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Disability rights advocates and certain Members of Congress (led by Senator Kennedy and Representative Dingell) are ready to introduce some vital legislation that would help fund long-term services and supports for people with disabilities, but we need help to secure the right mix of co-sponsors to increase the bill's chances of success once it's introduced. It's time to get excited about the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act)! Show your CLASS spirit, and call your Members today!! WHO: All Members of Congress, however, we have particular need to gain support from Senate Republicans, and we need lots of "CLASS spirit" from folks in Maine and Pennsylvania, as we're targeting Senators Snowe, Collins, and Specter specifically for co- sponsorship WHAT: Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support the CLASS Act. (Go to Congress.org and enter in your zip code to find your Representatives and Senators) Tell them that people with disabilities and their families want a way to invest in and plan for their own long-term care needs so they can maintain independence and live in the community, and that the CLASS Act will help this happen. WHEN: We have a special need for a grassroots rumble now and next week during the Congressional recess, although showing grassroots support for the CLASS Act should be ongoing. BACKGROUND: Today, there are approximately 10 million Americans who need long-term services and supports to maintain independence, employment, and remain in their communities. And that number is only going to rise as the population ages. Most private-sector insurance plans are constrained in the protection they can offer at an affordable price, and neither Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) nor Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) programs take the extent and character of disability into consideration when providing benefits. As a result, most Americans who have or develop significant functional limitations can only access coverage for the services they need to maintain their independence through Medicaid. Relying on Medicaid for critical supports means lots of people with disabilities have to "spend down" their assets and remain poor and unemployed to maintain their eligibility. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act) will offer an alternative to Medicaid by creating a national insurance program through a voluntary payroll deduction to help adults who have or develop functional impairments to remain independent, employed, and stay a part of their communities. Those who are working and voluntarily contributing to the program will have access to benefits, on the basis of their ability to perform daily living activities or an equivalent cognitive impairment. The benefits received may be spent however the individual feels is most appropriate toward their long-term needs, be it a housing modification, transportation modification, assistive technology, or personal assistance services. The large risk pool created by this program will make additional coverage much more affordable than it is today, which will give individuals a chance to invest in their own futures and gain access to supports without requiring them to become impoverished to qualify. We hope that introduction of the CLASS Act will help generate a broad, national discussion on how to promote independence and dignity and keep people out of institutions.
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