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| Consumer direction gives people who need long-term care more choice and control over supports and services they receive. Minnesota is looking to provide consumer direction across all home and community-based programs so people with disabilities and chronic illness may lead self-directed lives. |
| An effort to provide a consumer driven support system in which people: |
| • Choose how they want to live their lives |
| • Control how they use resources |
| • Hire workers and decide how much to pay them |
| • Hire workers that know their own language, culture and traditions |
| • Hire family, friends, neighbors and others, as well use provider agencies |
| • Plan their services with help if needed |
| • More flexible purchases and planning |
| • More personal choice and control |
| These programs, while use may vary from county to county, include a consumer-directed option: |
| In March 2004, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved changes to some home and community-based programs so that the state can offer Consumer-Directed Community Supports (CDCS). To find out more, click on Consumer-Directed Community Supports. |
| Contact your local county agency to find out more about consumer direction and when this will be offered in your area. |
| A Consumer-Directed Toolkit with a variety of resource materials also has been created to help consumers direct and manage their own supports. The toolkit has been modified into a Web-based tool and will be updated and expanded as needed. A paper version of this toolkit is current as of August 2004 and can be obtained from county agencies, disability organizations, health plans and tribes. |
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