Chapter Four
Finding Services
Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)
Your Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is a nonprofit agency that identifies needs then plans and coordinates services for older persons and persons with disabilities in a particular geographic area. Long term care service availability and costs vary by region. To find out what is available where your loved one lives, start with the local AAA. AAAs do preadmission screenings (PAS) for entry into long term care facilities. The AAAs can determine eligibility for and authorize both federally-funded Older Americans Act (OAA) and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) services, as well as state-funded Community and Home Options to Institutions for the Elderly and Disabled or CHOICE services. The AAAs perform assessments for medical eligibility for the Medicaid Aged and Disabled Waiver. However, financial eligibility for the Waiver is determined by the Division of Family Resources and people often wait a significant amount of time before they are informed of their financial eligibility for Medicaid Waiver services.
Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRC)
ADRCs are located in every Area Agency on Aging in Indiana and serve as the entry point to publicly administered long-term supports including those funded under Medicaid, the Older Americans Act and the Indiana CHOICE program. ADRCs serve all individuals with long-term care needs regardless of their age or disability. ADRC staff provide information and assistance to individuals needing either public or private resources, to professionals seeking assistance on behalf of their clients and to individuals planning for their future long-term care needs. Ask for the ADRC when you first call the Area Agency on Aging.
A listing of all 16 of Indiana's Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) with their local phone numbers is located at http://www.in.gov/fssa/da/3478.htm
1-800-986-3505
This phone number will connect you to any local AAA. Ask for the Aging and Disability Resource Center.
Indiana Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) and the Division of Family Resources (DFR)
http://www.in.gov/fssa/
Follow this link to the Options page of the FSSA web site. The FSSA website provides information about a range of services throughout the state, including meal sites, assisted living, nursing homes, and more. Click on Programs and Services (left hand column) to learn about publically funded programs and services.
Applying for help to pay for services in Indiana
The Division of Family Resources (DFR) is the division of FSSA responsible for processing applications and determining financial eligibility for public benefit programs including Medicaid, food stamps (SNAP), or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). County offices of the Division of Family Resources administer programs at the local level. To locate your County Division of Family Resources follow this link to the Division of Family Resources (DFR). You can find your county DFR office and links to apply on-line by clicking on your county on the map. You may call 1-800-403-0864 to complete an applicaton over the telephone which will then be mailed to you to sign. And you may go to your local DFR office and ask for an application and individual help to complete it. You will need to provide information on bank accounts, life insurance policies, property owned, income and other personal information.
Call centers, staffed by private vendors, receive all paperwork and scan it into an electronic record. It is very important to put the case number and all other identifiers on each page of information you FAX to the call centers. Medicaid must rule on your application within 45 days (90 days if you are applying because of a disability) after receiving all information. You will have a case team assigned to you, not an individual caseworker. You may speak with a member of your case team by calling 1-800-403-0864 and asking to be connected to your county office and a member of your team. You may call this number or check on-line for information on your case. (The number goes to a call center, not your local DFR office.)
If you have difficulty applying for services, contact your local Area Agency on Aging or DFR office. Keep copies of all documents you send or FAX to the document center and label every page of the documents with your name and processing number. You may have to resubmit the same documents several times. Submit copies, never submit original documents. If you continue to have problems with this process, call your state representative or state senator. Contact information is listed on the Indiana General Assembly web site.
The Marion County page has a screening tool - QualCheck (in English and Spanish) - to estimate whether your loved one qualifies for state or federally-financed services.
Centers for Independent Living
http://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/2762.htm
Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are private, nonprofit corporations that provide services to maximize the independence of individuals with disabilities and the accessibility of the communities they live in. Centers are funded in part by the Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Independent Living Branch, to provide, among other things, several core services: advocacy, independent living skills training, information and referral, peer counseling.
Friends and personal contacts
Contact people you know who have used long term care services. Their experiences may give you insights that are not available from professionals. Don't forget to ask them about their mistakes as well as successes in obtaining quality care for their loved ones.
Resources
Eldercare Locator
www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Index.aspx
The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, helps individuals find resources and information on services in any community in the United States. You can access the information by phone or online. Their phone number is 800-677-1116.
Benefits Checkup
www.benefitscheckup.org
A service of the National Council on Aging to help anyone find and enroll in federal, state, local and private programs that help pay for prescription drugs, utility bills, meals, health care and other needs. After answering a few questions you will get a list of the programs and benefits you may qualify for as well as contact information for those programs. Be sure to click on the link that gives you a list of the information you will need to gather before starting the questionnaire.
>>>Click here for Chapter 5: The Costs of Long Term Care and Paying for Services