IHSS Recipients Face 3.6% Cut in Hours Feb. 1

En español |The 3.6 percent cut was approved as part of the 2010-2011 budget passed last fall. PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR CLIENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

You should have received in the mail a Notice of Action (NOA) stating that your IHSS hours will be cut by 3.6 percent beginning February 1, 2011.
This 3.6 percent cut in your total authorized hours was approved as part of the budget legislation passed in October 2010.
The cut will be applied to your most recent assessment of hours. (NOTE: See below for important information about “unmet need”.)
You can choose which services to reduce. For example: If you lose two hours of service a week, you can choose to cut two hours from one service or split it up over different services.
If you have more than one provider and they have assigned hours, these hours will automatically be reduced 3.6%. If you want to change how the reduction is applied to your providers – for example if you wish to apply it to one provider and not the other(s) – you must contact your local IHSS office. If the hours are not assigned among your providers, it is your responsibility to direct your providers on where the reductions are to be made.
You do NOT have the right to an appeals hearing when the only issue you disagree with is the state law requiring a 3.6 per cent cut in your IHSS hours.
However, you retain your right to appeal any other county action made on your case. The new law states: “The (3.6%) reduction … shall not preclude any reassessment to which a recipient would otherwise be entitled.”
If you need to adjust your service hours because you believe you have not been assessed enough hours, it is your right to request a state hearing at any time to review the current amount of aid you are receiving. You should do this as soon as possible. Instructions on how to appeal are included with the NOA. If appropriate, we recommend that you request that the review extend back as many as 90 days from the date in which you file a request for a hearing.
You should also request “aid paid pending” when you submit your request for a hearing, even though your request probably will not be approved.
Keep in mind that any hours authorized as a result of your reassessment will also be subject to the 3.6 percent reduction.

NOTE: “Unmet need” refers to a situation where you need more hours of care than what IHSS provides. If you have documented “unmet need” (with the exception of protective supervision), the 3.6 percent cut will be applied first to this unmet need. Therefore, your actual reduction in IHSS hours may be significantly less than 3.6 per cent.

If you have “unmet need” that is not documented, under assessed, or incorrectly printed on your NOA, we recommend that you submit an appeal as soon as possible, using the instructions contained in your NOA. You have until February 1, 2011 to ask for “aid paid pending” when submitting your request for a hearing. This means you are requesting to have your services continue at the current level until the hearing date.

If you wait until after February 1, 2011 you can still request a hearing since you have 90 days from the mailing date of the NOA to submit an appeal. However, you are not entitled to “aid paid pending” at that point.

If you or your client needs additional information about the 3.6 percent cut, contact UDW toll-free at 1-800-621-5016 and ask for the Member Call Center. You can also contact your local UDW County office.

Thank you for helping your client deal with this difficult situation, and thank you for your continued support of UDW

Related Information:

Flyer from National Senior Citizens Law Center

All County Letter #10-61 on 3.6% cuts (sent by the state to all California counties, instructing them on the implementation of this cut)

More Information on IHSS Assessments & Appeals
In-Home Supportive Services – Nuts and Bolts – Index Page to select individual chapters, appendices, manual (May 2008). Also available in:
Chinese (pdf) #5470.04, Spanish (pdf) #5470.02, Vietnamese (pdf) #5470.05.

How to fight back against IHSS budget cuts

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Author: UDW Newswire
Date: January 10th, 2011
Comments: 8 Comments »
Filed: Homecare & IHSS News
Tags: Consumer Advocacy, IHSS, IHSS Consumers, IHSS Providers, State Budget Cuts

Kimberly Clark

So pretty much our clients have no rights to appeal this decision. Other than the loophole my client Raquel found to appealt he decision based upon medical need and not the reduction. Are these people really that stupid, if we cannot care for our clients, having them put into the hospital costs the state more money than us caring for them. The social worker for my client state “just put her into the hospital if needed”. That is not a solution since my client refuses to go to the hospital unless its very serious and usually by the time she does go in they put her on life support. She does fine when i am with her but without me i feel these cuts only hurt our clients.
http://www.cantkeepmedown.org MrParalyzedProductions

I’m a quad. Why is it that when cuts are made to IHSS, they just cut EVERYONE across the board? Why not leave the severly disabled alone? We make up a very small percentage of IHSS recepients, yet even when 10 hours a month are cut, this could result in hours we are left alone without care or supervision. Hours when we can’t be moved to prevent getting a bed sore, which can result in major complications, even death. I think that quadriplegics should be identified as “safe” from such cuts at all times.
http://www.udwa.org Kristine

I think this issue is of huge concern, and I know UDW and other advocates will fight these cuts.

In previous attempts to cut IHSS the Schwarzenegger administration attempted to base the cuts on the consumer’s “Functional Index” (FI) in a misguided attempt to protect those with extreme physical disabilities. Because the FI does not take other types of disability in to account (mental dysfunctions such as Alzheimer’s, blindness etc) it created another set of problems and discriminations. Consequently those cuts were taken to court by advocates, and stopped.

It is my understanding consumers that are impacted should make sure they have any “unmet need” documented by their case worker. “Unmet need” is where you require more hours of care than what IHSS provides, and that care is provided by a friend, family member or other outside resource. It would be noted on your Notice of Action (NOA – the document you get after your most current assessment. If you have documented “unmet need” (with the exception of protective supervision), the 3.6 percent cut will be applied first to this unmet need. Therefore, your actual reduction in IHSS hours may be significantly less than 3.6 per cent. If you think your unmet need was not correctly documented then you can request a state hearing and ask for Aid Paid Pending. The deadline to do this would be Feb. 1st however sooner is better. Although I’m not absolutely sure about whether Aid Paid Pending (you keep the same hours until the hearing takes place) applies in the situation of state reductions it seems to me that it should since you are appealing a lack of correct documentation – not the state cuts themselves. I would make sure that is clearly stated on the request for a state hearing.

Kristine
corey

well i just want to to see what brown will do with this, since old arnold n bush made a mess of the all the health fI index. they need to spend a day in our shoes n see its not as easy as sticking them in a nursing home where it will cost the state more n i do believe that brown knows that if not we need to stand together n let him know what our clients want n need.
JEFF

Yes whats really going on? I just received my check there is a deduction of $ 188.04 and its under -LIEN. It just says at the bottom of my paycheck stub (PAYMENT REDUCED -LIEN)
RECIPIENT HOURS ARE REDUCED BY 3.6% EFFECTIVE FEB 1 DUE TO A CHANGE IN STATE LAW. SPEAK WITH RECIPIENT FOR DETAILS. What the hell is that all about its not the 1st yet and they have already deducted 3.6 it says so in my hours already but what part of 3.6% is 80 hours worked and a gross of $905.89 become a net of $564.10 and they changed my hours to 78.5 thats only 2 and a half hours paycut but they deducted $341.79 ..how is that? what do I do appeal for a hearing ? what a waste of time for something they screwing up on.
sharon

Jeff, did you read the back of your Notice of action? It has all the directions on how to file for an appeal. Also, talk to UDW if you received a second notice of action technically because of the mathematical errors you may have an additional time to file for aid paid pending or the 90 day appeal. Call your union representatives ASAP….
Keep copies of everything.
sharon

Can someone explain the Protective Services rule?

Especially if a consumer is incapcipated, no speech, disoriented,wander, and cannot make judgements for themselves such as our severe Austic community…

Why do many only have 36 to 42 hours of Protecitve Supervision in the County of Riverside when the laws reads entitlement of 195 for nonsevere and 283 for severly disabled?

Per this law the IHSS hrs can be deemed as Protective Services and Exempt from Budget Cuts…. Preserving all supports and Services of the IHHS Program for this Functional Index and Population…… What are the defenses what is the State Hearing Board Officers Authorizing. And Why all this redundance and Fraud, Waste,and Abuse to Manage and Deliver the IHSS Program?
Elena

I did not get it too. Submitted worked hours 56.5 – paid hours 51.6. If change comes from February 1st, what is going on with January payment? Any comments on that? Thank you.