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WISCONSIN AWARDED $2.1 MILLION TO HELP PEOPLE ACCESS HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE OPTIONS

Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors, Individuals with Disabilities

MADISON – Wisconsin will be able to help more state residents understand and access their health care options and manage the transition from nursing home to community-based care thanks to $2.1 million in grants under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that were announced this week.

The long-term care grants, announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department, are geared at making it easier for individuals and caregivers to navigate the health and long-term care options available in Wisconsin, especially community-based long-term care options.

“It can be very difficult to sort through the many health care options,” said Karen Timberlake, Department of Health Services Secretary. “The ACA seeks to make health care affordable, and these grants make it easier for people to access that care by helping them understand their choices and how to get the services they need.”

The grants will:

• Help Wisconsin’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) streamline access to long-term care services and support, put standards for options counseling in place and use transition services based on models that have shown success
• Provide outreach and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries about their benefits, including coverage for preventive services
• Help people who want to move from a nursing home to a community-based setting by simplifying the referral process to local ADRCs

The Affordable Care Act recently marked its six-month anniversary. Wisconsin has received several grants through the ACA, which will improve health care in the state.

Wisconsin also received three additional grants from HHS to improve the well-being of people with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. The grants assist in providing respite for family caregivers, improving referral procedures and offering innovative activities for people with dementia.

For information about the ACA grants: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/09/20100927a.html

For information about the Alzheimer’s support project grants: http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Press_Room/For_The_Press/pr/archive/2010/September/09_27_10.aspx

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Last Revised:  February 06, 2012