Acting unanimously on Tuesday, the Massachusetts Senate passed its version of the Omnibus Autism Bill.

The bill now extends insurance coverage for medically necessary treatments to Mass Health recipients for ABA behavior therapy and both dedicated and non-dedicated augmentative communication devices.  Access to ABA can dramatically improve outcomes and is a smarter way to invest Mass Health dollars. Schools that already provide ABA to Mass Health eligible children would be able to bill for federal reimbursement.

Other important provisions of the bill include expanding the definition of developmental disability which adds Autism, Smith-Magenis Syndrome or Prader-Willi Syndrome to the current definition for "person with developmental disability." 

This change will assist many individuals on the autism spectrum whose functional needs are not reflected by their IQ score and who are now denied access to DDS.

The bill also creates an Autism Commission and the ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) savings and expense account.

The tax-free savings ABLE account will be established to allow individuals and families to save in a 529-style plan for expenses including education, housing, and any other needed supports and services.

This legislation would reestablish the Autism Commission as a permanent and autonomous entity. The Autism Commission is necessary because the previous Autism Commission sun-setted upon release of their report. The legislation also provides for an executive director to support autism advocacy, training and reporting.

The Senate also called upon DDS and DMH to establish and implement a plan to provide services to individuals who have both a mental illness and a developmental disability and are also eligible for services from both the department of developmental services and the department of mental health. The departments shall jointly file a report on the plan not later than December 31, 2015.

The Bill now heads to a Conference Committee to work out the differences favored by each respective Chamber.

 

As ADDP reported earlier this year, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is poised to receive up to an additional $110 million for FY 15 as part of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare's Balancing Incentive Program.

The Balancing Incentive Program authorizes grants to States to increase access to non-institutional long-term services and supports (LTSS) as of October 1, 2011.

The Balancing Incentive Program will help States transform their long-term care systems by:

• Lowering costs through improved systems performance & efficiency
• Creating tools to help consumers with care planning & assessment
• Improving quality measurement & oversight 

The Balancing Incentive Program also provides new ways to serve more people in home and community-based settings, in keeping with the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as required by the Olmstead decision. The Balancing Incentive Program was created by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Section 10202).

Massachusetts has received $110 million based upon meeting a variety of factors including already having met over 50% of the program's goal of strengthening community placements and opportunities.

DDS services and programs have played a significant role in meeting  the 50% community based threshold required to be met in the BIP program expectations. In fact over one third of  the $110 million award are directly attributable to DDS participation in the Governor's Community First Program.

As EOHHS determines how the BIP funds will be allocated, ADDP and others are requesting that DDS Residential programs receive its proportional share of the funds its participation has generated.