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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2013

CONTACT: Melanie Mowry Etters
Communication Director
850-488-4257

iBudget Customers Receiving New Notices

TALLAHASSEE —Beginning this week, Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) customers who had a funding reduction when moving into iBudget Florida will be receiving a notice of a proposed class action settlement. A hearing has been scheduled in federal court on November 27. APD agreed to enter into a settlement rather than a potentially prolonged legal battle over the adequacy of its original iBudget legal notice.

The iBudget Florida Medicaid waiver is used to direct and receive Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) through APD. The HCBS waiver is funded by state and federal tax dollars to help people with developmental disabilities live in their local communities. iBudget Florida provides greater ability to choose services that matter most to customers given their unique situations. It also gives more flexibility for customers to respond to their changing needs.

APD Director Barbara Palmer said, “In the interest of saving tax dollars to pay large legal bills, we agreed to try to settle this matter. This week, 11,377 settlement notices were mailed to APD customers and guardians. We expect that some customers may be confused as we comply with the terms of this settlement which will require two more notices to be sent in the future. Because most of our customers have been living with their new iBudget amount for about a year, we hope this process is not too distracting.” 

iBudget Florida is designed to make the funding process fair and equitable for all Medicaid waiver customers. This enhanced system also provides for financial predictability for the Medicaid waiver which will allow the agency to move more people from the waiting list to the waiver.

APD annually serves more than 50,000 Floridians with the developmental disabilities of autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, spina bifida, and Prader-Willi syndrome. For more information on iBudget Florida, visit iBudgetFlorida.org. To learn more about the agency, call 1-866-APD-CARES (1-866-273-2273) or visit APDcares.org.