Washington, DC—500 ADAPT activists from across America will descend on Washington, D.C. September 11-16 to deliver the message that Americans with disabilities will accept "No More Excuses!" when it comes to their freedom and their inalienable right to live in the community.

While in D.C., ADAPT will tackle barriers that force people nursing homes and other institutions, or that prevent persons with disabilities and older Americans from staying in their own homes in the community with the services and supports they need. Those barriers include the lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing, the lack of personal assistance programs in all states, and the movement to integrate long-term care services and supports into state acute health care managed care plans.

"As we move out of nursing homes and other institutions, we need affordable, accessible, integrated housing to move into," said Cassie James, Philadelphia ADAPT Organizer. "An obvious place to start is with the nation's Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). The PHAs have the ability to designate Section 8 housing vouchers specifically for use by people leaving nursing homes and institutions who are receiving home and community based services. We need to make sure the PHAs do just that- No More Excuses!"

Some progress in availability of Medicaid-funded personal assistance occurred with passage of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) provision of the President's Deficit Reduction Act. MFP allows people to move from nursing homes and other institutions and have the funding that pays for their services and supports move with them to their new home in the community.

An acknowledged drawback of MFP is that it is optional and states don't have to implement it. The federal government is strongly encouraging state participation in MFP by making additional funding available to states that assist people to move from nursing homes and other institutional settings back into their communities.

"The next step is for Congress to pass MiCASSA (S.401 - H.R. 910) so people are not forced into nursing homes and other institutions in the first place," said Tennessee ADAPT Organizer Randy Alexander.

In addition to considering participation in MFP, a growing number of states are also looking at folding long-term care services and supports into their current Medicaid Managed Care systems.

"There's no way to predict what states will do on this issue," said Bob Kafka, national ADAPT Organizer. "If states start integrating long-term care services and supports into their managed care programs, then we absolutely must demand that any such efforts include components that will not compromise the freedom of persons with disabilities in America. We will not allow states to reverse the progress we have been making over the past 30 years."

ADAPT's "No More Excuses" campaign echoes a phrase often quoted by Dr. Mark McClellan, the Director of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. "Dr. McClellan is absolutely right!" said James. "We demand that the barriers to our freedom be removed, and we demand that the entire administration do what needs to be done to make the President's six-year old New Freedom Initiative a reality for people with disabilities in America. No More Excuses!"