Case Study: Maine: Elder Independence of Maine (EIM)

Elder Independence of Maine (EIM), a division of Seniors Plus, serving as the home care coordination agency for the State of Maine.

Fiscal intermediary services for programs managed by EIM.

Consumers eligible for an EIM-managed long term care program are eligible for services in the
Family Provider Service Option (FPSO). The FPSO serves elderly and disabled consumers in one of
the following programs:

• Home-Based Care,
  
• Private Duty Nursing and Personal Care Services,
  
• Home and Community Benefits for the Elderly and Adults with Disabilities.

Prior to the development of the FPSO, EIM offered a self-directed voucher program. The voucher
program issued consumers direct payments based on the number of service hours needed per
month. In an audit, EIM found it could not effectively track the funds and general fiscal accountability
of the program, so the program was terminated in 2004.

EIM was still committed to providing a program for consumers interested in self-direction, and opted
to pursue a new opportunity proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services that
would require EIM to work with a Fiscal Intermediary.

Given PPL’s substantial experience assisting agencies in implementing fiscal intermediary services, PPL helped EIM to streamline FPSO services while maintaining fiscal accountability. Among its tasks, PPL:

• Customized information technology platforms to meet FPSO enrollment and payroll processing requirements, thus ensuring that budgets expenditures were accurate and not overspent;
  
• Established a dedicated website for consumers, employers and providers to provide access to information and enrollment materials for the FPSO and services PPL provides;
  
• Ensured all Providers were credentialed in accordance with FPSO program requirements,
  including criminal record checks and Certified Nursing Association registry verification;
  
• Established a working relationship with EIM care managers to ensure the timely and accurate
  payment for services provided and the accuracy of budget revisions;
  
• Developed policies and procedures in conjunction with EIM provider relations unit to establish a timely enrollment process between the organizations.

With the addition of fiscal intermediary services, EIM has been able to manage its long term care
programs effectively since (DATE). Among the enhancements to the programs:

• The Family Provider Service Option, which served 50 consumers in January 2007, now enables over 185 consumers to receive and manage their own care;
  
• Due to the growth of the FPSO program, PPL transitioned financial operations to allow
  timesheets to be faxed into an Optical Character Recognition system that assures more efficient and accurate timesheet processing;
  
• Consumers have managed their care though as many as eight different providers, adding
  more flexibility and control over when and how services are received;
  
• 85% of tax filings for FPSO employers are now done online to ensure that federal and state
  taxes are fully paid on time, with no outstanding tax liability.