Action Alerts

Ongoing:

• None.

Major Events Last Week

Health Care Reform

President Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress setting forth a broad outline of his health reform plan. The major health insurance market reforms that will affect everyone include prohibiting pre-existing condition clauses, annual and life time caps, and the setting of an annual out-of-pocket limit on expenses to prevent medical bankruptcies. The deficit neutral plan includes stability via insurance market reforms for those who are currently covered and access to coverage for the uninsured through a new insurance Exchange. Reaction to the speech was mixed primarily along party lines.

The Senate Finance Committee "Gang of Six" (Chairman Baucus (D-MT), Ranking Member Grassley (R-IA), and Senators Conrad (D-ND), Bingaman (D-NM), Enzi (R-WY), and Snowe (R-ME)) continued to negotiate in a quest for a bi-partisan agreement. They discussed various components of a plan proposed by Chairman Baucus which includes a universal mandate, major insurance market reforms, an expansion of Medicaid eligibility to 133.3 % of the Federal Poverty Limit, and expansion of health disparity data collection requirements to include access and treatment for people with disabilities. Given the cost issues, it appears that most of the long term services sections of the proposal have been dropped; however, the proposal would reauthorize and continue funding for Aging and Disability Resource Centers and the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration program.

At the end of the week Chairman Baucus announced that the Gang of Six will wrap up its work early this week and a bill will be released either with or without support from Republican members of the group. He also announced that the Finance Committee will start marking up the bill on September 21^st.

H1N1 Flu

The White House announced that the Administration will tap an additional $2.7 billion in emergency H1N1 flu funding to buy vaccines, antiviral drugs and to make other preparations for an immunization campaign in the fall. President Obama had earlier approved $1.8 billion in emergency spending from a $5.8 billion fund which Congress established in the FY 2010 supplemental spending bill.

Major Events Today

Accessibility

After four years of litigation, the Disability Rights and Education Fund (DREDF) and its co-counsel, head to trial on behalf of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and a class of 3,000,000 blind and visually impaired plaintiffs. In a class action lawsuit filed under Section 504, plaintiffs are challenging the Social Security Administration's (SSA) failure to provide its communications in alternative formats that would enable people with visual impairments to have equal access to the agency's programs. SSA's failure to provide alternative formats has resulted in the loss of critical benefits, privacy and dignity for individuals who depend on Social Security benefits. The trial is in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco and is expected to last for about two weeks.

Major Events Ahead

Health Care Reform

On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), will meet to mark up the approximately 60 amendments it did not consider prior to the August recess.

FY 2010 Appropriations

The Senate will continue to debate the FY 2010 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill. The bill provides a $15 million increase for the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program. Section 811 is the only federal program that produces affordable and accessible housing units for persons with disabilities who have extremely low incomes. On the transportation side, the bill provides for level funding ($92.5 million) for the New Freedom program which provides funding for projects that expand transportation options for people with disabilities. It also gives $140.7 million for the Section 5310 program which assists nonprofits serving people with disabilities and the elderly with their transportation needs. This is a $7.2 million increase over FY 2009.

H1N1 Flu

On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on "Preparing for the 2009 Pandemic Flu". The hearing will examine what is known about this novel influenza strain, what the nation can expect in terms of a surge in cases of H1N1 influenza, and what steps the Department of Health and Human Services has taken and plans to take in response to the anticipated surge in cases.

Announcements

Health Care Reform & Disability Teleconference

The Disability Coalition for Health Care Reform is sponsoring a teleconference entitled "Will health insurance reform mean security and peace of mind for people with disabilities?" on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 1:00p.m. Central Time. Speakers include Jason Beloungy of the National Council for Independent Living, Barbara Kornblau, chair of Justice for All Action Network Health Care Committee, Marty Ford and Liz Savage of The Arc and UCP. The events will include a legislative update, a discussion of proposed key elements that impact people with disabilities, and action that the disability community can take to make sure health care reform happens in a way that increases access and choice for people with disabilities. To RSVP and receive the call-in information and materials, e-mail RSVP@paraquad.org and include your name, organization, e-mail and other contact information, and if you need real time captioning or other accommodations.

Education Town Hall

Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan is hosting a multi media event on Tuesday evening as part of his "Listening and Learning Tour". A National Town Hall Meeting will be held from 8 to 9pm, Eastern Time. The event, billed as an interactive discussion with parents, will be available by phone, email and video. Participants can learn how to participate by going to www.ed.gov/edtv.

Please note that you can view previous issues of the Capitol Insider, at UCP.org anytime by choosing "Capitol Insider" under "Public Policy."

Read previous Capitol Insider issues now.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at acosta@thedpc.org.

Sincerely,

Annie Acosta
Director of Communications and Grassroots
Disability Policy Collaboration