Monday, April 7th, 2025
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Agenda:
Health Care Authority Communication plan (Dual Eligible) - Kristina Bachmann
Summary: Kristina is one of many members working on future communication plans. HCA owns the plan, and Kristina is seeking input from the council on some key messaging. We want to improve the language they’re using, knowing that we’re working on separate messaging specific to our population. The trouble is that several bullet points don’t seem accessible. We started to review “Understanding Your Coverage” on the Communication Plan.
Feedback:
- Patti suggested breaking down the bullet point and simplifying. There are so many definitions to become familiar with, and then people must decide whether those definitions apply to them. It’s a lot.
- Kim suggested a chart and Patti said perhaps a flow chart would help guide folks.
- Kristina said this messaging is for families and clients.
- Sam said it’s way too wordy and complicated. Asked if there is hotline support where people can call and ask questions. Or a sheet that can guide users through the process? There are ramifications for people who don’t understand. We need to keep in mind the community and population that we’re talking about.
- Kristina asked if Sam’s asking for a decision tree that would provide a personalized experience.
- Yes, something that would lay out the basic foundations.
- Kristina asked if Sam’s asking for a decision tree that would provide a personalized experience.
- Sam said it’s way too wordy and complicated. Asked if there is hotline support where people can call and ask questions. Or a sheet that can guide users through the process? There are ramifications for people who don’t understand. We need to keep in mind the community and population that we’re talking about.
- Edison agreed that the concepts are difficult, but many people wonder what dual eligibility means. A lot of times you feel like you are getting something, but you’re losing something. Charts help people compare.
- Patti asked, “who even lets someone know they may qualify for a DSNP plan?”
- Kristina said everyone eligible for Medicare and Medicaid is eligible for a DNSP plan.
- Kim asked how does a DDA client know they are Medicaid and Medicare enrolled?
- Kristina said they receive something from CMS indicating eligibility and the date. Around the same time, they receive something from DSHS letting them know that their Medicaid would be changing.
- Kim said the older our community gets, the harder this kind of thing is on them. The puzzle pieces are confusing. The more layman terms we can get, the better.
- Kristina’s unit is setting up a benefits assistance mailbox to give well-rounded answer and guidance and timely responses. She also said the intent is to have short videos that go along with this information and charts and infographics.
- Patti thinks there is so much information and if we can’t get the info to them in one page or less or links to where they can get the information, we’re going to lose them. 5-10 pages of information is too much. It must be short and abbreviated. This format is overwhelming.
- Kristina clarified that this is a communications plan and will not be sent to our clients in one message. Any one of the bullet points can be its own message.
- Michelle said HCA would be best served to make this messaging relevant and easier to understand.
- Kristina clarified that this is a communications plan and will not be sent to our clients in one message. Any one of the bullet points can be its own message.
- Yelena said it’s difficult to review messages without context. To be effective, Yelena needs to know what other content or context will be shared.
- Kristina tried to encompass the feedback that was received. There will always be things lost in translation. Kristina said she’ll ask Kat and Vanessa to connect with Michelle to join a future meeting and hear directly from this group.
- If we can make the messaging so that the FAC understands it, it’s a great start. We can hold off on the discussion until then.
Regional Advisory Council draft plan - Michelle Sturdevant
Summary: Michelle looked around the country to see how regional councils can be as impactful as the FAC. Michelle wants to hear from folks with lived experience about how we shape what we’re doing. We reviewed the Regional Advisory Council document and Michelle asked for perspective. “What am I missing? What did I not think of? Where could it go wrong? What do I need to add more/less of?”
Feedback:
- Tarra likes the idea of having it virtually. Could these meetings be recorded, so if someone has additional comments, they can contact their regional council member?
- Michelle will investigate this because it will increase the chances of letting people make their voice heard.
- Patti asked how they propose to inform the public about these meetings.
- Michelle reviewed the section of the document relating to recruitment/selection. Announcements will go out via gov delivery and be posted by community organizations. Community members can apply if they want to be on the council.
- Patti suggested community-based health care facilities, schools, chambers of commerce, case resource managers, post office, smart phones, the library, senior centers, community centers, parks and rec, YMCAs, vocational agencies, employment provides, Day Hab programs
- Michelle reviewed the section of the document relating to recruitment/selection. Announcements will go out via gov delivery and be posted by community organizations. Community members can apply if they want to be on the council.
- Sam suggested using the community summit to generate interest. We could offer a link or poll.
- Patti asked if DDA has a Facebook page, and Michelle said she’ll look into it.
- Michelle reviewed the meeting structure.
- The first part of every meeting would be a follow up on concerns that were raised.
- The second part is the region saying, “we want to make the following changes… new team, new processes, positions, etc.” and get feedback on those changes.
- The third part would be HQ or Region discussing barriers related to provider recruitment and getting suggestions from the community.
- The fourth part of the agenda is collaboration between HQ staff and the community.
- The last part is for the community to bring their concerns about things like intake process, bus service, case managers not returning phone calls, etc.
- Kim likes the layout. We’re showing the community that we are hearing them and trying to address their concerns. We would come back to each meeting following up on what happened at the last one.
- Tarra asked how many people would be on the council.
- Michelle said probably between 12 and 15. Balancing the percentage of who represents family and who represents individuals with i/dd. We also want rural, tribal, and Hispanic & BIPOC representation. We want it to be as diverse as any other group we have.
- Tarra thinks it’s a good number. The more people we have the more difficulty we may have getting through a meeting. We need to consider multiple languages, and that the representation isn’t heavy on agencies or people who work in the business because of how familiar they are with the jargon.
- Michelle said probably between 12 and 15. Balancing the percentage of who represents family and who represents individuals with i/dd. We also want rural, tribal, and Hispanic & BIPOC representation. We want it to be as diverse as any other group we have.
- Kim asked if Michelle ran this by the self-advocacy group. Will they feel comfortable in this group? Some of the folks won’t feel comfortable sharing with a larger public group. Kim is interested in what the self-advocacy group says. She thinks they may want their own day with their own voice or to have a higher percentage of their group.
- Michelle will bring it to the self-advocates next week.
- Kim would love to see a 50/50 split.
- Patti suggested collecting email of those who want to attend so we have points of contact for future information.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
3:00 – 3:30pm Pre-meet Review of Agenda items- Michelle Sturdevant & Committee members
Ivanova shared an article featuring Mike Raymond.
For next month: Think about how many people should be present at a meeting for us to keep the meeting going. We want to make sure we have a certain number of voices represented.
3:30- 4:30 - ACCESS Rules /PCSP Teresa Martin/Ivanova Smith
Summary: Teresa is seeking this group’s guidance around CMS (Medicaid’s) HCBS Access Rules. Specifically, the Person-Centered Service Plan assessment. A big area for improvement is the printout that individuals get after the assessment. The group reviewed a sample assessment (with personal Information redacted) and provided feedback.
Feedback
- Emily said it looks like something a person would get from their doctor. She asked the reason for these plans.
- Teresa said everyone needs to see all their information and this provides it.
- Tim agreed with Emily and asked what people are getting out of it.
- Noah is interested to see how long it takes an individual to scroll through and find what services they qualify for and how they get it. Recommends the services to be on the front page. He likes that the case manager’s information is on the front page, too.
- Tim said the health section (“Element” and “Value”) not only will not mean something to an individual, but it also won’t mean anything to the individual who is helping a person understand it. Put something in the document without jargon so that a person with I/DD can understand. The questions like “Where I want to Live” are so easy and important and then there’s all the complicated phrases.
- Ivanova said the language is inconsistent and robotic.
- Tim doesn’t think having information is a bad thing, but it should be presented in plain language. And it should be made clear what the information means. Plain language is not about dumbing something down, it explains what the information means.
- Michael said the average assessment is 4 hours. He suggested that we make them 2 hours and break them up over 2 assessments. We also need to work on our website. It’s not accessible.
- Teresa clarified that the assessment that is done every 5 years is the long one.
- Michael said the biggest complaint from the surveys he processes is how long the assessments are.
- Emily said we need to consider people who speak other languages.
- Michelle followed up on Ross’s comments that the information should be separated out. It’s a fire hose of information and we should be able have the easily digestible info up front and a link for folks who want ALL the information
- Ivanova asked the group’s thoughts about how the document is worded:
- Noah said there could be a brief description explaining “what this is about.” For example: the “caregiver risk level” what does that mean?
- Tim said the scale itself may be difficult for people to understand. It’s important to make that language universal and easier to understand.
- Emily said being able to pick the assessment time would be better for her.
- Teresa wants to give the group time to reflect and review, so please send ideas forward. This conversation will continue, and Teresa will come back as often as we’ll have her.
- Michelle requested from Teresa that we get an example of a completed assessment that’s been scrubbed of all personal information.
- Tim said there are resources for how to ensure documents don’t have identifiable information in their documents.
- Noah asked about the individuals who are transitioning. Will the documents look different as the organizations come together?
- Teresa said we won’t be combining assessments, but she is looking forward to partnering with ALTSA and learning from each other.
- Michelle pointed out that everyone that’s in the community will come together. ALTSA will be impacted by our best practices. Everything we do here will make it better for all folks who live in the community.
- Ross doesn’t like that DDA is moving because he’s concerned the folks who are aging will be prioritized over individuals with I/DD.
- Michelle said there are other groups that are community collaborators within DDA and Michelle will ask that they meet with HQ staff and those working with the secretary on the Reimagining process. She wants Kris Pederson and Bea Rector and even Cheryl Strange to join a future meeting. She asked the group to think about three things:
1) What are you most worried about (for example: Ross fearing that he’ll lose services because of the aging folks being prioritized). Have exact examples to share.
2) things you’re worried about, but you don’t have examples for.
3) ways that this reimaging could work well and be a good thing.
This will help us to make a work plan. Michelle will send weekly reminders about this. It’s one of the most important conversations that we can have.
- Ross said we already have a close community and is worried that DDA will have to compete with these larger groups, which will cause individuals with I/DD to lose services.
4:30- 5:15 – Client Rights Videos – Grier Jewell
Summary: Grier and Ivanova are working on two videos. One about client rights and the “Nothing About Us Without Us” law. The goal is to have people with lived experience participating in this conversation. What would be important things to include in the video about client rights?
Feedback:
- Tim suggested having a series that talks about HCBS settings rules. They’re relevant and important to people who receive services in Washington.
- Grier said we did an animated series about the settings rules. But these videos will be live people relaying the importance of these rights.
Tim said he likes seeing people with I/DD talking about their disabilities and their rights and what they mean to them.
5:15- 5:30 – Mandatory Reporting Page- Ivanova Smith
Summary: Reviewed the current draft of the Mandatory Reporting page after the work with both this committee and the DD Ombuds office.
There were no comments or concerns, everyone reported it looked good.