Disabled Activists Protest Medicaid Cuts at White House

For Immediate Release Contact: Janine Bertram (503) 622-6387

September 19, 2011  Bruce Darling (585) 370-6690

Marsha Katz (406) 544-9504

MEDICAID DISABILITY ACTIVISTS AT WHITE HOUSE GATES

AS PRESIDENT PRESENTS DEBT PLAN

Washington, DC---As the President unveiled his debt plan this morning, hundreds of activists with disabilities stormed the White House to demand a voice in the structuring of Medicaid reform.  ADAPT, the national disability rights direct action group, is asking the administration to work with them to ensure that Medicaid dollars are invested in cost-saving community supports.

“The President says that he expects all Americans to share the burden of controlling the budget, but Medicaid recipients are already shouldering the burden for balancing budgets at the state level,” said Randy Alexander of Memphis ADAPT. “States have already made significant cuts to Medicaid. How many more people with disabilities and seniors must lose our basic freedoms and lives in order to have done our share?” 

Bruce Darling, an ADAPT organizer from Rochester, New York, pointed out that states have already reduced or eliminated vital home care services and forced seniors and people with disabilities into nursing facilities against their will. “People are already experiencing reduced or eliminated access to basic healthcare, including medications.  Jobs have already been eliminated for home care and direct care workers.”

ADAPT recognizes the need for new tax revenue and supports the President’s proposed so-called “millionaire’s tax.” Unlike Congressional Republicans who believe the burden of deficit reduction should only come from spending cuts to critical programs like Medicaid, the President has called for $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue.

ADAPT has reached out to the White House and Congress to offer proposals on how we can contain Medicaid spending that wouldn’t negatively impact on Medicaid beneficiaries.  The ADAPT Community has identified four principles for real Medicaid reform:

• Expand the use of community-based services

• Demedicalize services

• Expand consumer directed service options

• Reorganize Medicaid services to eliminate wasteful bureaucracy

“We are calling on the administration to work with us to promote the inclusion of these reforms,” said Cassie James Holdsworth of Philadelphia ADAPT.  “People have suffered enough in institutional settings.  We want the President to invest in consumer-directed community based services as part of his deficit plan.”

Details of ADAPT’s REAL Medicaid Reform proposals can be found on the ADAPT website at www.adapt.org.

Drug Companies Threatening to Oppose Health Bill

By ALAN FRAM - Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -- The drug industry is threatening to end its support for President Barack Obama's health overhaul effort because of a rift with the administration over protecting brand-name biotech drugs from low-cost generic competitors.

In an e-mail obtained Friday by The Associated Press, the president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America told the trade group's board members that "we could not support the bill" if the industry is given less than 12 years of competitive protection for the expensive products.

Obama and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., are leading the drive to shorten that period, which proponents argue would be a boon to consumers.

"Please activate immediately all of your contacts," said the e-mail from Billy Tauzin, the group's president.

The pharmaceutical industry has been a crucial supporter of Obama's health effort, having spent many tens of millions of dollars on advertising and lobbying in support. Drug companies should profit from the millions of additional people who would be able to afford health coverage under the legislation.

The threat comes with White House officials and Democratic congressional leaders nearing an agreement on compromise legislation reshaping the nation's health care system.

With a deal so close, it was unclear whether the partnership between drugmakers and the administration was truly in jeopardy, or if the e-mail represented an effort by the industry to pressure the White House to drop its effort to shorten the period of competitive protection for biotech drugs.

Any compromise bill, though, will face a nail-biting trip through Congress, where Democrats got barely enough support when they pushed initial versions of the bill through the House and Senate. If the drug industry decided to pour money into advertising opposing the legislation, that could give some lawmakers second thoughts about supporting the bill.

Ken Johnson, a senior vice president of PhRMA, declined to comment on the e-mail. But in a written statement, he said, "Fair data protection of at least 12 years for new, innovative biologic medicines is critically important to the future of medical progress in America."

In a written statement, Waxman said the overhaul should be "to help struggling families, not to enrich the drug companies."

Last June, the industry agreed to actively support Obama's health overhaul in an agreement with the White House and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., to limit the cost to drugmakers to $80 billion over next decade.

But as Democrats craft their compromise health bill, they have begun looking for additional sources of revenue to pay for changes they are making. That has included pressing the drugmakers to contribute an additional $10 billion - another factor that might be part of PhRMA's decision to threaten to withdraw its support.

Biotech drugs, manufactured from live tissue, are a fast-growing share of sales for pharmaceutical companies worldwide and are seen as a pivotal part of that industry's future.

The House and Senate versions of the health legislation give biotech drugs 12 years of protection from generic competitors. Brand name companies say they need that period to recoup their investments in the products, which can be very expensive to develop.

The Obama administration has said seven years would be a reasonable compromise. Some lobbyists have said Waxman was pushing to reduce the 12 years to 10 years or less.

A lobbying war on the issue has kicked into high gear.

Among groups whose members are calling the White House and congressional leaders in support of the 12 years was the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, representing about 350 biotech firms.

Massachusetts is where a Republican is threatening to capture the Senate seat long held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in next Tuesday's special election. That could make Obama reluctant to support a policy that could anger employees of one of that state's most important industries.

Senior presidential adviser David Axelrod said that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick called White House officials to raise concerns about shortening the products' protections, "but he did not tie it to the election at all."


http://www.macon.com/266/story/987120.html

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House Democrats to Pursue Health Bill Changes

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
The New York Times
Published: January 5, 2010

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders said Tuesday that they would insist on changes to the Senate health care legislation to make coverage more affordable for middle-class Americans and to tighten control over the insurance industry.

But it remains unclear how much leverage the House will have in negotiations given that Senate Democrats cannot spare a single vote without jeopardizing the bill’s chances. The White House will also have a big role in the final product.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, met Tuesday with her top lieutenants and the three committee chairmen directly responsible for the health care bill, as they prepared for negotiations to begin in earnest this week.

Ms. Pelosi and the majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, also met at the White House with President Obama. The top Senate Democrats, Harry Reid of Nevada and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, joined the meeting by telephone.

Aides said that the White House would convene meetings of House and Senate staff perhaps as early as Wednesday to begin clearing away some of the easier differences between the bills, with Congressional leaders to meet face-to-face next week.

After the meeting at the Capitol, House Democrats said they would push the Senate to provide more generous subsidies to help moderate-income Americans buy insurance, but expressed willingness to drop the idea of a government-run health plan.

The House bill includes a government-run health insurance plan, or public option, to compete with private insurers. The public option was dropped from the Senate bill after centrist Democrats said they would oppose any measure that included it.

House Democrats said they could live without the public option provided that they had sufficient guarantees that other steps would be taken to increase options for consumers and to tighten the clamp on any abuses by private insurance companies.

Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the House leadership, said some of his colleagues would press to end the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, a step strongly opposed by Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, who has said he would oppose the bill if the House made any changes that he did not like.

“We understand the realities of what happened in the Senate,” Mr. Van Hollen said. But he said House leaders still found aspects of the Senate bill lacking in terms of providing affordable health coverage to people who are now uninsured.

“We don’t think it achieves enough in the way of competition and choice,” he said.
Even as Democrats made plans to reconcile the bills, Republicans renewed their criticism of the legislation, which they have pledged to fight to the end.

Although Congress routinely reconciles major legislation without formal conference proceedings, Republicans seized on a request by C-Span, the public access television network, to broadcast the closed-door talks between House and Senate Democrats as evidence that Democrats were being less than transparent.

The Democrats, including Ms. Pelosi, dismissed that criticism, noting that Republicans were simply out to kill the legislation. And they noted that the full text of the House bill, for instance, has been posted on the Internet since before it was adopted on Nov. 7.

Ms. Pelosi said she was confident that differences between the two measures would be resolved and that a bill would be sent to Mr. Obama for his signature in relatively short order.

“We will reconcile this legislation in a way that is a AAA rating — affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies and accessibility to many more people in our country to quality, affordable health care,” Ms. Pelosi said.

To help pay for the bill, the House has proposed an income surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples earning more than $1 million, while the Senate has proposed an excise tax on high-priced insurance policies and an increase in the Medicare payroll tax for individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000.

The House bill would cost slightly more than $1 trillion over 10 years, while the Senate bill would cost $871 billion. In each case, the expense would be more than offset by new taxes and fees and reductions in government spending, particularly on Medicare, so the bill would reduce future federal deficits, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“We think that we have the fairest approach in our bill,” Ms. Pelosi said. “I always say when it comes to tax policy around here, it’s like a mirror. ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ The Senate thinks theirs is fairer. We think ours is. We’ll see which mirror cracks.”

And even as Senate Democrats do not have a single vote to spare, House leaders warned that they also had careful counting to do.

“I think the Senate should know that we need 218 votes,” said Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/us/politics/06cong.html
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company

Democrats Face Challenge in Merging Health Bills

By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
New York Times
December 21, 2009

WASHINGTON — Even as the Senate took a significant step toward passing its version of a sweeping overhaul of the health insurance system before Christmas, Democrats were grappling Monday with deep internal divisions over abortion, the issue that most complicates their drive to merge the Senate and House bills and send final legislation to President Obama.

Senate Democratic leaders and the president of the American Medical Association heading on Monday to a press conference where they said the group had endorsed the Senate health plan.

In the House, advocates and opponents of abortion rights and conservative Democrats have made clear that they object, for different reasons, to the Senate’s compromise language on abortion. Interest groups on both sides of the spectrum — Planned Parenthood on the abortion rights side, Catholic bishops for the anti-abortion rights camp — also oppose the abortion provision in the Senate bill, leaving Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a challenge in rounding up the votes she needs in the House.

Ms. Pelosi’s room for maneuvering is limited because any changes to the language in the Senate bill could unravel the deal that provided Democrats with the 60 votes they need to get the legislation through the Senate.

Ms. Pelosi, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and the White House will have to find a way forward on abortion even as they confront other big differences between the House and Senate bills, including how to pay to expand insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans and whether to include a government-run plan to compete with private insurers.

The Senate bill cleared a major hurdle early Monday, when the Senate voted 60 to 40, along party lines, to limit debate on the guts of its measure. Two more votes are set for Tuesday. Calling it a “historic vote,” Mr. Obama said, “The United States Senate knocked down a filibuster aimed at blocking a final vote on health care reform, and scored a big victory for the American people.”

Senate Democrats got another lift on Monday when the American Medical Association endorsed their legislation, which embodies Mr. Obama’s top domestic priority.

“Of all the organizations and individuals that have supported this bill, I rate this one as the most important,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and a co-author of the bill.

Jubilant and exhausted after winning the 1 a.m. test vote, Democrats on Monday were already thinking ahead to the next stage of the legislative process. The Senate and the House will try to hash out their differences, with members of the House under intense pressure to accommodate the tenuous deals in the Senate despite their ideological qualms. And no issue is shaping up to be more complex than abortion.

Representative Bart Stupak, Democrat of Michigan and the author of the anti-abortion provisions in the House bill, said Monday, “It would be extremely difficult for me to vote for a bill” taking the Senate approach on abortion.

The House, more liberal than the Senate on many issues, would impose more stringent restrictions, barring coverage of abortion by any health plan bought even partly with federal subsidies.

Under the bill that is likely to be approved this week by the Senate, health plans could cover abortion. But people who enroll in such plans would have to write two premium checks, one for abortion coverage and one for everything else. Insurers would have to keep separate accounts, and state officials would police the “segregation of funds.”

Douglas D. Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, said it was difficult to envision a compromise because “people opposed to abortion see it as the taking of innocent human life.”

Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, said Monday that the compromise she struck last week with Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, offered a potential road map for successful negotiations on the issue with the House.

In an interview, Mrs. Boxer said the Senate bill created “a firm wall” that would prevent the use of federal money to pay for insurance coverage of abortions, meeting a demand of opponents of abortion rights, while allowing women to use their own money to buy health plans that cover the procedure.

“When you have both extremes saying they’re unhappy, I think it’s a fair compromise,” Mrs. Boxer said. “Because we have this compromise that’s being attacked on either side, I think that gives us momentum going into the final conference.”

Sixty-four House Democrats, representing one-fourth of the House Democratic caucus, voted for stringent restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion. And 41 of them voted for passage of the House bill, so they constitute a crucial bloc. The bill was approved, 220 to 215, on Nov. 7.

But leading supporters of abortion rights in the House said they would not vote for a final bill if it included those restrictions, which they fear would curtail access to abortion for many women who already have insurance.

The House bill would establish a tax surcharge on income over $500,000 for individuals and over $1 million for couples. The Senate bill would tax high-cost employer-sponsored health plans and increase the Medicare payroll tax on individuals with incomes over $200,000 and couples over $250,000.

Lawmakers said they could envision a compromise mixing the two approaches.

More than 190 House members have gone on record against the Senate’s proposed excise tax on “Cadillac health plans,” which is also opposed by organized labor. But the White House and some health economists say the tax could help control health costs by encouraging employers to shop for cheaper policies that would not be hit by the tax.

It is unclear whether the House and the Senate will appoint a formal conference committee or just try to work out their differences in negotiations with Democratic leaders and committee chairmen from the two chambers. In any event, White House officials expect to play a huge role.

The Senate may have the upper hand in negotiations on a government health plan, championed by liberal Democrats.

Senate Democratic leaders dropped the public option after concluding they could not get 60 votes for it. Their bill calls instead for two or more nationwide health plans, to be offered by private insurers under contracts negotiated with the federal Office of Personnel Management.

Ronald F. Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a liberal advocacy group that works closely with the White House, said Monday: “I think we will not have a public option in the final bill. It would be close to impossible to pass it in the Senate.”

On this, as on several other issues, Mr. Pollack said, “the Senate has somewhat greater leverage than the House” because Senate Democrats need 60 votes, the exact number in their caucus, to overcome Republican opposition.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said, “There is a natural tendency to split the difference between the Senate and the House.” But on major issues in the health bill, Mr. Lieberman said, “splitting the difference means you won’t have 60 votes in the Senate.”

In the eyes of consumers and voters, the success of the legislation will hinge, to a large degree, on whether it makes insurance more affordable. One of the most important issues for House and Senate negotiators is how to aid low- and middle- income people.

The House would expand Medicaid to cover people with incomes less than 150 percent of the poverty level ($33,075 for a family of four). The Senate would expand eligibility to 133 percent of the poverty level ($29,327 for a family of four). Many advocates for low-income people prefer the House approach.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/health/policy/22health.html?_r=1&hp

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Senate Democrats Clear Hurdle on Health Care Bill

by ERICA WERNER, With The Associated Press
Guest Writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 21, 2009

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats won a crucial test vote on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, putting them on track for passage before Christmas of the historic legislation to remake the nation's medical system and cover 30 million uninsured.

All 58 Democrats and the Senate's two independents held together early Monday against unanimous Republican opposition, providing the exact 60-40 margin needed to shut down a threatened GOP filibuster.

The vote came shortly after 1 a.m. with the nation's capital blanketed in snow, the unusual timing made necessary in order to get to a final vote by Christmas Eve presuming Republicans stretch out the debate as much as the rules allow. Despite the late hour and a harshly partisan atmosphere, Democrats' spirits were high.

"Today we are closer than we've ever been to making Sen. Ted Kennedy's dream of universal health insurance coverage a reality," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said ahead of the vote, alluding to the late Massachusetts senator who died of brain cancer in August.

"Vote your hopes, not your fears. Seize the moment," Harkin urged colleagues.
Kennedy's widow, Vicki, watched the vote from the visitor's gallery along with administration officials who have worked intensely on the issue. Senators cast their votes from their desks, a practice reserved for issues of particular importance.

The outcome was preordained after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrangled his fractious caucus into line over the course of the past several months, culminating in a frenzy of last-minute deals and concessions to win over the final holdouts, independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and conservative Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Obama's oft-stated goal of a bipartisan health bill was not met, despite the president's extensive courtship of moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, the only Republican to support the bill in committee. Obama called Snowe to the White House for lengthy in-person meetings both before he left for climate talks in Copenhagen and after his return on Saturday. In the end Snowe said she was "extremely disappointed" in what she called a rushed process that left scant time for her to review, much less amend, the bill.

Even so, the vote represented a major victory for Democrats and Obama, who's now clearly in reach of passing legislation extending health coverage to nearly all Americans, a goal that's eluded a succession of past presidents. The legislation would make health insurance mandatory for the first time for nearly everyone, provide subsidies to help lower-income people buy it, and induce employers to provide it with tax breaks for small businesses and penalties for larger ones.

Two more procedural votes await the Senate, each requiring 60 votes, the first of these set for Tuesday morning. Final passage of the bill requires a simple majority, and that vote could come as late as 7 p.m. on Thursday, Christmas Eve, or the day before if Republicans agree.

Although Democrats are expected to prevail in the votes over the next several days, the final outcome remains unpredictable, because the Senate measure must be harmonized with the health care bill passed by the House in November before final legislation can be sent to Obama's desk.

There are significant differences between the two measures, including stricter abortion language in the House bill, a new government-run insurance plan in the House bill that's missing from the Senate version, and a tax on high-value insurance plans embraced by the Senate but strongly opposed by many House Democrats.

After Monday's vote a number of Senate Democrats warned that the legislation could not change much and expect to maintain support from 60 senators. House Democrats are sure to want to alter it but may have to swallow it mostly whole.

"It took a lot of work to bring this 60 together and this 60 is delicately balanced," Lieberman said.

Republicans are determined to give Democrats no help, eager to deny Obama a political victory and speculating openly that the health care issue will hurt Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections.

"There will be a day of accounting," warned John Cornyn, R-Texas, accusing Democrats of pushing a health overhaul opposed by the public. "Perhaps the first day of accounting will be Election Day 2010."

At their core the bills passed by the House and pending in the Senate are similar. Each costs around $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of tax and fee increases and cuts in projected Medicare spending. Each sets up new insurance marketplaces called exchanges where uninsured or self-employed people and small businesses can compare prices and plans designed to meet some basic requirements. Unpopular insurance practices such as denying people coverage based on pre-existing conditions would be banned, and young adults could retain coverage longer under their parents' insurance plans — through age 25 in the Senate bill and through age 26 in the House version.

Reid cut numerous last-minute deals to get the votes he needed and powerful Democrats also inserted home-state provisions in a 383-page package of amendments Reid filed this weekend to the 2,074-page bill.

Among other items, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., included a provision allowing residents of the town of Libby, Mont., who are suffering asbestos-related illnesses from a mining operation to get Medicare benefits. Nelson won a list of benefits for Nebraska including a commitment for the federal government to pick up the full tab of an expansion of Medicaid. And Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who faces a difficult re-election, inserted a $100 million item for construction of a university hospital that his spokesman said he hopes to claim for the University of Connecticut.

AP Special Correspondent David Espo contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.ajc.com/business/senate-democrats-clear-hurdle-248465.html

Public-Private Compromise Makes for Further Battles Ahead

By Mike Lillis
The Washington Independent, National News in Context
Center for Independent Media Site
December 9, 2009

Announcing the Democrats’ tentative deal on a public option, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last night that the nascent proposal strikes a good balance between liberals, who say a federal plan will lower patient costs, and conservatives who want to limit the government’s hand in private markets.

“It has something that we think should satisfy everybody,” Reid said.

Well, maybe. But it also has something to rile everybody, which leaves the future of the still-vague proposal very much uncertain.

Although Democratic leaders are keeping the details largely under wraps, the leaked elements include provisions that will be difficult to swallow for those on both sides of the nettlesome debate over the public insurance plan. Indeed, while the week-long negotiations were designed to win agreement between liberal and conservative Democrats, key figures representing both camps are still declining to endorse their supposed deal. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), for example, has expressed reservations, and Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) said Wednesday that they won’t advocate for the proposal before they see a cost estimate.

Central to the Democrats’ compromise is reportedly a strategy to table the public option in favor of hybrid national plans to be regulated by the government but administered by private companies. If those companies failed to meet certain cost and coverage thresholds, it would trigger the creation of a full-scale public option to compete directly with private plans.

The “trigger” proposal is hardly new to the health reform debate, and it’s certain to meet with resistance. Although Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), the only Republican to support the Democrats’ health reforms, has endorsed the trigger, others have vowed to kill the overall bill if such a mechanism is included. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Roland Burris (D-Ill.), for example, say the trigger doesn’t go far enough to encourage private companies to keep plans affordable, while Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has said it goes too far to encroach on private markets.

Even Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), one of the 10 Democratic negotiators who crafted the compromise, has argued this year that the trigger proposal is a punt. “Historically, ‘trigger’ mechanisms have not been successful, and they are not a substitute for a strong public health insurance option,” Rockefeller said in an October statement, likely referring to the trigger in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit that was never pulled. “A ‘trigger’ simply delays price competition.”

Rockefeller’s office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Furthermore, the proposal to have the insurance companies administer the national plans leaves in place the same profit motive for denying claims that Democrats have attacked throughout the health reform debate.

“This legislation cannot simply be a huge subsidy to private insurance companies that will get millions of new customers and be able to raise their rates as high as they want,” Sanders said last month.

There are other red flags in the Democrats’ public-plan compromise. One provision, for example, would extend Medicare eligibility to include those aged 55 to 64. Liberals have long called for such an expansion of the single-payer Medicare program, but concerns have swirled around the level of reimbursement for health care providers, many of whom complain that rates are too low to see Medicare patients. A September study conducted by the Center for Studying Health

System Change found that just over half of the nation’s doctors accept all new Medicare patients, while almost 14 percent will see none at all.

“Are providers going to be reimbursed at Medicare rates? That’s certainly going to be the issue,” said Julius Hobson, former lobbyist for the American Medical Association and now health policy analyst with the Washington-based law firm Bryan Cave.

Still another element of the Democrats’ deal would reportedly force private insurers to spend no less than 90 cents of each premium dollar on health-care services, as opposed to ads, salaries and other administrative costs. That proposal, however, is sure to rouse the opposition of the powerful insurance lobby and conservative lawmakers already critical of the degree to which the Democrats’ health reform bill intervenes in the private marketplace.

And it’s not only conservatives who might be wary. Indeed, when Rockefeller proposed a similar provision during the Senate Finance Committee’s debate on health reform, liberal Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M) emerged as one of the vocal opponents. Bingaman said the amendment, which would have set the floor at 85 cents on the dollar, was inappropriate “without more understanding of … what it will do to the insurance markets.”

These sticking points do nothing to mention the opposition that will likely surface in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has made the public option a centerpiece of the chamber’s health reform legislation.

The Democrats’ proposal is still young, of course, and by declining to release the details, Democrats have left themselves plenty of room to tweak the compromise in order to lure broader support. Still, with so many constituencies to satisfy at once, the bill’s success might just hinge on whether or not lawmakers are willing to hold their noses and vote in favor of major provisions they adamantly oppose. If Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is any indication, that tendency might already be happening.

“Do I like it?” Harkin said Tuesday when asked about the compromise. “No, but I’m going to support it to the hilt.”

http://washingtonindependent.com/70353/senate-public-option-deal-fuels-uncertainty

© 2008-2009 The Washington Independent

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Wilmington, North Carolina, to Ensure Civic Access

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Wilmington, North Carolina, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the city of Wilmington, N.C., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The agreement was reached under "Project Civic Access," a Justice Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This agreement is the 171st reached under Project Civic Access and the tenth this year.

Project Civic Access was initiated to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life. As part of the project, department investigators, attorneys, and architects survey state and local government facilities and programs throughout the country to identify modifications necessary to comply with ADA requirements. Depending on the circumstances in each community, the agreements address specific areas where access must be improved.

"Civic access is a basic right guaranteed to all, and today’s agreement illustrates Wilmington’s commitment to improving access for all of its residents and visitors with disabilities," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "We applaud Wilmington for entering into this agreement that will further the rights and opportunities of individuals with disabilities."

The city of Wilmington, also known as the Port City, is located in the southeastern corner of North Carolina between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean. Wilmington has become a popular location for filming movies and TV shows. More than 15,400 individuals with disabilities call Wilmington home, and the percentage of Wilmington residents who have a disability is higher than the national average.

Under the agreement announced today, the city of Wilmington will take several steps to improve access for individuals with disabilities, such as:

Making physical modifications to its facilities so that parking, routes into the buildings, entrances, public telephones, restrooms, service counters, and drinking fountains are accessible to persons with disabilities;

Posting, publishing and distributing a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of the ADA and their applicability to the city’s programs, services, and activities;

Adopting a grievance procedure to deal with complaints of disability discrimination;

Amending its employment policies, as necessary, to comply with the regulations of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act;

Implementing a plan that will provide accessible sidewalks and curb ramps throughout Wilmington;

Ensuring that the city’s official website is accessible to persons with disabilities, including individuals who are blind or have low vision;

Providing information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the existence and location of the city’s accessible services, activities and programs; and

Installing signs at any inaccessible entrance to a city facility directing members of the public to an accessible entrance or to information about other accessible facilities where services can be obtained.

Today’s agreement was reached under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by state and local governments. The agreement will remain in effect for three years. The department will monitor compliance with the agreement until required actions have been completed.

People interested in finding out more about the ADA, today’s agreement with Wilmington, N.C., or the department’s Project Civic Access initiative may find this information on the ADA Web site at http://www.ada.gov or may call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/November/09-crt-1214.html

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Justice Department Signs Agreement to Improve Civic Access for the Disabled

Justice Department signs agreement with the city of Poplarville, Mississippi, to improve civic access for people with disabilities.

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Poplarville, Miss., to improve access for persons with disabilities to its programs, services, activities and facilities. The agreement was reached under the department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring localities into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This agreement is the 173rd under Project Civic Access and the 12th this year.

"Access to public programs, activities and services is critical to ensuring that individuals with disabilities can participate fully in their communities and in civic life, and the ADA guarantees them that access," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The department is pleased that city officials have made this commitment to great access for persons with disabilities."

The department’s agreement with the city of Poplarville provides that the city will:

Make physical modifications to its facilities so that parking, routes into the buildings, entrances, public telephones, restrooms, service counters and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities;

Post, publish and distribute a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of title II and their applicability to the city’s programs, services and activities;

Adopt and implement a grievance procedure to deal with complaints of disability discrimination;

Take steps to ensure that all appropriate employees are trained and practiced in using the Mississippi Relay Service to make and receive calls;

Implement the sheriff department’s Policy on Effective Communication with People Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing by providing interpreters and auxiliary aids that are necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing;

Amend its employment policies, as necessary, to comply with the regulations of the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission implementing the employment provisions of title I of the ADA;

Provide physically accessible polling places;

Ensure equal access to its emergency management programs for persons with disabilities, including preparation, notification, response and clean up;

Implement a plan for accessibility of sidewalks and curb cuts throughout the city; and

Install signs at any inaccessible entrance to a facility directing users to an accessible entrance or to information about other accessible facilities.

Project Civic Access was initiated to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life in their community. As part of the project, department investigators, attorneys and architects conduct on-site surveys of state and local government facilities and programs across the nation for the purpose of identifying modifications needed for compliance with ADA requirements. The agreements are tailored to address specific areas of concern where access to a government’s programs or facilities can be improved.

Poplarville is a small city in Pearl River County, Miss. One in every four residents of Poplarville has a disability and will benefit from the access improvements achieved because of today’s agreement.

People interested in finding out more about the ADA, today’s agreement with the City of Poplarville or the Justice Department’s Project Civic Access initiative may obtain this information on the ADA Web site at http://www.ada.gov or by calling the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD).

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/November/09-crt-1280.html

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Disability-Based Housing Discrimination at 11 Multifamily Housing Complexes in Tennessee, Louisiana, Alab

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 6, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that those involved in the design and construction of 11 multifamily housing complexes discriminated on the basis of disability. The complexes are located in four states and contain more than 800 units covered by the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility provisions.

Under the settlement, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 11 defendants will pay all costs related to making the complexes for which they were responsible accessible to persons with disabilities and pay up to $117,000 to compensate individuals harmed by the inaccessible housing. The settlement requires all the defendants to undergo training on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act and provide periodic reports to the government.

"The Fair Housing Act requires equal access to housing for persons with disabilities," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "This comprehensive settlement ensures that these multifamily housing complexes will be retrofitted to comply with the Fair Housing Act, thus allowing persons with physical disabilities an equal opportunity to live in and visit these complexes."

The complaint was originally filed in Memphis, after the United States Attorney received a copy of a survey conducted by the Memphis Center for Independent Living of three of the Memphis properties indicating violations of the Fair Housing Act. In jointly announcing the filing of the Consent Order U.S. Attorney Lawrence J. Laurenzi said, "This Consent Order is an example of our office’s commitment to enforcing the civil rights of all people and in particular highlights the high degree of cooperation between our office and the Civil Rights Division in enforcing the rights of individuals with disabilities."

The defendants responsible for the payments and retrofits are Steve Bryan, Bryan Construction Company, Patton & Taylor Construction Co., Taylor Gardner Architects, Looney-Ricks-Kiss Architects, Richard A. Barron, The Reaves Firm, Smith Engineering Firm, David W. Milem, Belz/South Bluffs and HT Devco. Two defendants, Steve Bryan and Bryan Construction Co., will also pay a civil penalty of $12,000 to vindicate the public interest. The defendants will retrofit the following complexes in Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas:

Sunset Bay at Bon Secour, Condominiums, Gulf Shores, Ala.
South Bluffs Apartments, 4 Riverview Drive West, Memphis, Tenn.
Island Park Apartments, 1440 Island Park Drive, Memphis, Tenn.
The Apartments on Harbor Town Square, Memphis, Tenn.
The Horizon, 717 Riverside Drive, Memphis, Tenn.
Grand Pointe Apartments, 3606 Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette, La.
Highlands of Grand Pointe, 3601 Kaliste Saloom Drive, Lafayette, La.
Ashford Place Apartments, 107 Ashford Drive, West Monroe, La.
Island Park Apartments, 1105 Island Park Boulevard, Shreveport, La.
Reflections of Island Park, 2600 Celebration Cove, Shreveport, La.
Cumberland Place, 2088 Blue Mountain Blvd, Tyler, Texas

The retrofitting includes modifying walkways to eliminate steps, excess slopes and level changes, providing accessible curb ramps, and providing accessible parking and routes to site amenities, such as clubhouses, pools, mailboxes and trash facilities. The settlement also provides for the replacement of inaccessible knob door hardware, the widening of inaccessible narrow doorways, and the reconfiguration of bathrooms and kitchens to accommodate persons who use wheelchairs.

Persons who believe they may have been harmed by the lack of accessible housing at one of the complexes involved in this matter should contact the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, and select menu option 996.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination should call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line (1-800-896-7743) or email the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov. Such persons may also contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777.

Fair housing enforcement is a priority of the Civil Rights Division. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at http://www.justice.gov/crt.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/November/09-ag-1205.html

09-1205
Attorney General

Principals Want More Special Education Teachers, Consistency In IDEA

By Shaun Heasley
For Disabilityscoop
November 4, 2009

Lawmakers should work to increase the number of special education teachers and establish consistency in the implementation of services when Congress meets next year to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a group of school principals says.

The recommendations are just two resulting from a task force of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The group composed of middle and high school principals, assistant principals and college-level educators came together beginning in 2007 to assess the current state of IDEA and recommend changes for the 2010 reauthorization.

The recommendations released this week are:
• Help schools recruit and retain special education teachers.
• Boost opportunities for training and professional development for school staff working with students who have disabilities.
• Ensure that students have a transition plan with goals for life after high school by the time they are in the eighth grade or reach age 14.
• Research best practices for instruction and strategies to use with students who have various disabilities. Then, establish model individualized education plans (IEPs) and transition plans following these practices for school districts to base their own plans on.
• Create consistency across school districts so that student information can be easily transferred when a student moves to a new school.
• Improve year end evaluations so that IEP teams can better assess a student’s progress.
• Create incentives for highly qualified teachers to gain certification in special education as well as general education.
• Standardize language used across school districts to define a student’s disability and level of need.
• Fully fund IDEA.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/04/idea-recommendations/6044/

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Axelrod Remains Mindful of Daughter With Epilepsy

Associate Press (AP)

WASHINGTON — White House presidential adviser David Axelrod says the demands of his job can sometimes be hard since he can't spend quality time with his daughter, who suffers from epilepsy.

In a broadcast interview Sunday, Axelrod said he's grateful that newly approved medication seems to be finally controlling the seizures of Lauren, 28, after many years of trial and error with other therapies. But he acknowledges it is still difficult to be away from Lauren, who lives at a home for the developmentally disabled in Chicago.

"It's been hard to explain to her. She doesn't understand why. She asks all the time, 'Why does Barack Obama need so much help?'" Axelrod said.

"There was a time when we have given our right arm for just a — a week of good days. And now, she has them consistently. So, you know, that's a big victory," he said.

Axelrod spoke in an interview with "60 Minutes" along with Lauren and his wife, Susan, who is president of the Chicago-based advocacy group CURE, or Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy.

The couple described the initial shock they felt when their 7-month-old daughter suddenly became limp and blue in her crib. When Susan Axelrod picked up Lauren, she immediately went into a seizure. The medical treatments at the time were limited, and so the Axelrods were forced to try 23 different medications and an unsuccessful brain surgery for their daughter by the time she was 18.

Their turmoil prompted Susan Axelrod to help start CURE to promote medical research.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gozFvyOn_LmogVmFzZNzcP5kIOGAD9BIE4480Copyright

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

HUD OFFERS $20 MILLION TO HELP SENIORS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES CONTINUE TO LIVE INDEPENDENTLY AT HOME

News Release
HUD No. 09-166
Lemar Wooley (202) 708-0685
www.hud.gov/news/

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering $20 million in grants to help elderly residents and non-elderly residents with disabilities the services they need to continue to live independently in their own homes. HUD is making these grants available through the its Service Coordinator Program that will support the hiring of service coordinators to help frail and at-risk elderly individuals and persons with disabilities access health care, meals and other critical support services.

"HUD is helping to provide older Americans and those with disabilities with safe, affordable housing. These grants will help provide the services they need to allow them to remain in their homes, connected to their communities and friends, rather than face unnecessary institutionalization," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

These grants will be awarded to owners of privately owned multifamily housing developments that receive money from HUD to house low-income individuals. The owners or their management companies will use the funding offered today to either hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, especially to the frail elderly and people with disabilities, to assist their residents with special needs.

HUD will award grants to approximately 100 applicants.

Applications may be downloaded from HUD's website. Applications are due on or before November 5,2009.

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr09-166.cfm&CFID=6805004&CFTOKEN=67772646

Senate Finance Committee Passes Health Insurance Reform Bill Containing Menendez Amendment for Autism Insurance Reform

Washington, DC (October 13, 2009) -- Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today applauds the members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for their 14 to 9 passage of a health care reform bill, the America’s Health Future Act, containing an amendment for autism insurance reform.

The amendment, introduced in September by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and passed by the Committee with the support of Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), will prohibit discrimination in benefits against people with autism by including behavioral health treatments as part of the essential benefits package.

“We are grateful to Senators Menendez, Baucus, and their Committee colleagues for passing this health care reform bill. The legislation will ensure that families dealing with autism will be a part of larger health care reform,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks. “Short of finding a cure for autism, there is nothing that can have a more significant impact on the lives of people with autism and those who love them than putting an end to insurance discrimination.”

“I am proud to have included a number of my amendments in the legislation, which will help lower health insurance costs, protect consumers and expand access to health coverage,” said Senator Menendez in a press release. “My amendment to guarantee the coverage of behavioral health treatments will help bring economic security and peace of mind to many families dealing with autism or other behavioral health conditions.”

The next step is for the Finance Committee bill to be merged with the Senate HELP Committee bill passed earlier this year. The combined bill will then head to the Senate floor for a vote. Once the Senate and House have passed their respective bills, they must go through a conference committee before reaching the President's desk to be signed into law. Please visit autismvotes.org for updates on health care reform and the elimination of insurance discrimination related to autism.

Take action: Send a Thank you Letter to Sen. Menendez, Sen. Baucus, and Rep. Doyle for leadership on federal autism insurance reform amendments!

Autism Votes1990 K Street, NWWashington, DC 20006

Call Autism Speaks Government Relations Department/ Autism Votes -
(202) 955-3114

http://www.autismvotes.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=frKNI3PCImE&b=3930723&ct=7575647

Hate Crimes Bill Protecting People With Disabilities Headed To White House

By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
October 23, 2009

The Senate approved legislation Thursday to make crimes committed against a person based on their disability a federal offense.

The hate crimes legislation, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, is an expansion of the 1968 hate crimes act. Currently crimes committed based on a person’s race, color, religion or national origin are protected under federal law. The new legislation would add disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected statuses.

The measure, which was attached to a defense spending bill, passed the Senate on a vote of 68 to 29. Most Republicans opposed the legislation, saying it was unnecessary.

Expanded hate crimes legislation has long been sought by many advocates. The Bush administration opposed the legislation, but the tone changed dramatically when President Barack Obama took office.

In June Attorney General Eric Holder urged the Senate to pass the new bill and now it appears set for enactment. In order to become law, the bill must be signed by Obama, who has indicated his support.

“The action by Congress today to pass this vital legislation is a milestone in helping protect Americans from the most heinous bias-motivated violence,” Holder said in a statement Thursday. “The passage of this legislation will give the Justice Department and our state and local law enforcement partners the tools we need to deter and prosecute these acts of violence.”

A Justice Department study released earlier this month found that people with disabilities are 50 percent more likely to experience nonfatal violent crime than those without disabilities. Furthermore, about one in five crime victims with disabilities say they believe their disability was the reason they were targeted.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/23/hate-crimes-senate/5897/


Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Helen Keller Statue to be Unveiled at Capitol; First of Person with Disability

By Ashley Hayes - CNN

(CNN) — It was a moment vividly depicted in the movie about her life: 7-year-old Helen Keller, holding one hand under a water pump as her teacher spelled “W-A-T-E-R” into her other hand.

In that moment, Keller — an Alabama native who lost her sight and hearing to illness as a toddler — understood that there were meanings hidden in the manual alphabet shapes her teacher, Anne Sullivan, had taught her to make with her hands. The moment was shown in the play — later made into a movie — “The Miracle Worker.”

On Wednesday, a statue commemorating her 1887 breakthrough will be unveiled in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall — the first statue in the Capitol of a person with a disability, as well as the first of a child, according to the Alabama governor’s office.

“It’s always good to realize how much of an impact people with disabilities have made on the history and landscape of our country,” said Nancy Starnes, director of external affairs for the Washington-based National Organization on Disability. “I’m excited that they’re going to be doing this. I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition.”

Keller, born in Tuscumbia in northwest Alabama, learned to speak at the age of 10 by putting her hands on Sullivan’s mouth when she talked. She wound up graduating from Radcliffe College, then the women’s branch of Harvard University, and became a prolific author and speaker who was endowed with numerous honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died in 1968.

http://www.enableamerica.org/disability-news-2009-10-06-helen-keller-statue.html


Source: cnn.com

© 2002 - 2009 Enable America, Inc.

Obama Seeks Additional $250 Stimulus Payments For People With Disabilities

By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
October 14, 2009

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he is asking Congress to authorize a second $250 economic recovery payment for people with disabilities, seniors and veterans, which would be distributed in 2010.

Earlier this year the government provided a similar one-time $250 payment as part of the economic stimulus plan. Now, Obama says a second payment is needed to help those hardest hit by the recession.

“Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession,” Obama said Wednesday. “That is why I am announcing my support for an additional $250 in emergency recovery assistance to seniors, veterans and people with disabilities to help them make it through these difficult times.”

If the proposal is approved by Congress, 57 million Americans — including 5 million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries — would receive a one-time payment of $250 at a total cost of $13 billion.

It is unclear when such a payment could be distributed, but if approved, senior White House officials say they expect the payments would go out sometime in 2010, noting that it would not be left to the end of the year.

Obama’s comments come ahead of an announcement expected Thursday from the Social Security Administration that there will not be any cost of living increase (COLA) for 2010. By law, Social Security benefits are required to increase with inflation, but this year inflation declined so 2010 benefits will remain steady.

Most provisions of the economic recovery act passed in February extended for two years. The one-time $250 payments are among a handful of “very successful” elements that only lasted one year, which Obama is now seeking to extend in order to “provide temporary, essential help to people” in light of the still troubled economy, senior administration officials say.

“The president has no doubt that people continue to face extreme hardship,” a senior administration official said. “This is designed to prevent the worst scenario.”

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/14/250-payment/5809/


Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Disability Access to Communications and the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The access to communications starts at the FCC and flows down to several of its departments beginning with the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB); then to the Disability Rights Office. The FCC is responsible for making sure that people with different types of communication disabilities and needs have the necessary types of communication modes implemented through the many different technologies available.

CGB Offices
The Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) develops and implements the Commission’s consumer policies, including disability access. We serve as the public face of the Commission through outreach and education, as well as through our Consumer Center, which is responsible for responding to consumer inquiries and complaints. CGB also maintains collaborative partnerships with state, local, and tribal governments in such critical areas as emergency preparedness and implementation of new technologies.

The Disability Rights Office
The Disability Rights Office (DRO) addresses disability-related telecommunications matters, including telecommunications relay service (TRS) (Section 225), access to telecommunications equipment and services by persons with disabilities (Section 255), access to emergency information, and closed captioning. DRO also provides expert advice and assistance, as required, to other Bureaus and Offices, consumers, industry, and others on issues relevant to persons with disabilities. DRO initiates rulemakings, where appropriate, for the development of disability policy; reviews relevant agenda items and other documents and coordinates with Bureaus and Offices to develop recommendations and propose policies to ensure that communications are accessible to persons with disabilities, in conformance with existing disability laws and policies, and that they support the Commission's goal of increasing accessibility of communications services and technologies for persons with disabilities.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/

Welcome to our Disability Rights Office home page. It is a very high priority with us that people with disabilities--such as a hearing, visual, speech, or other types of disability--get the same opportunities as everyone else to telecommunicate. This website features information and resources on:

DISABILITY-RELATED HEADLINES
This page contains the latest notices, public notices, orders, and news releases at a glance.

TRS
The FCC implements Title IV of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) which covers Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). TRS enables a person with a hearing or speech disability to access the telephone system and communicate with persons without such a disability.

SECTION 255
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rules requiring telecommunications manufacturers and service providers to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities, if readily achievable. Our rules implement Section 255 of the Communications Act.

CLOSED CAPTIONING
The FCC implements the Closed Captioning requirements of the Telecommunications Act, found in Section 713, to make sure that more and more television is made accessible for people who are hard of hearing or deaf. Closed captioning is a technology that provides visual text to describe dialogue, background noise, and sound effects on television programming.

ACCESS TO EMERGENCY INFORMATION ON TELEVISION
The FCC implements rules that require broadcasters, cable operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors to make emergency information (e.g., pertaining to storms, school closings, and other emergencies) that they provide to their viewers accessible to persons with hearing and vision disabilities.

SECTION 504/HANDBOOK
The FCC Section 504 Programs & Activities Accessibility Handbook (Section 504 Handbook) is a collection of guidelines, information, and procedures to ensure that the Commission is accessible to individuals with disabilities. The content of this handbook is designed to assist Commission personnel in their efforts to provide such accessibility.

VoIP
Voice Over Internet Protocol.

HAC
Hearing Aid Compatibility.

DRO MANAGERS
Thomas Chandler, Chief
Cheryl King, Deputy Chief
Susan Kimmel, Deputy Chief

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/cgb_offices.html#CGB
www.fcc.gov/cgb

E-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/links.html
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/headlines.html

House Adds Hate Crimes Protections For People With Disabilities

By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
October 9, 2009

Violent crimes committed based on a person’s disability would become federal hate crimes offenses under legislation approved by the House of Representatives Thursday.

The measure builds upon the 1968 hate crimes act by adding disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected statuses. Current law includes protections for crimes committed based on a person’s race, color, religion or national origin.

The move comes on the heels of a Justice Department study released earlier this month indicating that people with disabilities are 50 percent more likely to experience nonfatal violent crime as compared to their peers. Of crime victims with disabilities, the study indicated that about one in five said they thought their disability was the reason they were targeted.

“No American should ever have to suffer persecution or violence because of who they are, how they look or what they believe,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said of the hate crimes bill, which passed as part of a larger defense spending bill. “This legislation also gives state and local law enforcement the tools they need to prevent and prosecute hate crimes nationwide, helping protect Americans against bias-motivated violence and securing our fundamental right to feel safe in our communities.”

Many Republicans, however, voted against the defense spending bill because the hate crimes provision — which they called “thought crimes legislation” — was included.

The legislation must still be approved by the Senate and by President Barack Obama, both of which are likely.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/09/house-votes-hate-crimes/5734/

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

A Proclamation From the White House

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release – September 30, 2009

NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH, 2009

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Fair access to employment is a fundamental right of every American, including the 54 million people in this country living with disabilities. A job can provide financial stability, help maximize our potential, and allow us to achieve our dreams. As Americans, we possess a range of vocational opportunities to make the most of our talents and succeed in a chosen career; those with disabilities are entitled to the same opportunities. During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we recommit ourselves to implementing effective policies and practices that increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

In the past half-century, we have made great strides toward providing equal employment opportunities in America, but much work remains to be done. As part of that continuing effort, we must seek to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Only then can Americans with disabilities achieve full participation in the workforce and reach the height of their ambition.

My Administration is committed to promoting positive change for every American, including those with disabilities. The Federal Government and its contractors can lead the way by implementing effective employment policies and practices that increase opportunities and help workers achieve their full potential. Across this country, millions of people with disabilities are working or want to work. We must ensure they have access to the support and services they need to succeed.

Recognizing the need for equal employment opportunities, we must also strengthen and expand the educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act substantially increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and provided more than $500 million for vocational rehabilitation services, including job training, education, and placement. If we are to build a world free from unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination, we must ensure that every American receives an education that prepares him or her for future success.

Each day, Americans with disabilities play a critical role in forging and shaping the identity of our Nation. Their contributions touch us all through personal experience or through that of a family member, neighbor, friend, or colleague. We grow stronger as a Nation when Americans feel the dignity conferred by having the ability to support themselves and their families through productive work. This month, we rededicate ourselves to fostering an inclusive work culture that welcomes the skills and talents of all qualified employees.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2009, as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. I call on all Americans to celebrate the contributions of individuals with disabilities to our workplaces and communities, and to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities to create a better, more inclusive America, one in which every person is rightly recognized for his or her abilities and accomplishments.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Disability-Employment-Awareness-Month/

Pursuant to federal law, government-produced materials appearing on this site are not copyright protected.

Rate of Enrollment in Medicaid Rose Rapidly, Report Says

By KEVIN SACK
Money & Policy
The New Times
Published: September 30, 2009

The recession is driving up enrollment in Medicaid at higher than expected rates, threatening gargantuan state budget gaps even as Congress and the White House seek to expand the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Skip to next paragraphThe annual survey of state Medicaid directors, conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, found that the program had been spared the worst effects of massive state budget shortfalls because of federal aid in the stimulus package. But it also revealed grave concerns about what will happen when that relief dries up at the close of 2010.

As unemployment surged, enrollment in state Medicaid programs grew by an average of 5.4 percent in the previous fiscal year, the highest rate in six years, according to the Kaiser survey. In eight states, the growth exceeded 10 percent.

Last year’s average growth was well above the 3.6 percent that had been forecast by the Medicaid directors a year earlier. In this year’s survey, the directors projected that enrollment would continue to accelerate in the current 2010 fiscal year, growing by 6.6 percent.

The states and the federal government share the $333 billion annual cost of Medicaid, which insured 62 million low-income and disabled people at some point in 2007. It is the states, however, that regulate that spending by setting eligibility cutoffs, benefit levels and provider payments, within federal guidelines.

The Kaiser survey found that the growth in Medicaid spending in 2009, at 7.9 percent, was the highest in five years. That number also may increase this fiscal year. Three-fourths of the agency directors said they already fear their appropriations will not be enough and that lawmakers will have to find more money or, more likely, cut benefits or provider payments.

One such state is Nevada. “We’re seeing the trajectories of our enrollment growth as well as our revenues all going in the wrong direction,” said Charles Duarte, administrator of the state’s Division of Health Care Financing and Policy.

Medicaid is, by definition, a countercyclical program. Demand for it is always highest at the time that states can least afford it because of slumping tax revenues.

The highest spikes in Medicaid enrollment often trail the worst recessionary indicators. It was not until a year after the 2001 recession that the growth in Medicaid enrollments peaked at 9.3 percent.

Vernon K. Smith, who directed the survey for Health Management Associates of Lansing, Mich., said he doubted that enrollment growth would reach that level as a result of this recession, but that it was not out of the question. “Significantly many states said the pace of growth accelerated as the year went on,” he said.

Some states did cut certain Medicaid benefits last year, and two-thirds of them either froze or reduced payments to providers. Those payments are typically the lowest made by any insurer -- often falling below actual costs -- and as a result some physicians decline to accept patients with Medicaid.

Nonetheless, state budgets were buffered from even worse pain by the federal stimulus package enacted in February. The largest single component of state aid in the package, worth about $87 billion, provided a temporary increase in federal Medicaid reimbursement to the states.

The survey found that 38 states used the money to avoid or reduce cuts in provider payments and that 36 avoided benefit cuts. Because the federal money was conditional on states not reducing eligibility for Medicaid, 14 states reversed previously enacted restrictions and five abandoned plans to tighten coverage.

But state officials are already panicking about how to compensate when the spike in federal matching funds expires at the end of 2010. Few anticipate any significant reduction in their Medicaid rolls by then.

“Many states believe they may be pressured to consider previously unthinkable eligibility and benefit reductions,” the Kaiser report concluded. Unless Congress and President Obama extend the federal aid, the cuts needed to balance state budgets may be “on a scale not ever seen in Medicaid,” the authors warned.

“What we will have to look at is wholesale elimination of eligibility groups,” Mr. Duarte said.

Deborah Bachrach, New York’s Medicaid director, said her state would face a $5 billion annual gap and would have to consider deep cuts in home and personal care.

Both Mr. Duarte and Ms. Bachrach said there likely would be further cuts in provider payments. “This could affect access,” Mr. Duarte said, “but we’re at the point where that may be a secondary consideration.”

Governors also have expressed concern about the fiscal impact of the health care legislation being negotiated in Washington, which would vastly expand eligibility for Medicaid as one means of covering the country’s 46 million uninsured.

The program is largely limited at present to low-income children, pregnant women and parents of qualifying children. But under bills in both houses, eligibility would be granted to anyone with an income of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (currently $29,326 for a family of four). That could add an estimated 11 million people to the rolls.

Initially, the federal government would absorb most of the cost. But the bills vary on that score and some states may bear higher costs than others. Three-fourths of the Medicaid directors said they thought the changes might deepen their budget holes.

“Many officials felt that their states would be unable to finance the cost of a Medicaid eligibility expansion unless the federal government assumed 100 percent of the costs, especially during the early years,” the report said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/health/policy/01medicaid.html?_r=1&hp

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company