Support for Ombudsman and Beneficiary Counseling Programs for States Participating in Financial Alignment Model Demonstrations for Dually Eligible Individuals. - The Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging (OHA), previously known as Rhode Island Division of Elderly Affairs, was established to be the principal agency of the state to mobilize the human, physical, and financial resources available to plan, develop, and implement innovative programs to insure the dignity and independence of elderly and disabled individuals. OHA is responsible for the administration of the State Health Information Program (SHIP) and the Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Program and for the oversight of contracted community partner agencies who deliver SHIP and ADRC services, assistance, and counseling. The ADRC program in Rhode Island, known as the POINT, is operated by United Way of Rhode Island (UWRI), which will also be the contractor for this project. Rhode Island's ADRC is comprised of a network of state and local agencies, with the goal of providing seamless and well-coordinated access to services for seniors, adults with disabilities and their families and caregivers. Additionally, there are various regional 'POINTs' located at senior centers and community agencies throughout the state that support the central POINT and offer services with local community convenience. Since 2016, OHA has been administering the Financial Alignment Demonstration (FAD) grant with UWRI as the established partnership agency. The goal implemented for this project is to: empower, educate, and assist eligible dual beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers through objective outreach, counseling, and training to make informed health insurance decisions that optimize access to care and benefits. The Objectives are to: 1) Provide accurate, objective, unbiased, comprehensive information and assistance; and 2) Promote awareness, knowledge, and visibility of the program. As of January 2020, there are 20,634 dually eligible beneficiaries in RI. In efforts to continue to reach and educate the dually eligible population on their options, OHA is requesting a total budget of $ 1,367,008 ($341,752 a year) for a forty-five (45) month grant period to perform this project. The following narrative will illustrate the achievements that Rhode Island has made since the implementation of the Medicare-Medicaid Financial Alignment Demonstration (FAD). In addition, this narrative will demonstrate the need and importance of this program and why the approval for the continuation of this grant is necessary.
