Thousands tell their senators to support Community Choice Act

From an ADAPT press release:

Over 10,000 people call to urge the US Senate to address long term services and supports and Medicaid's institutional bias in healthcare reform.

May 13, over 10,000 people across the country contacted their US Senators to urge them to include long-term services and supports in healthcare reform and address the institutional bias in Medicaid. As the Senate reaches a pivotal moment in deliberating health care reform this week, advocates say elected officials are ignoring current federal Medicaid policies that continue to waste taxpayer dollars and force persons with disabilities and older people into nursing facilities and other institutions because they cannot get assistance in their own homes.

"Community based services are cost effective and what people want. Current federal policy does exactly the opposite. That must change," said Dawn Russell, an ADAPT activist from Denver, Colorado.

ADAPT and over 700 other organizations support the Community Choice Act(S683/HR1670) which would eliminate the institutional bias.

"Healthcare reform gives us the perfect opportunity to address these issues," said
Ms. Russell. "We are calling upon our nation's leaders to pass the Community Choice Act as part of healthcare reform and will do what it takes to make this happen."

The Call In event was organized by a network of aging and disability organizations just weeks after ADAPT activists were arrested at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

According to reports from several states, when callers could not get through to Senate offices on Capitol Hill, they began calling local offices. Organizers were not surprised by the volume of calls.

"This issue affects virtually every single American family," said Rahnee Patrick an ADAPT activist from Chicago, IL. "They may be caring for a child with a disability, helping a person with a disability achieve independence, or supporting an aging family member; all of these families need more effective long term services and supports. They are recognizing that this is a policy issue, not just a personal one, and they want change."

Advocates are becoming increasingly concerned that the Senate may try to placate aging and disability advocates with superficial reform efforts.Earlier this week Senators Baucus and Grassley released policy options under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

"It looks like they want to give the appearance of reform without addressing the
fundamental problems of Medicaid's institutional bias, the lack of opportunities for self-determination or consumer direction and the need to have eligibility based on functional need, not diagnosis," said Bob Kafka, an ADAPT organizer from Austin, Texas.

He added, "We are all waiting and watching."