Disability News

Governor Ehrlich Launches $90M in Disability Initiatives

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., today announced his FY 2007 disability budget initiatives of nearly $90 million across State agencies, designed to lower unemployment levels for people with disabilities and support more people in their communities. Included in the new proposal is $10.6 million to fully fund Maryland's Medicaid Buy-In for more than 1,500 Marylanders and more than $17 million in new funding to increase the availability of services to people with disabilities.
“This budget will fully implement a Medicaid Buy-In for Maryland workers with disabilities,” said Governor Ehrlich. “It enables people to return to work without losing their health coverage under Medicaid. It is estimated that more than 1,500 people with disabilities in Maryland will seek re-employment under the new Buy-In provisions, sending people with disabilities back to work.”

Additional employment-related initiatives include:

· New intensive efforts to retrain people who have head injuries to re-enter the workforce;

· An increase in funding for attendant care to support people going to work or higher education;

· Job training for blind services;

· Job training for youth transitioning from school to employment, and;

· New efforts focused on supporting youth with learning disabilities who enroll in community college.
Read more at gov.state.md.us

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	Did You Know?
	SHMO means Social Health Maintenance Organization A managed system of health and long-term care services geared toward an elderly client population. Under this model, a single provider entity assumes responsibility for a full range of acute inpatient, ambulatory, rehabilitative, extended home health and personal care services under a fixed budget which is determined prospectively. Elderly people who reside in the target service area are voluntarily enrolled. Once enrolled, individuals are obligated to receive all SHMO covered services through SHMO providers, similar to the operation of a medical model health maintenance organization (HMO).