
waiver programs. All current Medicaid waiver participants will transition
to Family Care by January 1, 2009. Persons previously on waitlists should
receive services within 24 months.
Family Care provides an entitlement to long-term care,
using Medicaid dollars flexibly and not just earmarking dollars for
nursing home care. While Wisconsin has been a national leader in offering
community-based alternatives to nursing home care, about 11,500 people
remain on waitlists for community care statewide.
Family Care currently operates in 17 counties throughout
the state. In an independent assessment of four counties, Family Care
saved an average of $452 per person, per month in total Medical Assistance
expenditures. The program will expand to at least 25 counties by early
2009.
For more information about Family Care in Waukesha County,
call toll-free 1-866-677-2372 or visit the Aging and Disability Resource
Center at 1320 Pewaukee Rd., Waukesha. For general information about
Family Care, go to http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/LTCare/
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Last Revised: July 12, 2010 |
