January 17, 2024 | Issue 52 |
New Year, New Events Promoting
Self-Advocacy in the Disability Community
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In 2024, Disability Rights New Jersey continues its commitment to our mission of advancing the human, civil, and legal rights of people with disabilities and promoting their self-determination and inclusion in all facets of community life.
To achieve this, we focus our resources on the goals and objectives set forth by our priority-setting process, collected through surveys distributed and focus groups conducted of people with disabilities, their families, professionals, health care and service providers and others about the needs of people with disabilities and the barriers to addressing those needs. This process ensures that the needs of the most vulnerable populations are served, and the most critical, far-reaching issues are addressed through our various methods such as information and referral, legal representation including self-advocacy assistance, investigation, systemic legal representation, education and outreach, or other systemic advocacy. Goals and objectives also assist Disability Rights NJ as it faces a demand for representation that often exceeds the resources of the P&A system. You can view our 2024-2026 Goals and Objectives here.
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How To Appeal VR Decisions
Monday, January 29 at 3PM
Have you applied for services with the Vocational Rehabilitation offices, but have had it denied? Have your services been reduced? Are you aware that there are several ways to have the denial or reduction reviewed or to appeal it? This event is for you!
Join us on January 29th at 3pm for a webinar designed to help walk applicants and VR clients through processes to have a decision reviewed, including how to appeal a decision or denial of services, with practical information and "how-to" trainings.
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What will be covered:
- What is a decision that can be reviewed or appealed?
- What is the process, starting with going through the supervisor or manager of the office?
- Introduction to seeking an Administrative Review
- How to request Mediation, and what to expect at Mediation
- Requesting a Fair Hearing to the Office of Administrative Law
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Medicaid Renewals: Lessons Learned and Five Helpful Solutions
January 31 at 12PM
January 31 at 7PM
During the Public Health Emergency we know
as the COVID-19 Pandemic, individuals receiving Medicaid could not be terminated between March 2020 and April 2023, even if their circumstances changed, such as additional income or higher resources. Beginning in April 2023, the state Medicaid agency began a year-long process of Medicaid renewals for more than 2 million Medicaid beneficiaries, and for the first time since the beginning of the Public Health Emergency, people who were no longer eligible were terminated.
As soon as this began Disability Rights NJ was there, representing clients who were threatened with Medicaid termination, helping them untangle their individual Medicaid renewal situations and working to ensure continued Medicaid coverage. Now halfway through the renewal year, many lessons have been learned that we will share with you.
Join us on January 31st at either 12pm or 7pm – for a webinar that looks at the top 5 problems Disability Rights NJ has seen, as well as solutions to those problems that people can use to effectively self-advocate for continued Medicaid eligibility.
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ATAC Tech Spotlight Series: 12PM | |
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January 23
The MedMinder platform, a pioneering innovation, was conceived 17 years ago through collaboration with a team of in-home nurses dedicated to patient care.
The platform offers comprehensive solutions that markedly enhance patient medication adherence. With a suite of features including real-time monitoring, customizable greetings in multiple languages, and alerts for missed doses sent directly to providers and caregivers, they are committed to revolutionizing medication management. The primary aim is to address nursing shortages while contributing to substantial cost savings within the healthcare industry.
One of the standout features is the remote locking capability, ensuring medications are taken punctually and minimizing the risk of errors in dosage.
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January 30
Revolutionizing Assistive Technology Imagine if assistive tools were offered to individuals of all ages and abilities as a journey of exploration to find personalized solutions
Cephable is dedicated to follow this vision by pioneering a software platform (free for individual use) that enhances the capabilities of a traditional keyboard and mouse. This is achieved by using your computer’s camera and microphone to incorporate head movements, facial expressions, voice controls, and virtual buttons as inputs to navigate and control your computer.
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January 31
Join Beth Poss to learn how you can use LessonPix to support both emergent and conventional literacy instruction, including alphabet knowledge, phonics and phonological awareness, reading comprehension and writing.
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Some Medicare Enrollees to Receive New Medicare Number
Due to Data Breach
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is notifying additional Medicare enrollees who may have been impacted by a data breach at a CMS contractor, Maximus Federal Services, Inc. CMS mailed a letter to all potentially affected Medicare enrollees to notify them of the data breach and what steps CMS is taking to protect them.
CMS is issuing potentially affected enrollees a new Medicare number and a new Medicare card. Legal assistance and aging and disability service providers may receive calls from clients or members of the community asking about this issue or about the letters.
If and when an enrollee receives a new Medicare card, the enrollee will receive a letter asking them to begin using the new Medicare number and to update their Medicare information with all of their health care providers and destroy the old card. Plans will receive the related enrollment codes alerting them about the Medicare number changes and will be processing the changes internally.
It should be noted that this breach does not affect all Medicare enrollees—most are not affected. Nor does it mean that those enrollees who are affected will necessarily experience any harm. Affected enrollees should, however, monitor their bank accounts and other financial accounts, credit cards, and credit records, and report any suspicious activity to the relevant financial institution or credit agency immediately.
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Disability Rights New Jersey, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to advancing and protecting the human, civil, and legal rights of people with disabilities. | | |
- We aggressively investigate reports of abuse and neglect wherever a person with a disability may be receiving services.
- We thoroughly monitor facilities and community-based programs to ensure that people living in those facilities and using those services are free from abuse and neglect, and that their rights are not violated.
- We provide legal representation, without charge, to people with disabilities in cases that fall within our areas of assistance.
- We are dedicated to providing education, training, and technical assistance to people with disabilities, their families and advocates, the agencies that service them, and policy makers among others.
- We provide state-of-the-art access to information and advice about assistive technology.
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Disability Rights NJ is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services - Center for Mental Health Services; Administration for Community Living - Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Center for Integrated Programs, through the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, U.S. Department of Education: Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the Social Security Administration | |
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DISABILITY RIGHTS New Jersey | disabilityrightsnj.org
210 South Broad Street, Third Floor
Trenton, New Jersey 08608
1.800.922.7233 (in NJ only) 1.609.292.9742 (Voice)
1.609.777.0187 (Fax) Dial 711 for Relay Operator
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