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Agency Extends Deadline for Monroe County Residents

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) announced today it is extending the 10 day deadline for people who live in Monroe County to file for a hearing request related to their Medicaid waiver tier assignment. This extension is being granted because these people were forced to evacuate due to Hurricane Ike on September 5. On September 2, the agency mailed letters to its 31,000 Medicaid waiver recipients notifying them of their tier assignment.

Many Monroe County residents are just returning back to their homes this week. Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities Jim DeBeaugrine said, "In all fairness to the residents of Monroe County, we felt it was appropriate to give them additional time to review their tier assignment since they were subject to a mandatory evacuation order."

Requests from Monroe County residents received by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities by September 22 will be considered timely for the purpose of continuing services if a person requests an administrative hearing.

In 2007, the Florida Legislature required APD to create four new Medicaid developmental disability waivers called tiers. The Legislature established criteria for each of the four waiver tiers. The criteria cover the individual’s needed level of service, along with other important characteristics, and the person’s current living situation. The new tier system establishes financial limits for three of the tiers.

• Tier One   No cap
• Tier Two   Cap of $55,000
• Tier Three   Cap of $35,000
• Tier Four   Cap of $14,792

The agency projects that about 7,500 people will need to reduce their services due to being placed into a tier with a cap. Those customers are urged to immediately contact their waiver support coordinator to begin the process. Those APD customers affected by a cap will select the services that are most important to them, and then work with their waiver support coordinator to update their service plan.

The agency annually serves about 35,000 Floridians with developmental disabilities of mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and Prader-Willi syndrome. For more information on the agency, call 1-866-APD-CARES or visit www.apd.myflorida.com.