North Carolina NCDHHS Vision for Long-term Services and Supports under Managed Care (2018)
Medicaid Managed Care Proposed Concept Paper: North Carolina’s Vision for Long-term Services and Supports under Managed Care
“The first priority of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) is the health and well-being of the beneficiaries it serves. Medicaid beneficiaries who use long-term services and supports (LTSS) are among North Carolina’s most vulnerable residents. The Department wants to ensure that this population experiences a seamless transition to Medicaid managed care and receives highquality, accessible services within managed care.
North Carolina is transitioning its Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs’ care delivery system for most beneficiaries and services from a predominantly fee-for-service1 to a predominantly managed care system.2 Because of this transition, newly procured prepaid health plans (PHPs) will provide LTSS to enrollees currently receiving such services through Medicaid. The populations using LTSS are extremely diverse in terms of individuals’ care needs, service utilization and spending. Managed care can offer significant opportunities to improve care coordination, access to community-based services and outcomes for these vulnerable populations, but requires special planning and preparation to ensure relationships with long-standing clinical and non-clinical providers will not be disrupted in the transition, that PHPs will be experienced in serving people with disabilities in a culturally competent manner, and that quality of care will be measured in a way that is meaningful to people who use LTSS.”
North Carolina HB 984: Oversight IDD Employment/Education Programs (2018)
“An Act to create a position within the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee administration and coordination of education and employment programs for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities…
Establishment of the Position. There is established within the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The Director shall have professional, administrative, technical, and clerical personnel as may be necessary to assist in carrying out his or her duties. The Director shall oversee the interagency coordination of education and employment programs and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
“Home to nearly 800,000 veterans and several major military installations, North Carolina has a distinguished history in serving the U.S. military veterans, and their families. This collection of resources provides services for veterans, transitioning service members, and eligible spouses to obtain employment.”
North Carolina Receives 1115 Waiver Approval, a Major Milestone for Medicaid and NC Health Care System (2018)
“North Carolina today received federal approval to implement the transition to Medicaid managed care and integrate physical health, behavioral health and pharmacy benefits. Receiving approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the amended 1115 Demonstration Waiver application submitted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in 2017 is a major milestone in implementing North Carolina’s Medicaid Transformation and in moving the state’s health care system toward further integration and coordination.”
North Carolina Department of Commerce: North Carolina Launches New Tools to Help Veterans Find Jobs (2018)
“North Carolina veterans now have new tools available to help them find jobs, Governor Roy Cooper announced today just ahead of Veterans Day and Employ a Veteran Week. The North Carolina Department of Commerce has developed the NCWorks Veterans Portal – located at veterans.ncworks.gov – to help both job seekers and employers…
The portal incorporates veterans’ Military Occupation Codes in an easy-to-use job search tool, so that users can find job postings that match their prior experience and training from any of the five branches of the armed services. Veterans who already have NCWorks Online accounts will use those same login credentials on this new portal. The site also helps veterans find their nearest NCWorks Career Center, where they can access free services in person and talk with professionals who specialize in helping veterans.”
Whole Foods Market to Pay $65,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Suit
~~“Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., doing business as Whole Foods Market, headquartered in Austin, Texas, will pay $65,000 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Whole Foods Market violated federal law by failing to accommodate and firing an employee because of her disability.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Whole Foods hired Diane Butler in 2005 as a cashier for a facility in Raleigh, N.C. Butler has polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disease causing uncontrolled growth of cysts in the kidney, eventually leading to kidney failure. In 2009, while working for Whole Foods, Butler had a kidney transplant. The EEOC said that in December 2015, Butler missed work on two occasions because she had been hospitalized and needed to visit the doctor because of her kidney. The EEOC further alleged that although Butler informed Whole Foods that she needed time off due to her kidney impairment, the company nonetheless fired Butler because of her absences.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects employees from discrimination based on a disability and requires employers to provide employees with disabilities with reasonable accommodations unless it would be an undue hardship.”
~~“Supporting innovative solutions with potential for public or private replication. Success is ideas that spark new models to increase employment for people with disabilities. For our 2019 grant request for proposals, we have a special interest in projects that use benefit planning, workforce incentives, and part-time employment to help people with disabilities obtain employment or re-enter the job market following injury.”
North Carolina NCDHHS Individual Placement and Support (IPS) (2020)
State-Funded Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for AMH/ASA
“…agencies providing IPS should integrate Employment First practices into their policies, procedures, and agency mission and values. Employment First principles include that competitive employment is the first and preferred outcome for individuals with mental health and co-occurring diagnoses, that employment opportunities are integrated in the community, pay at least minimum wage, and are not set aside jobs for individuals with disabilities. Agencies shall ensure that IPS-service information is evident through marketing flyers and posters in lobbies and service areas. The agency as a whole tracks employment as an outcome for all individuals served within the Agency, not just within the IPS team.”
North Carolina Executive Order 92: Employment First
“Employment First is the policy of State Agencies. This policy reflects the state’s goals to be a leader in recruiting workers with disabilities and to create an inclusive job climate for workers with disabilities. Competitive, integrated employment is the preferred mode of employment for all North Carolinians with disabilities regardless of level of disability. North Carolinians with disabilities should be able to work a job of their choosing, with reasonable support and accommodations provide to achieve and maintain employment
Employment First principles will apply to all individuals with intellectual and developmental, physical, sensory, mental health, and substance use disorder disabilities”
North Carolina State Human Resources Manual: Veteran’s Preference (2013)
“State law requires that employment preference be given for having served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty (for reasons other than training) during periods of war or any other campaign, expedition, or engagement for which a campaign badge or medal is authorized by the United States Department of Defense. The preference to be accorded eligible veterans shall apply in initial employment, subsequent employment, promotions, reassignments, horizontal transfers and reduction-in-force situations”
