We received this bulletin from the National Association for Down syndrome (NADS)
Action Needed: Call Your Senator
If you have questions, please contact Susan Goodman at susan@ndsccenter.org.
Support Long-Term Services and Supports in Health Care Reform
Action Needed:
Call Your Senator with the following message:
Support long-term community support provisions in health care reform (Community First Choice Option and the CLASS Plan) in the Health Care Reform Bill.
Thank you for including provisions that prohibit pre-existing conditions provisions and lifetime caps on benefits that discriminate against individuals with disabilities.
You can use this toll-free number: 866-324-0787 which will connect you to the Capitol switchboard and ask for your Senator's office. The link to a directory can be found at the bottom of this e-mail.
Background:
Currently, the House of Representatives and the Senate are in various stages of development of health care reform bills. The House of Representatives currently has one bill it has developed that is still under consideration (HR 3200). The Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee (HELP) has a bill that has passed out of the committee. The Senate Finance committee, which is the major committee in the Senate with responsibility for the Senate bill, is considering a version which has been developed by a committee of six members (3 Democrats and 3 Republicans), but on which there is no agreement by the committee. If and when this bill passes the committee, it will be merged with the Senate HELP committee bill.
In all versions of a bill being circulated in the Senate, there are prohibitions against pre-existing condition clauses (clauses that deny eligibility based on Down syndrome and other disabilities) and elimination of lifetime caps on benefits. These are positive features of the now-circulated versions.
It is important for advocates to remember that the health care Congressional activity is in an almost constant state of flux, sometimes changing from hour to hour.
A major focus of NDSC's advocacy efforts have been the provision of long-term support services for individuals with disabilities. Virtually all long-term adult services are funded by Medicaid, the major health insurance program for adults with disabilities. Parts of this program are currently being considered during deliberations on the health care reform bills. You can read a side-by-side comparison of the current health care reform bills published by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation at http://www.kff.org.
Long Term Services
CLASS Plan
The CLASS Plan (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports - formerly called the CLASS Act) is a provision in the Senate HELP Committee bill that would create a national voluntary long-term care insurance program. It was developed to enable all people who are employed, even part time, to purchase an insurance policy for long term support needs. It will also help take pressure off of the Medicaid program which is now the primary source of funding for long-term adult support services. Unfortunately, the insurance industry has recently launched a full scale attack on the CLASS Plan (despite the fact that it will reduce the federal deficit). According to the American Council of Life Insurers, the CLASS Act will not adequately protect Americans who are in need of long-term care, citing the high costs of nursing home care and round-the-clock home health care services as evidence.
However, the CLASS Plan's cash benefit of about $27,000 per year (depending on functional needs) can go a long way to meeting the needs of people with disabilities by paying for support services in their own homes.
Community Choice Act
The Community Choice Act (CCA) would have required states to provide Medicaid community-based support services to all eligible individuals with disabilities (virtually all individuals with Down syndrome). The CCA would have had the effect of eliminating the state waiting lists for adult services (about 300,000 individuals in 2006). However, the CCA is not included in any version of the health care reform bills because of the high cost associated with it.
Community First Choice Option
The Community First Choice Option (CFC) was proposed by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), now Chair of the HELP Committee, as a way to get the key provisions of the Community Choice Act in the health care reform bill. The CFC Option would make it optional for states to offer individuals with disabilities the opportunity to receive support services in their homes and communities. The option would not allow caps on the number of individuals served, nor allow waiting lists. Significant enhanced federal matching funds (FMAP) would be provided, depending on cost, to encourage states to select this option. The CFC Option would be a major step in helping to end Medicaid's institutional bias.
The disability community is also working hard to get incentives for states to choose the CFC Option in health care reform bills, by increasing federal Medicaid matching payments that states receive for the Medicaid services it funds. Take Action
Call your Senator with the message found at the top of this Bulletin. To find the name of your Senator, go to www.Congress.org and key in your zip code.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
More About Howe Developmental Center
We want to thank the Governor again for his decision to close Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park. Although it has been a difficult time for family members of clients served by Howe, these individuals are ultimately better off.
We wanted to remind you of this video that we posted a while back:
Thanks for reading Taxpayers For Illinois.
We wanted to remind you of this video that we posted a while back:
Thanks for reading Taxpayers For Illinois.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Disability Community Thanks Governor Quinn; Taxpayer Dollars to Be Put To Better Use
In a press release from the Governor's office today, Taxpayers For Illinois learned of the Governor's decision to finally close Howe Developmental Center in Tinley park. The institution has not only proven to be dangerous for clients but also a huge drain on taxpayer money.
The Governor will close the facility based on recommendations from both the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA), who voted 9-to-3 in favor of closing the facility, and Anne M. Shannon, the former President and CEO of Aspire, who examined the issues regarding providing quality care for residents at Howe Developmental Center. In past months, Shannon met with more than 60 families of current and former Howe residents, advocacy groups, legislators and employees before presenting her recommendations to the Governor. On August 15, upon recommendation from Anne Shannon, Governor Quinn made an unannounced visit to Howe Developmental Center to talk with staff, residents, parents and family members, while also assessing the facility's operations.
Howe Developmental Center currently has 251 residents and 694 staff and the Governor is ensuring a smooth transition for these residents.
We are hoping this decision will be the first in many that help funnel taxpayer funds into humane, community care for Illinois' most vulnerable populations.
Please take a moment to contact your local papers to express your gratitude to Governor Quinn for finally closing Howe Developmental Center.
The Governor will close the facility based on recommendations from both the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA), who voted 9-to-3 in favor of closing the facility, and Anne M. Shannon, the former President and CEO of Aspire, who examined the issues regarding providing quality care for residents at Howe Developmental Center. In past months, Shannon met with more than 60 families of current and former Howe residents, advocacy groups, legislators and employees before presenting her recommendations to the Governor. On August 15, upon recommendation from Anne Shannon, Governor Quinn made an unannounced visit to Howe Developmental Center to talk with staff, residents, parents and family members, while also assessing the facility's operations.
Howe Developmental Center currently has 251 residents and 694 staff and the Governor is ensuring a smooth transition for these residents.
We are hoping this decision will be the first in many that help funnel taxpayer funds into humane, community care for Illinois' most vulnerable populations.
Please take a moment to contact your local papers to express your gratitude to Governor Quinn for finally closing Howe Developmental Center.
The Arc Mourns the Loss of its Greatest Legislative Champion
8/26/2009
The Arc of the United States and all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families lost its all time legislative champion with the death last night of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). His legislative achievements in the field of disability were many and far reaching. Civil rights, education and health care were the cornerstones of his efforts to help all Americans live decent and productive lives. In the rights arena, his most notable achievement was the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. He played an instrumental role in the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975 (now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which gave every student with a disability the right to a free appropriate public education. Senator Kennedy was one of four Members of Congress who, along with former President George W. Bush, crafted the No Child Left Behind Act. He was instrumental in assuring that all students with disabilities would be part of the student achievement assessments under this law. Last year, he co-authored the Higher Education Opportunity Act which, for the first time in Federal law, will afford higher education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. Other major civil rights accomplishments that helped people with disabilities enter the mainstream of our society include the Fair Housing Act and the Voting Rights Act.
As a steady voice for comprehensive, quality and affordable health care reform, Senator Kennedy pushed hard over his decades of Senate service to expand the National Institutes of Health, created programs to protect pregnant women and children, the Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the recently enacted Medicare prescription drug expansion. As many have observed, his absence from the Senate this year has significantly hindered the passage of health care reform.
In his role as a member, Ranking Minority Member, and Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, he authored the Developmental Disabilities Act, established Protection and Advocacy Systems in every state, and oversaw several extensions of the Rehabilitation Act, including the addition of Supported Employment and steady increases in the minimum wage.
Senator Kennedy was first elected in 1962 and served six terms. He ranks third in total service in the U. S. Senate. He was often referred to as the "Lion of the Senate". A consummate deal maker, many of his legislative successes were due to his ability to reach across the aisle and secure bipartisan support, sometimes with the most conservative of Senators. He was an electrifying orator, his booming voice resounding off the walls of the Senate chamber. Senator Kennedy did his homework, always exceptionally well prepared for his Committee hearings, bill markups and floor speeches. He was often noted as having the best and most loyal staff on Capitol Hill.
Senator Kennedy often described his interest in disability policy due to his family history. Late in life, his father suffered from a serious stroke. His sister Rosemary was born with an intellectual disability and was sheltered during her adulthood in a private institution. His sister Eunice, who died only two weeks ago, headed up the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and created the Special Olympics. The Senator's two sons also experience disability. Ted Jr. lost a leg to cancer as a child. Patrick, a U. S. Congressman from Rhode Island, has a mental illness.
Senator Kennedy spoke at several events sponsored by The Arc, most notably the Disability Policy Seminar. In 2001, he was the recipient of The Arc's John H. Chafee Leadership in Public Policy Award. Last month, The Arc's President, Lynne Cleveland, announced that Senator Kennedy would be this year's President's Award recipient. This award will now be given posthumously at an event in the near future.
The Arc of the United States and all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families lost its all time legislative champion with the death last night of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). His legislative achievements in the field of disability were many and far reaching. Civil rights, education and health care were the cornerstones of his efforts to help all Americans live decent and productive lives. In the rights arena, his most notable achievement was the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. He played an instrumental role in the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975 (now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which gave every student with a disability the right to a free appropriate public education. Senator Kennedy was one of four Members of Congress who, along with former President George W. Bush, crafted the No Child Left Behind Act. He was instrumental in assuring that all students with disabilities would be part of the student achievement assessments under this law. Last year, he co-authored the Higher Education Opportunity Act which, for the first time in Federal law, will afford higher education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. Other major civil rights accomplishments that helped people with disabilities enter the mainstream of our society include the Fair Housing Act and the Voting Rights Act.
As a steady voice for comprehensive, quality and affordable health care reform, Senator Kennedy pushed hard over his decades of Senate service to expand the National Institutes of Health, created programs to protect pregnant women and children, the Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the recently enacted Medicare prescription drug expansion. As many have observed, his absence from the Senate this year has significantly hindered the passage of health care reform.
In his role as a member, Ranking Minority Member, and Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, he authored the Developmental Disabilities Act, established Protection and Advocacy Systems in every state, and oversaw several extensions of the Rehabilitation Act, including the addition of Supported Employment and steady increases in the minimum wage.
Senator Kennedy was first elected in 1962 and served six terms. He ranks third in total service in the U. S. Senate. He was often referred to as the "Lion of the Senate". A consummate deal maker, many of his legislative successes were due to his ability to reach across the aisle and secure bipartisan support, sometimes with the most conservative of Senators. He was an electrifying orator, his booming voice resounding off the walls of the Senate chamber. Senator Kennedy did his homework, always exceptionally well prepared for his Committee hearings, bill markups and floor speeches. He was often noted as having the best and most loyal staff on Capitol Hill.
Senator Kennedy often described his interest in disability policy due to his family history. Late in life, his father suffered from a serious stroke. His sister Rosemary was born with an intellectual disability and was sheltered during her adulthood in a private institution. His sister Eunice, who died only two weeks ago, headed up the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and created the Special Olympics. The Senator's two sons also experience disability. Ted Jr. lost a leg to cancer as a child. Patrick, a U. S. Congressman from Rhode Island, has a mental illness.
Senator Kennedy spoke at several events sponsored by The Arc, most notably the Disability Policy Seminar. In 2001, he was the recipient of The Arc's John H. Chafee Leadership in Public Policy Award. Last month, The Arc's President, Lynne Cleveland, announced that Senator Kennedy would be this year's President's Award recipient. This award will now be given posthumously at an event in the near future.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thank You From Taxpayers For Illinois
In May, after a long winter of debating amongst politicians, social services agencies, citizens and families across the state of Illinois were thrown into a budget crisis. Eventually, many clients served by these agencies were denied services and agencies were forced to give their staff lay-off notices.
Thankfully, due to concerned citizens like you, this crisis has been temporarily averted. Over the past 3 months, you called, e-mailed, wrote letters, sent faxes, protested in Springfield and made personal visits to the Governor and your elected officials' offices. And for that, we want to send you a huge, heart-felt THANK YOU...our efforts as a community of providers, care-givers and concerned citizens were ultimately successful.
State funding has been temporarily restored for a majority of human service agencies through December of 2008!
While many agencies are working towards a model of service that no longer relies on state funding (and the political and draconian slashing of services that come with it), we are always in need of alternative sources of funding.
Taxpayers for Illinois will be here monitoring legislator’s decisions around support for this kind of funding. Thank you for reading and look for more info again after Labor Day.
Thankfully, due to concerned citizens like you, this crisis has been temporarily averted. Over the past 3 months, you called, e-mailed, wrote letters, sent faxes, protested in Springfield and made personal visits to the Governor and your elected officials' offices. And for that, we want to send you a huge, heart-felt THANK YOU...our efforts as a community of providers, care-givers and concerned citizens were ultimately successful.
State funding has been temporarily restored for a majority of human service agencies through December of 2008!
While many agencies are working towards a model of service that no longer relies on state funding (and the political and draconian slashing of services that come with it), we are always in need of alternative sources of funding.
Taxpayers for Illinois will be here monitoring legislator’s decisions around support for this kind of funding. Thank you for reading and look for more info again after Labor Day.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Please Call The Governor Regarding House Bill 237
This spring, the General Assembly passed HB 237 without a single “no” vote. HB 237 would include payments for all prevention, intervention, or treatment services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and alcohol and substance abuse problems, as well as rehabilitation, and early intervention services provided by licensed community-based providers under the Prompt Payment Act. In addition, HB 237 would increase the interest penalty for bills under the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code to 2.0% (from 1.0%) after being delinquent for sixty days.
The 60 day deadline for action by Governor Pat Quinn on HB 237 is next Tuesday, August 25th. We need you to call the Governor’s Office in Springfield and Chicago today and urge him to sign HB 237 into law!
Please click here to take action!
Talking Points (if needed):
Not all payments for these services are currently “protected” by the prompt payment act. HB 237 would change that situation.
Community providers are currently experiencing payment delays in excess of 150 days, HB 237 would at least ensure the state is paying interest on those late payments – a common business arrangement.
By signing HB 237, Governor Quinn will be making a statement that he supports community services.
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-0244
Office of the Governor
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, 16-100
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-814-2121
The 60 day deadline for action by Governor Pat Quinn on HB 237 is next Tuesday, August 25th. We need you to call the Governor’s Office in Springfield and Chicago today and urge him to sign HB 237 into law!
Please click here to take action!
Talking Points (if needed):
Not all payments for these services are currently “protected” by the prompt payment act. HB 237 would change that situation.
Community providers are currently experiencing payment delays in excess of 150 days, HB 237 would at least ensure the state is paying interest on those late payments – a common business arrangement.
By signing HB 237, Governor Quinn will be making a statement that he supports community services.
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-0244
Office of the Governor
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, 16-100
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-814-2121
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Cared for "Forgotten Population"
As the State of Illinois continues to falter in its ability to serve its most vulnerable populations--at last check, several agencies were still waiting to recieve revised, temporary contracts that would restore only partial funding for the services they provide--the country has lost a leader in the field of disability rights.
Please take a look at the letter below from Timothy P. Shriver, CEO of the Special Olympics, in honor of his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver who passed away early this morning....
In addition, The Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law (an organization founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver's widower, Sargent Shriver) recently published this statement about the Illinois Budget cuts.
It is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that my mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, passed away early this morning.
At the time of her death -- as it was throughout her long and full life -- she was surrounded by her family, her husband, her children, her grandchildren and those who loved her.
Though at the end her body had become weak, her heart was strong and it was abundantly full. It was overflowing with faith in God’s will. It was replete with a sense of contentment about the past and a deep hope for the future. It was full of love and gratitude for those to whom she had dedicated her life’s work and who had in return given her life the gifts of clarity, aspiration and friendship.
Her heart was full indeed of faith, hope and love. She was very much at peace.
As I write to you, her extended family of the Special Olympics movement that she loved so deeply, it is hard not to recognize that these same traits that sustained her at the time of her death had fulfilled and motivated her throughout her lifetime of advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities -- or as she always said, her "special friends."
Her faith in the athletes of Special Olympics was unfailing, even from the very start. When she was young and Special Olympics was still just an idea, few people particularly cared or knew about people with intellectual disabilities. Fewer still shared or understood her dream to awaken the spirit and denied potential of this forgotten population. And yet, though others could not see, she still believed, conceiving Special Olympics in her heart before she could unveil it on the field of play.
She believed that people with intellectual disabilities could – individually and collectively – achieve more than anyone thought possible. This much she knew with unbridled faith and certainty. And this faith in turn gave her hope that their future might be radically different.
Her faith in them allowed her to hope for an army of supporters – coaches, volunteers, donors, fans – that would emerge and grow and become the foundation upon which a worldwide human rights movement would be built. It allowed her to envision a world of formerly skeptical people who would witness the accomplishments of our athletes and say "Yes! I understand!" Hope allowed her to see the invisible, fight for the isolated and achieve the impossible.
But mostly, it was her unconditional love for the athletes of Special Olympics that so fulfilled her life. As Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and social activist reminded us: "the beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image, lest we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."
Her love for the athletes of Special Olympics was always just like that. She never hoped that people with intellectual disabilities should be somehow changed into something they were not. Rather, she fought throughout her life to ensure that they would be allowed to reach their full potential so that we might in turn be changed by them, forced to recognize our own false assumptions and their inherent gifts.
She fought the good fight, she kept the faith, and though she knew the race for equality was not finished, she knew that the army of supporters she had hoped for long ago had become a reality that would carry and someday complete her vision. On her behalf, as we prepare to say our last goodbyes, my family and I thank you for your shared commitment to that dream.
My family and I would be proud and honored if you would take some time to learn more about her life, share your own remembrances about her, and read the remembrances of others at a website that was recently established to honor her legacy, www.eunicekennedyshriver.org. In the spirit of her hope that everyone would share in the power of Special Olympics, I hope you’ll not only read and contribute to the site, but share it with friends.
With great appreciation,
Timothy P. Shriver
Chairman and CEO
Special Olympics
Please take a look at the letter below from Timothy P. Shriver, CEO of the Special Olympics, in honor of his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver who passed away early this morning....
In addition, The Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law (an organization founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver's widower, Sargent Shriver) recently published this statement about the Illinois Budget cuts.
It is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that my mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, passed away early this morning.
At the time of her death -- as it was throughout her long and full life -- she was surrounded by her family, her husband, her children, her grandchildren and those who loved her.
Though at the end her body had become weak, her heart was strong and it was abundantly full. It was overflowing with faith in God’s will. It was replete with a sense of contentment about the past and a deep hope for the future. It was full of love and gratitude for those to whom she had dedicated her life’s work and who had in return given her life the gifts of clarity, aspiration and friendship.
Her heart was full indeed of faith, hope and love. She was very much at peace.
As I write to you, her extended family of the Special Olympics movement that she loved so deeply, it is hard not to recognize that these same traits that sustained her at the time of her death had fulfilled and motivated her throughout her lifetime of advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities -- or as she always said, her "special friends."
Her faith in the athletes of Special Olympics was unfailing, even from the very start. When she was young and Special Olympics was still just an idea, few people particularly cared or knew about people with intellectual disabilities. Fewer still shared or understood her dream to awaken the spirit and denied potential of this forgotten population. And yet, though others could not see, she still believed, conceiving Special Olympics in her heart before she could unveil it on the field of play.
She believed that people with intellectual disabilities could – individually and collectively – achieve more than anyone thought possible. This much she knew with unbridled faith and certainty. And this faith in turn gave her hope that their future might be radically different.
Her faith in them allowed her to hope for an army of supporters – coaches, volunteers, donors, fans – that would emerge and grow and become the foundation upon which a worldwide human rights movement would be built. It allowed her to envision a world of formerly skeptical people who would witness the accomplishments of our athletes and say "Yes! I understand!" Hope allowed her to see the invisible, fight for the isolated and achieve the impossible.
But mostly, it was her unconditional love for the athletes of Special Olympics that so fulfilled her life. As Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and social activist reminded us: "the beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image, lest we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."
Her love for the athletes of Special Olympics was always just like that. She never hoped that people with intellectual disabilities should be somehow changed into something they were not. Rather, she fought throughout her life to ensure that they would be allowed to reach their full potential so that we might in turn be changed by them, forced to recognize our own false assumptions and their inherent gifts.
She fought the good fight, she kept the faith, and though she knew the race for equality was not finished, she knew that the army of supporters she had hoped for long ago had become a reality that would carry and someday complete her vision. On her behalf, as we prepare to say our last goodbyes, my family and I thank you for your shared commitment to that dream.
My family and I would be proud and honored if you would take some time to learn more about her life, share your own remembrances about her, and read the remembrances of others at a website that was recently established to honor her legacy, www.eunicekennedyshriver.org. In the spirit of her hope that everyone would share in the power of Special Olympics, I hope you’ll not only read and contribute to the site, but share it with friends.
With great appreciation,
Timothy P. Shriver
Chairman and CEO
Special Olympics
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