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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 15, 2011		                     CONTACT:
Melanie Mowry Etters
Communications Director
(850) 488-4257

APD Receives iBudget Florida Approval

TALLAHASSEE - The Agency for Persons with Disabilities has received federal approval of its new Medicaid waiver called iBudget Florida. iBudget Florida will pay for supports and services for people with developmental disabilities so they may live in their local community.

The agency has selected several North Florida counties for the initial implementation of the new system which will occur later this year. APD plans to begin iBudget Florida in Franklin, Leon, Wakulla, Gadsden, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Jefferson counties. APD serves approximately 1,000 waiver-enrolled customers in this region.

The agency will begin transitioning a few families now in the Big Bend area to iBudget Florida. This group will allow the agency to monitor the program and make necessary adjustments before more people are enrolled.

iBudget Florida was approved by the 2010 Legislature as the new direction for delivering services to people through APD’s Medicaid waiver.
iBudget Florida is designed to make the funding process fair and equitable for all Medicaid waiver customers. It will provide for more opportunities for customers to direct their own care. The new system will also allow the agency to have more budget control and financial predictability.

Some of the customer benefits of iBudget are:

  • Greater ability to choose services that matter to them, given their unique situations.
  • Greater flexibility for customers to respond to changing needs.
  • Reduced bureaucracy and "red tape."
  • Support coordinators freed to focus on providing help that makes a real difference.
  • Confidence that funding is fair compared to other customers who are similarly situated.
  • Reduced likelihood of policy changes that cause significant disruption due to budget deficits.
  • Security of a financially stable system that will be there to serve customers down the road.
  • Greater control over their lives.
  • Greater opportunity for APD to use new funds to serve people on the waiting list rather than resolve deficits.

The agency annually serves about 35,000 Floridians with developmental disabilities of mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and Prader-Willi syndrome. For more information on the agency, call 1-866-APD-CAREs or visit http://apdcares.org.