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Ask Mike

Mike Oxford, the Director of the Topeka Independent Living Center in Topeka, Kansas, and the Past President of the National Council for Independent Living (NCIL) will answer weekly questions from readers on this page. Mike has been a PAS provider for many years and at many levels - from hands on assistance to directing a large statewide PAS program. If you have a question for Mike related to your PAS, send it here.

Mike is not qualified to offer medical or legal advice. Please direct those questions to your medical or legal professional, or a local agency that can provide those resources. If your question is a medical or safety emergency, please call 911.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this page is to share ideas. This is to say that there is not only one right answer to the questions on this page, but the opinion of Mike Oxford based on his experiences as a PAS User, director of an Independent Living Center, and President of NCIL. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University of California or the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Ask Mike a question or read previous questions and answers in Ask Mike below. One reader says,

Dear Mike,

I was wondering which assisted living facilities in the state of Virginia accept "Medicaid Auxiliary Grants"? I've called quite a few and so far only two facilties are accepting these grants but what other facilties accept these auxiliary grants; there has to be more than two... I've used other resources such as my state website which didn't offer much help along with a host of other resources but I seem to be stuck...

Thank You,

Stuck in Virginia

Dear Stuck in Virginia,

I checked with sources in your state about “Medicaid Auxiliary Grants” and whether assisted living providers will accept them or whether they are even aware of them .... Read More

Dear Mike,

I am the CEO of a non-medical home care company in the state of Georgia. We would like to be added to the agency provider list. Could you please provide phone numbers, email and web addresses that would guide us to the governing agency of PAS in Georgia, dealing with waiver 1915c.

Thank You,

A Home Care CEO

Dear Home Care CEO,

On the PAS Center website, you can find state agency information, under the State Information link on the left hand side of any screen. Once there, .... Read More

Dear Mike,

I am a social worker in a Medicare psychiatric partial hospital program in Louisiana. I have a 48 year old female client in our program who is currently living in a nursing home near our program. She is a displaced person from Hurricane Katrina. Her father lost a home in coastal Mississippi and their home in New Orleans was damaged.

Our client is medicaid and medicare eligible due to a serious mental illness (Schizoaffective Disorder). She also has ambulatory problems (she uses a walker) due to either a series of strokes or muscular dystrophy (diagnosis is inconclusive at this point).

My question is this; our client wants to live independently with PAS support in southern Mississippi near where her father is rebuilding his home. Are there sufficient PAS services available to adults with mental illness in Mississippi so that she could move there upon discharge from the nursing home and be eligible for services? She is currently a life long resident of Louisiana, but her father is selling the New Orleans home. She is also interdicted and her brother is curator. She is very stable at this point and we see no need for her to continue with nursing home care. She wants to live independently. Could you give me any information about the availability of PAS services and how to access them. I am familiar with services in Louisiana and I know that it is still rather difficult to access them and it usually requires a waiting period.

Signed, Gentle Questioner

Dear Gentle Questioner,

Thank you for writing. The question you ask is complicated and even though you have asked about PAS, more assistance could be needed in order to best support this person. .... Read More

Dear Mike,

Could you please tell me if Kansas is one of the 32 states that offers a PCO program?

Signed, Kansas Programs

Dear Kansas Programs,

The very brief answer to your question is: “No, the state of Kansas is not one of the states that offers a PCO program.” However, I have taken the liberty of expanding my answer to your question in order to provide additional information to you and a wider audience of interest .... Read More

Dear Mike,

I live in Chula Vista, California with my mentally challenged son and I'm having trouble finding an agency that has PAS. Is there a central agency in California or is there one in San Diego County where I can apply at to get service for him, any feedback would be helpful.

Signed, Agency Seeker

Dear Agency Seeker,

I have some contact information for you that I hope you find useful. Before I get to that, however, I would like to take the liberty of providing .... Read More

Dear Mike,

I was just diagnosed with MS after two years of thinking the symptoms I had resulted from a very low-speed rear-end car crash on 6/16/05. After getting a runaround from my own insurance company, I finally got a closed brain MRI showing the disease. I am on SSD and Medicare. My worst fear is of going into a nursing home. I now live with my father, who is 78 , in our family home. He is ill also, but does pretty good for his age. Reading this site made me start thinking for the first time that we could actually get our own home in shape, with the help of the government, to remain here in spite of further adjustments that would need to be made to the house--WE MIGHT NOT NEED TO EACH END UP IN A NURSING HOME WAREHOUSED AND WASTING AWAY.

I CANNOT BELIEVE I WAS LED TO THIS SITE. I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH.

I intend to read completely through this information and act on it not only for my own and my father's benefit in order to remain in our own home, but would also advocate in my town and with my federal, state and local lawmakers. If you have any other suggestions as to how I could also advocate in other ways for this superior cause, I would be more than grateful to hear back from you by mail or email.

Signed, Happily at Home

Dear Happily at Home,

I am really glad to hear that the website information was useful to you and is helping you and your dad to remain in your own home instead of going to a .... Read More

Dear Mike,

I am a retired parent, living in Michigan and residing equally with my developmentally disabled 46 year old daughter. I receive earnings for home help services which I give to my daughter. My question is, am I self-employed or is my daughter my employer? If my daughter is my employer who is responsible for tax reporting?

Signed, Taxed in Michigan

Dear Taxed in Michigan,

There are two related issues that arise from your questions. The first is to .... Read More

Dear Mike,

How many states offer the personal assistance program?

Signed, Curious

Dear Curious,

Currently, 32 states have the "Personal Care Option" (PCO) Medicaid state plan service.  Of this .... Read More

Dear Mike,

I am the owner of a new adult daycare in Florida. Where can I find funding sources to refer my members to? I've contacted many agencies for seniors and elderly and no one seems to know. Help!

Thank you,
Searching.

Dear Searching,

For funding adult day-care in Florida, it looks like there are two avenues for you to explore. .... Read More

Dear Mike,

What is the maximum number of hours that the state of Utah will subsidize a PAS worker to care for my physically disabled friend? She will be moving to Utah in June of 2006.

Thank you for your help.

Friend Indeed.

Dear Friend Indeed,

My answer will be a bit more general than you would, perhaps, expect .... Read More

Dear Mike,

The state program that provides my PAS services doesn't give me the hours I need per month. I do have some hours, but it's not enough to take care of all my needs. How can I request more hours from my state program?

Thanks

Need more Hours.

Dear Need more Hours,

There are roughly five basic approaches I would suggest you use. You can do them in order or all at the same time.... Read More

Dear Mike,

I live in a rural area and it's tough to find attendants willing to travel to my home and work for me. Do you have any suggestions?

Regards

Rural Resident.

Dear Rural Resident,

This is a tough problem all over the country. Many programs do not provide mileage reimbursement,but you should see if it is available, and if not,see if an exception can be made for rural cases where this issue become critical.... Read More