UMASS Focus group recruitment

Dear Friend, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. We wanted to share this opportunity for you to participate in a focus group that is being run by the University of Massachusetts. Sessions will be held in Boston, Fall River, Greenfield, Lowell and Worcester, and there is a $50 stipend for those who are selected and participate. Please see the eligibility criteria and contact information below. Thank you and have a great day. UMASS FOCUS GROUP Recruitment The University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Health Policy and Research is conducting a study to understand the types of health care services people with disabilities need in order to work or return to work. We are looking for volunteers to participate in a focus group, which is a group discussion that lasts about 2 hours. If you participate in a focus group, you will be paid $50 for your time. Refreshments will be provided. Focus groups will be held in Boston, Fall River, Greenfield, Lowell, and Worcester in early 2013. To volunteer, you must: Be a person with a physical disability, mental or emotional problem, a sensory impairment (such as blindness or deafness), or a long-term or chronic disease Be currently receiving employer-sponsored or private health insurance or Medicare (in addition to other insurance, you may also be receiving Medicaid or MassHealth) Be currently employed either full-time or part-time, or actively looking for a job Speak English or use American Sign Language Be working age, between 21-64 years of age Live in the community For more information or to volunteer for a focus group, please contact Laura Sefton by calling (508) 856-4213 or emailing Laura.Sefton@umassmed.edu. Please leave your name, e-mail address and/or phone number so that we may contact you. Thank you! Your participation is entirely voluntary. Nothing will happen to any services you receive if you decide not to participate. Your identity will be kept strictly confidential and your name will not be connected with anything you say in the focus group. Only a summary report of the issues discussed during the focus group will be shared in our final report. This research is funded by the Social Security Administration, which is part of the federal government. See also: Subscribe to Greater New England Chapter Publications Chapter Calendar at a Glance National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater New England Chapter 101A First Avenue, Suite 6 | Waltham, Mass. 02451-1115 tel: 1 800-344-4867 | fax: 1 781-890-2089 | MSnewengland.org

Federal Focus - January 2013

Happy New Year, MS Activists! Fiscal Cliff Averted, but Much Work for the 113th Congress After intense negotiations, Congress has passed and the President signed into law a bill that averts the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The fiscal cliff was a drastic convergence of increased taxes and reduced spending that could have propelled the country into another recession. Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) led the final conversations and the deal includes compromises on both sides of the aisle. The package contains several tax provisions including an extension of the Bush-era tax rates for individuals making $400,000 and less in annual income and families making $450,000 and less, as well as a five-year extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. The law also contains health and other provisions that impact the MS and disability communities. These include: Physician Reimbursement: Avoiding a scheduled 26.5% cut to Medicare physicians (through December 31, 2013); Therapy Caps: Extending a Medicare therapy cap exceptions process so that patients can continue to access needed outpatient physical, speech, and occupational therapy services (through December 31, 2013); CLASS Program Repealed: Repealing the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Program, a voluntary long-term insurance program that would have provided a cash benefit to people who become functionally or cognitively impaired to help maintain community residence and independence; Sequestration Delay: Delaying for two months scheduled across-the-board cuts (the “sequester”) to defense and non-defense programs including medical research; and Limit on Itemized Deductions: Limiting itemized deductions for individuals making over $250,000 a year and families earning over $300,000 per year, but does not limit or cap the charitable deduction. The Society is pleased that the cut to Medicare physicians and the Medicare therapy exceptions process were extended. A supporter of the CLASS program and its goal of helping people with disabilities stay in their communities and be independent, we are disappointed that the program is not currently solvent and had to be repealed. The law fortunately sets up a bipartisan commission tasked with developing legislative long-term care alternatives and we look forward to finding workable solutions to our nation’s long-term care crisis. The 113th Congress was sworn in and commenced yesterday. With the across-the-board cuts only delayed for two months and the debt limit not increased, members will hit the ground running. Stay tuned for opportunities to weigh in with your members of Congress over the next several weeks. We will have to educate the new Congress about the importance of protecting medical research and programs like Medicaid and Social Security.

Register Now for the 2013 Employment Teleconference Series

Join us for the 2013 Employment Teleconference Series: Career Decisions and MS The National Capital, New York City-Southern New York and Greater Delaware Valley Chapters of the National MS Society are pleased to present a series of six teleconferences on a variety of topics related to employment and MS. Teleconferences will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. EST on alternate Wednesdays between January 16 and March 27, 2013. About the series A teleconference is an opportunity to learn new information by calling into a designated toll-free number to hear an interactive presentation. You can ask questions or just listen to the information. Best of all, you can do so from the comfort of your own home. Participate in all six teleconferences or just the ones that interest you. Please note that you will need to register for each teleconference individually. (1) Should I Work From Home or Start My Own Business? Wednesday, January 16 from 7 to 8 p.m. EST Trying to decide if working from home or starting your own business is for you? Experts in both of these areas will talk about what it takes to be a successful home-based employee or entrepreneur. The deadline to register for this call is January 9. Register online. (2) Is it Time? Deciding to Change Careers or Stop Working Wednesday, January 30 from 7 to 8 p.m. EST Working with MS is possible, but can be challenging at times. Is working or working in your field no longer an option? How do you know when it's time to stop or make a change? Learn from a counseling professional what to consider when having to make this important decision. The deadline to register for this call is January 23. Register online. (3) Deciding How to Plan Your Job Search. Employers Share How They Find Employees Wednesday, February 13 from 7 to 8 p.m. EST Hear from a panel of employers on what they really look for in a job candidate, where they find candidates and how they fill openings. The deadline to register is February 6. Register online. (4) Should I Work? Work from Home Options for People on Social Security Disability Wednesday, February 27 from 7 to 8 p.m. EST Are you on Social Security and want to work? Do you need to or prefer to work from home? Learn how working might impact your disability benefits and hear about work from home opportunities for people on Social Security. The deadline to register is February 20. Register online. (5) The Impact of Health Insurance on Career Decisions Wednesday, March 13 from 7 to 8 p.m. EST Health insurance considerations can impact your decision to change jobs or leave the workforce. Learn about legal protections and questions to ask to ensure you have the coverage you need. The deadline to register is March 6. Register online. (6) How to Talk About MS to Your Employer Wednesday, March 27 from 7 to 8 p.m. EST Once you decide to disclose there are still many unanswered questions. Hear from employers and disability advocates on how to talk with your employer about your MS. The deadline to register is March 20. Register online. How to register To register for one or more of the teleconferences in this series, please click on the link(s) provided or call the National MS Society at 1-800-344-4867 at least one week prior to the teleconference(s) in which you would like to participate. You will receive call-in instructions and an information packet via email approximately one week prior to each call for which you are registered. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at Amber.stalker@nmss.org. Warm regards, Amber R Stalker, MEd Director, Community Programs See also: Teleconference Series Chapter Calendar at a Glance Subscribe to Chapter Publications