From our friends at ADAPT: community living options in the new health care law

[thucythucy]

Dear fellow DUers:

I thought you might be interested in a little discussed but very important part of the health insurance reform legislation President Obama signed into law on Tuesday.

Best wishes,

ThucyThucy

News Release:

For more information, contact:
Mike Oxford, [phone]
Bob Kafka, [phone]
http://www.adapt.org

ADAPT Celebrates Community First Choice Option in Health Care Reform

ADAPT, the national cross-disability grassroots group, today celebrates
the inclusion of the Community First Choice (CFC) Option and other long
term care-related provisions in the health care reform package passed by
the House on Sunday, March 21. These provisions bring people with
disabilities across America one step closer to home and community-base
supports and ending the institutional bias in Medicaid. Twenty years ago,
with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with
disabilities realized the beginning of a civil rights dream of access to
all levels of society. Today, ADAPT continues to fight to protect that
dream, re-committing to the enforcement of the ADA-based Olmstead Supreme
court case, which holds that no person can be forced to remain
institutionalized against their will.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion
legislation, the Reconciliation Act of 2010, together include several
items related to home and community based services. For example, starting
in October of 2011, the CFC Option will give states the choice of
providing home and community based services to Medicaid recipients instead
of simply forcing them into nursing homes. The federal Money Follows the
Person program will be extended until 2016. Provisions of the CLASS Act
are also included in the new legislation. States will have increased
federal funding matching incentives to fund community services. Yet while
passage of this legislation is a social landmark, much remains to be done.

ADAPT recognizes that ensuring community choice for all will require a
variety of efforts, from both the grassroots and the government. ADAPT's
Defending Our Freedom (DOF) Campaign seeks accountability for enforcing
Olmstead from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of
Civil Rights. DOF demands that the Obama administration aggressively
support legislation and pursue litigation that ensures Olmstead
enforcement across the country. Finally, DOF calls on grassroots people
with disabilities to document their struggles to secure home and community
based services.

ADAPT re-commits to fighting together with allies such as Senator Tom
Harkin of Iowa and other members of Congress towards the vision of
meaningful community integration for people with disabilities and seniors
across America. For more information, see http://www.adapt.org and
http://defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com.

# # #
FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/

[KamaAina]

1. How did it get logrolled back to 2011?

Some of us, for instance in CA where Ahh-nuld is trying (again :eyes: ) to zero out In-Home Supportive Services, need it NOW!

And welcome to DU, fellow ADAPTer! :hi: