Senior executives and other members of the New York State Rehabilitation Association (NYSRA) will learn about Wisconsin’s experience with managed long-term care from Thomas Cook, executive director, Rehabilitation for Wisconsin in Action at the Rehabilitation Summit in Albany, N.Y. Mon., Sept. 10, 2012.

Cook will provide the keynote address “Community Rehabilitation Services: A Work in Progress,” and is a featured speaker for a breakout session, “Lessons Learned and Opportunities Explored under Managed Care: An Interactive Dialogue.”

Wisconsin’s long-term managed care program, Family Care, has been in the news as the result of a class action lawsuit filed Aug. 21, 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), DHS Secretary Dennis Smith, and three managed care organizations in the program - Care Wisconsin, Community Health Partnership, and Northern Bridges. The Family Care lawsuit is being followed closely in New York, which is adopting a similar managed care program.

Since 1972, Cook has worked in direct support, operational, policy, design, and consulting roles related to services for people with disabilities. He began serving as RFW's executive director in Oct. 2008. Under Cook’s leadership, RFW in Action was the first provider association to support calls for a legislative audit of Family Care, Wisconsin’s managed care and long-term care program for frail elders and people with disabilities. Cook is currently consulting with the state of North Dakota as part of the JVGA – Potentia team on the use of the Supports Intensity Scale for resource allocation and service planning for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.