This notice relays the injunction issued in Martinez v. Schwarzenegger. The proposed IHSS wages cut, from $12.10 per hour to $10.10 per hour, is stopped. [Download]

A recent amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code section 12305.1 requires that, effective July 1, 2009, individuals in Personal Care Services Program (PCSP) or IHSS Independence Plus Waiver (IPW) who were eligible for and received services under one of those programs before July 1, 2009, and who continue to receive those services, will continue to receive the CDSS payment of Medi-Cal Recognized Expenses (MRE).

Individuals who are or become eligible for the PCSP, or either IPW or a successor program to IPW, on or after July 1, 2009, will not be eligible for the payment of MRE. Additionally, individuals who are or become eligible for the IHSS Residual (IHSS-R) program on or after July 1, 2009 who would otherwise be eligible to receive this payment will not be eligible for the payment of MRE. IHSS recipients who leave any of the above programs, or lose eligibility and subsequently regain eligibility for services through these programs, will not be eligible for the payment
of MRE. [Download]

This errata does not say what was wrong with the prior one, and contains some of the same information, but also new information. Working with IHSS and health benefits? Read both! [Download]

The how to’s for changing Public Authority (PA) Rate Change Requests to reflect the reduction in the statutory maximum amount in which the state will participate from $12.10 to $10.10, effective July 1, 2009. Counties currently providing wages and individual health benefits above $10.10 must submit a PA Rate Change Request to reflect the change in the maximum amount in which the state will participate and a letter of intent by July 1, 2009. [Download]

More American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 goodies. CDSS will not pay, and cannot claim reimbursement for the 65 percent COBRA subsidy under the federal law. For purposes of COBRA, the entity administering the health benefit, typically the county or an entity they delegate this to, such as the Public Authority (PA), will need to modify its current accounting procedures to include the COBRA claiming process. The ACL includes model notices to employees. [Download]

A state law change affects financial participation in wages and health benefits for IHSS Public Authority (PA) counties. It reduces the level of state participation in IHSS Individual Providers’ wages and health benefits, from $12.10 to $10.10 per hour, effective July 1, 2009. The ACIN describes the process for implementing this change, including that Counties must submit a Rate Change Request to reduce the wages and health benefits to the $10.10 state participation level no later than May 1, 2009. Counties which opt to remain above the $10.10 state participation level will have a different sharing ratio for the amounts over $10.10. [Download]