Richardson stabbing NM disabled in back

[Traveling_Home]

FROM ADAPT mailing List
=============================

What's up with Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico and also a candidate
for President of the United States?
After signing into law the Money Follows the Person in New Mexico Act last
year and receiving much fan fare, credit and gratitude from the national
disabiltiy community, Governor Richardson is now quietly trying to weasle
out of his previous commitment.

Below is a press release issued today by the Disability Coalition regarding
the failure of the New Mexico Human Services and Aging & Long-Term Services
Departments to implement the Money Follows the Person in New Mexico Act.

THE DISABILITY COALITION
A Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, Family Members, and Advocates
P.O. Box 8251
1720 Louisiana NE, Suite 204
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-8251
Albuquerque, NM 87105
Telephone or fax: [phone]
[phone] Fax: [phone]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 24, 2007

CONTACT: Jim Jackson, Protection & Advocacy System, 505-256-3100 or
505-261-7145
OR: Gil Yildiz, Independent Living Resource Center, 505-266-5022 or
505-331-9401
Disability Advocates Protest Richardson Administrationbs Defiance of State
Law
Medicaid money will remain tied to nursing homes, not home-based services

SANTA FE, NM b A coalition of disability advocacy organizations is
protesting the decision of the Richardson Administration not to comply with
a state law intended to help seniors and people with disabilities live in
their own homes instead of nursing facilities b even though the program
would save the state money.

The Money Follows the Person in New Mexico Act, sponsored by Rep. Ed
Sandoval (D-Albuquerque) and passed unanimously by the state legislature in
2006, allows individuals in institutional care to use Medicaid funding to
live in their own homes instead. The governor signed the bill into law in
March of 2006.

A group has been meeting monthly since then to advise the Human Services and
Aging & Long-Term Services Departments on how to implement the Money Follows
the Person (MFP) program. However, at the groupbs meeting earlier this
month, Carolyn Ingram of HSD's Medical Assistance Division said that the
state would not allow Medicaid monies to move from nursing homes to
community services, despite the mandate of the law. Ingram said her agency
fears increased costs if the law is implemented.

Advocates for persons with disabilities have appealed to Governor Richardson
to reverse the decision, noting in a letter to him that ignoring the law
will extend the time that people stay on waiting lists for services. "People
with disabilities have a right to live in their own homes, and they can do
so with appropriate supports and services," said Gil Yildiz, executive
director of the Independent Living Resource Center. "MFP would save money
for the state because community services are less expensive than
institutions. This should be a win-win situation for both the state and the
disability community."

Yildiz noted that many other states already have MFP programs or will soon
begin them, since they are being strongly promoted by the federal Medicaid
agency. In Texas, nearly 11,000 people transitioned out of nursing homes in
the first five years of their MFP program, and the number of people in
nursing homes was reduced by 10 percent, according to Marc Gold of the Texas
Department of Aging and Disability Services. Texas saved 50% on the cost of
long-term services for these individuals by letting them move from nursing
homes to community settings.

"We were concerned that planning was taking so long, but it never occurred
to us that they would just refuse to comply with the clear mandate of state
law," said Jim Jackson, executive director of NM Protection & Advocacy
System, an advocacy center for persons with disabilities. The advocatesb
letter to the governor notes that they feel they have been "misled or simply
lied to" in the planning process. "The program is being throttled by
bureaucrats before it even gets started," Jackson said.
-30-


-----Original Message-----
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Sent: Sun, 20 May 2007 2:51 pm
Subject: Money Follows the Person


Greetings,

Why is Governor/Candidate Richardson refusing to implement Money Follows the
Person in his home state of New Mexico??

According to his cabinet secretaries from the Human Services Department and
the Aging and Long Term Services Department, he intends to ignore the New
Mexico statute he signed into law on March 8, 2006.

As the candidate for President, his MFP stance so far, will make it
difficult to explain to the disability community locally and nationally. We
are looking to him for proactive leadership now and in the future to remove
the institutional bias in the Medicaid system. People with disabilities want
choice and dignity to live in the community now!

Governor/Candidate Richardson, please reconsider and check in with your
cabinet secretaries. Are they leading your state or are you?

If you want to know more about what the disability community is interested
in, please answer the questionnaire sent to you jointly by ADAPT, the
National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), AAPD, etc.

Thank you for taking action!


Gil Yildiz
Executive Director
ILRC

[Spinzonner]

1. Did he issue a signing statement ?

Or does he just not remember what he signed :-(

[MidwestTransplant]

2. He was horrible on MTP today. I was pretty disappointed.