Volume 15, Issue 15
April 19, 2010
Action Alerts
Ongoing -
Do You Want the Term "Mental Retardation" Removed from Federal Laws?
Major Events Last Week
Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations
Congressional infighting continued regarding the use of earmarks during the upcoming FY 2011 appropriations process. Earmarks, often referred to as "pork," allocate billions of dollars in federal spending to state and local projects. Earmark requests are submitted to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees by individual Members of Congress. The earmark process has shifted in recent years as much more transparency has been required. House Democrats announced that they would not request any earmarks slated for for-profit companies. House Republicans went further when they announced that they will not request any earmarks. The Democrats defend the earmarked spending as targeted funding for priority local projects. Republicans instead want the funds allocated for earmarks to help reduce the federal deficit. Meanwhile, Senate Appropriators have not indicated any change from their previous earmark strategies. Assuming these mixed approaches are pursued during the FY 2011 appropriations process, House and Senate appropriators will be forced to solve these competing strategies before the FY 2011 appropriations decisions are made this fall.
Medicaid/Health Care Reform
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released initial Medicaid guidance on Section 2001 of the new health care law establishing the new eligibility group that all states participating in Medicaid must cover as of January 2014. Under the law, for the first time since the Medicaid program was established, states will receive Federal Medicaid payments to provide coverage for the lowest income adults in their States, without regard to disability, parental status or most other categorical limitations, under their State Medicaid plans. Individuals eligible under the new group are defined as those who are not: age 65 or older; pregnant; entitled to or enrolled in benefits under Medicare Part A; enrolled under Medicare Part B; described in any of the other mandatory groups in the statute, such as certain parents, children, or people eligible based on their receipt of benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. See the CMS letter at:
http://www.thearc.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=2411
Housing/Olmstead Implementation
As part of the Obama Administration's "Year of the Community" initiative, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for public housing agencies (PHAs) to apply for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers targeted to non-elderly persons with disabilities. PHAs can apply for 4,300 traditional vouchers to serve people with disabilities on their waiting lists. They can also apply for 1,000 vouchers for people with disabilities who are transferring out of institutional settings into the community through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Money Follows the Person program (MFP). PHAs in non-MFP states can also apply for these vouchers. Services for those individuals will be provided with Medicaid funds. Deadline for PHA applications is July 7, 2010. The NOFA can be accessed at:
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail/nednofa.pdf
Additional information is available at:
Major Events Ahead
U.S. Congress
Though the House and Senate returned to session last week, there is little on the Congressional calendar regarding disability policy.Announcements
Disability Policy Seminar
The 2010 Disability Policy Seminar took place on April 12-14, 2010. This was the second year that the Seminar was sponsored by six national organizations - The Arc of The United States, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD), Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), and Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE). Over 530 people attended, representing 45 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Attendance was notable given the severe budget crises in the states and their impact on individuals and services provider organizations. Health care reform dominated the agenda with presentations from numerous staffers from key Congressional committees, Obama Administration appointees, and other nationally recognized experts, including the staff of the Disability Policy Collaboration. The event culminated with visits to the offices of Members of Congress on the last day. Presentations and photos have been posted on the Seminar web site at:
http://www.thearc.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=2173.
Lifespan Respite Grant Opportunity
The Administration on Aging will make three-year grants of up to $200,000 to 10-15 states under the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006. Lifespan Respite Care programs are coordinated systems of accessible, community-based respite care services for family caregivers of children or adults of all ages with special needs. States can use the grants to plan or enhance new and planned emergency respite services, training and recruiting respite workers and volunteers and assisting caregivers with gaining access to needed services. The due date for letters of intent is May 7, 2010. To learn more about this funding opportunity, please go to:
http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Grants/Funding/docs/2010/FY_2010_Lifepsan_Respite_508_April_2010.pdf
Employment
Reports are available from the six Listening Sessions the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and its Federal partners held earlier this year. Each listening session was an opportunity for members of the public to provide input to senior Federal officials from many different agencies on their ideas for more effective ways to employ all people with disabilities, including women, veterans and minorities with disabilities and what was currently working in their regions to increase employment of people with disabilities. See:
http://www.dol.gov/odep/disabilitylistening.htm
Information Technology and Telecommunications
The US Access Board will hold a public hearing on May 12 in Washington, DC concerning its draft proposal to update the standards and guidelines for Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. The Section 508 standards deal with electronic information in the Federal sector and the Section 255 guidelines concern telecommunications equipment. The Board also proposes to update the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines to address access to self-service machines such as ticketing kiosks. Detailed information is available at:
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm
Health Care Reform Implementation
Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius announced the appointment five new regional directors, stating that "The regional directors will play a vital role in our department's effort to effectively implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. " As HHS regional directors, they will serve as key representatives of Secretary Sebelius in working with federal, state, local, and tribal officials on a wide range of health and social service issues. For information on the new regional directors, see:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/04/20100406c.html
Secretary Sebelius also announced the establishment of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which will have the following components: Office of the Director; Office of Oversight; Office of Insurance Programs; Office of Consumer Support; and Office of Health Insurance Exchanges. More details on the new Office can be found at:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-8949.pdf
Health Care Quality and Disparities Reports
The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) released the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR). These reports measure trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care. The reports present the latest available findings on quality of and access to health care. Chapter 4 of the NHDR includes information about health care quality and access among various racial, ethnic, and income groups and other priority populations, such as individuals with disabilities or special health care needs. See the reports at:
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr09.htm
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Please note that you can view previous issues of the
Capitol Insider, at UCP.org anytime by choosing "Capitol Insider" under "Public Policy."
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Annie Acosta at:
acosta@thedpc.org.
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