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DDD continued from Page 1 and discuss what services would best
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10Hamilton Post | August 2017
RWJ-07 Mammo_Ham_4.313x11.25.indd 1 3/20/17
renvew their benefits for this year, per- meet their needs when the annual plan
sonal training services like his will no for their family member is developed.
longer be included as a benefit. And Chi- But many of those family members
avarone says like many families across are frustrated with the DDD, and feel
New Jersey, he can not afford to pay for left in the dark about the status of ser-
the in-home personal training. He says vices that are essential to the health and
and Joey receives disability, but it would All of the families said they have not
that he is living off of his social security well-being of their loved ones.
not be enough to cover the two visits per yet been officially contacted by the DDD
week he requires. to let them know that the personal train-
“Until I retired, I never asked for ing services were unavailable now, let
a dime or service or anything from alone the dates they could expect the ser-
the DDD,” Chiaverone said. “When vices to cease. On May 1, around 50 peo-
I became retired and with my wife’s ple gathered in front of the DDD’s office
health, that’s when we needed help.” on Commerce Way in Hamilton on May
In the DDD’s revised support program 1 to voice their displeasure. The peaceful
policies and procedures released in April, protest was organized by Schulze.
personal training is a service no longer “The DDD calls it personal training,
available to recipients. In the updated and we kind of shy away from calling it
DDD explanation of benefits, gym mem- that, because when people think of per-
berships were available upon medical sonal training, they think of a luxury,”
need, by prescription from a doctor. Schultz said when he addressed the
However, the DDD, for its part, says crowd that gathered for the protest.
that the outcry is just a misunderstanding “This certainly is not a luxury for these
caused by the division’s switch to a Med- people. These people need this service.”
icaid-based system. Schulze says that his company pro-
In a statement to the Post, the DDD vides one-on-one training to approxi-
said that personal training, in and of itself, mately 100 individuals with develop-
is not an allowable Medicaid service. But mental disabilities all over New Jersey,
many people have been using personal accounting for more than half of his clien-
training—covered by the DDD—in place tele. Schulze fears the outcome that cut-
of physical and or occupational thera- ting the program will have on his clients.
pies, which were not previously available “Many of these clients will lose their
through the DDD. In the new system, PT, functionality and regress or lose the gains
OT and more Medicaid-approved thera- that they’ve received from this program,”
pies are available. Schulze said in an interview with the Post.
The DDD says there are two options Joey, and individuals like him, have
for a family that wants a personal lost the only physical activity currently
trainer to come into their home to train available to them. Losing the training,
their loved one. The first is to hire the Chiavarone said, will cause Joey’s health
trainer as a “self-directed employee,” to deteriorate.
using a budget allotted by the DDD. Joey is unable to stand up, move his
The second option would be to con- arms or communicate more than a few
vince the personal trainer to become a words. Though he is bound to his wheel-
Medicaid-approved service provider. chair, Chiavarone explains that his son
According to the DDD statement, if the is perfectly aware of what is going on
personal trainer does personal training around him.
as well as activities related to assisting “It’s like he’s locked in his body,” Chi-
the individual with some type of habili- avarone said.
tation—services that help an individual The spasticity that Joey experiences is
keep, learn, or improve skills and func- painful, and without routine stretching of
tioning for daily living—then the ser- his joints and muscles, which Joey can-
vices that the trainer provides may fall not perform on his own, the joints will
within the definition of a Medicaid reim- become contracted, Chiavarone said.
bursable service. Chiavarone is also part of a growing
population of aging parents caring for
The DDD suggested families dis-
cuss their concerns with their support their adult children with special needs.
coordinators or their case managers, A retired radiation therapist, he is 68
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