Texas Health and Human Services has published this End of Continuous Medicaid Coverage Ambassador Toolkit to help members, providers, health plans, and advocates prepare for the end of continuous Medicaid coverage. The toolkit also contains information for recipients on the end of SNAP Emergency Allotments. It has a lot of helpful information to understanding how the End to Continuous Medicaid will unwind. https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/health/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-provider-information/end-continuous-medicaid-coverage-ambassador-toolkit

Accessibility and Disability Policy Webinar Series Social Security Disability Benefits 101 When a person experiences a disability that makes it difficult to work or get supported financially by family members, our federal government offers a safety net program that helps with financial and medical benefits through the Social Security Administration. If you have applied for Social Security disability benefits through the Social Security Administration, you probably found the application to be challenging. You’re not the only one! According to the Social Security Administration, the award rates for disability benefits have been decreasing annually due to non-medical reasons. This means most applications are denied or have their decisions delayed because of common errors during the application process. The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities is committed to help qualified people with disabilities and their families understand how to access Social Security benefits. Matt Dickens, the Accessibility and Disability Rights Coordinator, will be presenting a Social Security Disability Benefits 101 webinar on March 29th at 2 p.m. Come join us to learn more about: Types of available Social Security benefits How to check your eligibility for benefits Common pitfalls and how to avoid them Resources for advanced problem solving Improve your chances of getting Social Security benefits and maximize your benefit payment! Register through Zoom here. Presented by Matt Dickens, GCPD Accessibility and Disability Rights Coordinator. Captioning and ASL Interpreting will be available for this webinar. For additional accommodation requests, please contact GCPD@gov.texas.gov The Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities provides GovDelivery updates for informational purposes on a variety of disability related issues for a diverse audience. Updates may include information provided by external sources. The inclusion of this external information does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the Committee or the Office of the Governor of any information, policy, product, or service offered by an external source. This email furnished by Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities. Visit us online at gov.texas.gov/disabilities. GovDelivery, Inc. sending on behalf of the Office of the Governor · P.O. Box 12428 · Austin TX 78711-2428 · 800-843-5789

Dear CDS Employer, As we begin this week, we want to let you know that we have continued to monitor the evolving situation with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. This note is to reassure you that our relationship with you is strong. In-Home Attendant Services does not have any relationships with Silicon Valley Bank or any of the impacted financial institutions you are hearing about in the news. We do not anticipate this situation will result in any disruption to our operations or the services we provide. If your banking relationship is with an impacted financial institution and you anticipate issues with payments to or from us, please reach out to us at CDS@ihastx.com immediately so we can work through a resolution to the situation. Additionally, please note that there have been reports of increased fraudulent phishing attempts to obtain banking information by citing the current disruptions within the finance industry. If you receive a request to provide your payment information, immediately report it to us at CDS@ihastx.com. Best Regards, Your FMSA In-Home Attendant Services

Follow the link below for listings of events and activities https://www.abilities.com/houston/events.html

2022 Annual Statewide Parent Conference TxP2P will be holding our 17th Annual Statewide Parent Conference in person this year, at the Hyatt Regency, 208 Barton Springs, Austin, TX. July 22-23, 2022 Register Now!

2022 West Texas Conference in El Paso Saturday, May 14th, 2022 Texas Parent to Parent provides support, information, and education for families of children and adults with disabilities, chronic and mental health conditions and other health care needs. "Having a child with special health care needs is a life-altering experience... but with the support of another parent we begin to see through the cracks and find joy in places we never could have imagined. Our journey continues, but this time we feel we will survive because we know another parent who has." Deadline for Registration is April 29th Click here to register as an exhibitor Click here to register as a speaker

Reminder, don't forget to file your personal income tax returns due April 15, 2022. IHAS as your FMSA files your employer tax reports for the wages and taxes of your Medicaid funded employees. If you have paid employees from non Medicaid funding sources, you will need to account for those according to the source of the funding (private, other) and any related IRS rules.

Don't forget to change your clocks this Saturday, 3.12.2022 for daylight savings. Lets SPRING forward.

EVV CDS Employer training due annually. HHS Learning Portal- EVV training- HHS Learning Portal: Log in to the site (texas.gov) Vendor EVV Training- TRAINING - Vesta EVV Please submit your certificate of completion to your CDS consultant.

Meet our EVV Specialist, Natalie Medina. Natalie previously gained experience as a CDS consultant through our payroll department and has taken on the role as our EVV Specialist.Natalie’s main focus is to assist you in tackling any issues you are facing with the EVV system in order to make it a smooth experience. We understand that the new requirements can raise issues, but we are here to help you continue your journey with the CDS option. To schedule an EVV training with Natalie, please email her at nmedina@ihastx.com or call (346) 293-8338.