Volume 14, Issue 44
November 9, 2009
Action Alerts
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Federal Register
October 16-31, 2009.
Ongoing:
Action Alerts are messages for you to send to elected officials and need your immediate response. Click on the link(s) above to take action on current DPC action alerts.
Major Events Last Week
Health Care Reform
Late Saturday night, by a very narrow vote of 220-215, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009 (H.R. 3962). Only one Republican member voted for the measure while 39 Democrats opposed the bill. H.R. 3962 contains several provisions that are important to people with disabilities including:
- Major insurance market reforms such as the elimination of discrimination based on health status; a prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions; guaranteed issue and renewal requirements; and elimination of annual and lifetime caps;
- Creation of a high-risk pool to provide immediate assistance to those currently uninsured with pre-existing conditions before insurance market reforms are implemented;
- Inclusion of critical services for people with disabilities in the new Health Insurance Exchange's essential benefits package such as rehabilitation and habilitation services, durable medical equipment (e.g. wheelchairs), prosthetics, orthotics and related supplies, vision and hearing services, equipment and supplies for children under 21 years of age, behavioral health treatment, and mental health and substance abuse services in compliance with the Wellstone-Domenici parity law;
- Inclusion of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, a new actuarially sound, premium-based, national long term services insurance program to help adults with severe functional impairments to remain independent, employed, and a part of their communities, without having to impoverish themselves to become eligible for Medicaid;
- Inclusion of a "Sense of the Congress Regarding Community First Choice Option to Provide Medicaid Coverage of Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports" which expresses support for allowing states to offer such services to people otherwise eligible for Medicaid institutional services (basically supporting the Community First Choice Option in the Senate bill); and
- Significant investments in Medicaid to dramatically expand eligibility, including EPSDT services for millions of children, increased reimbursement for physicians to Medicare rates with significant federal funding to offset the burden on states, and a six month-extension of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's increase to the federal share of Medicaid spending.
Following the House vote, President Obama called on the Senate to move its version of health care reform quickly. However earlier in the week, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated that it may not be possible to complete action by the end of this year.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) continued its work on estimating the cost of a Senate bill reflecting the merger between the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and Finance Committees measures. Majority Leader Reid has reportedly asked CBO to analyze the cost of several alternative proposals on various issues to give the Senate options to consider.
Education/IDEA
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a California educator who says she was fired for speaking out about the limited services provided to her special education students can sue for retaliation. The resource specialist had raised red flags in 2005 about the limited services provided to students with disabilities in the school district. She made a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and says her superiors in the school district promptly began intimidating her. A lower court said that the plaintiff lacked standing to sue because she does not have a disability and was claiming retaliation for advocating on behalf of her students under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. On appeal, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said otherwise, asserting that educators do have the right to claim retaliation if they are acting on behalf of their students. See:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0756313p.pdf
ARRA Spending
As of Oct 30, recipients of grants and contract funds resulting from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have been required to provide a greater level of detail on how they are spending their money. Many priority disability programs, such as IDEA State Grants and Vocational Rehabilitation State Grant and Independent Living, are receiving ARRA funds. See:
http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx
Major Events Ahead
U.S. Congress
The House of Representatives is off this week during a Veterans Day recess. The Senate will work on the Fiscal Year 2010 Veterans Administration and Military Construction Appropriations bill and then take a short Veterans Day break.
Health Care Reform
The Congressional Budget Office may release its cost analysis of the Senate merged bill later in the week. However it is unclear whether the Senate will begin debate before its Thanksgiving recess. Majority Leader Reid continues discussions with moderate and conservative members of the Democratic caucus on several issues of concern to them including how to pay for the measure, a public option for the new Health Insurance Exchange, coverage of illegal immigrants, and abortion.
Seclusion and Restraint
The Department of Education (DOE) is planning to collect data from public schools about the use of restraint and seclusion. There is plenty of anecdotal information about the harmful effects, including death, of restraint and seclusion on children and about how children with disabilities often are restrained and secluded excessively. The DPC is submitting comments today to DOE supporting the collection of restraint and seclusion data. The DPC also joined numerous advocacy groups in singing onto a letter of support from the Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion (APRAIS). Read the DPC's comments to DOE at:
http://www.ucp.org/uploads/sec-restr_09Nov9.pdf
Disability Policy Collaboration
The DPC office will be closed from Wednesday through Friday while the DPC staff participate in The Arc's Annual Convention in Pittsburgh.
Announcements
ADA/Emergency Management
The US Department of Justice entered into settlement agreements with several local governments regarding the accessibility of their emergency management plans and facilities (e.g., seeking input from people with disabilities and their families, making emergency shelters accessible and planning for accessible temporary housing). To read the agreements, see:
http://www.ada.gov/civicac.htm
ADA Employment Video
The US Department of Justice has announced a new video aimed at educating employers about the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ten Employment Myths: Information about the Americans with Disabilities Act uses a question-and-answer format to express common misconceptions, fears and false assumptions that many employers have about employees with disabilities. The video refutes these unfounded myths, explains the ADA in common sense terms and highlights the advantages of hiring qualified persons with disabilities. Single DVD copies can be ordered through at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-514-0383 (TTY). An online streaming version will also be available soon. See:
http://www.ada.gov
Accessibility/National Broadband Plan
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hosted its second field hearing on November 6, 2009 to obtain input from the disability community on ensuring broadband access for people with disabilities. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 ordered the FCC to develop a National Broadband Plan and present it to Congress by February 17, 2010. Both FCC hearings focused on how people with disabilities use broadband, what barriers they face, and what solutions they might recommend for inclusion in a national broadband plan. Transcripts of the hearings are posted on FCC's Web site at:
http://www.broadband.gov/ws_accessibility_disabilities.html
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
