Personal Care Hours Reinstated

Six thousand New Mexicans with disabilities are now receiving personal care attendant services, according to information given at a recent Medicaid Advisory Board meeting. The services are not just for people with physical impairments, but for people with traumatic brain injury who may need assistance in their shopping and daily living tasks and youth with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia who may need cueing to take their medications.

Although the program is fairly new to New Mexico, the Medical Assistance Department decided to limit and cut back the hours many of these people were receiving. Since some of the recipients did not get adequate notice of the cut backs, the Department agreed to allow people from March of 2002 who had been cut back in their hours to request a hearing to reinstate those hours. A draft of proposed new regulations regarding the personal care attendant program is being reworked and a new date for hearing has not been set up as of this date.

Protection & Advocacy was able to assist several people whose hours were cut back. In 4 of these cases, people were originally receiving around 135 to 190 hours of personal care service every month. Although they requested the full amount of hours, when their requests were reviewed, they were only given 70 to 100 hours. If the cutback had occurred recently, especially within 13 days, personal care attendant recipients were told to immediately request that their hours be maintained until a determination was made by the Medical Assistance Division on how many, if any, of the hours would be recovered.

In the 4 cases, most of the requested hours were restored. Plans will be reviewed on an annual basis.