Money Follows the Person is introduced - Need Your Help!
June 2003

Talking Points for the Money Follows the Person Amendment, an Amendment to S. 1 which would put into law the President's Money Follows the Person Medicaid Demonstration Project. This amendment was introduced by Senator Harkin this afternoon.

We urge you to call your Senators and ask them to support this Amendment to S. 1. Below are some talking points on the Amendment.

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Talking Points for the Money Follows the Person Amendment:

1) We urge you to support Senator Harkin's amendment #991, the Money Follows the Person Amendment, to S.1, the Medicare Prescription Drugs Bill.

2) This amendment would enact President Bush's proposal for a Money Follows the Person Program, which was included in the President 2004 budget request as a major component of the President's New Freedom Initiative to integrate people with disabilities into the community.

3) This amendment is strongly supported by people with disabilities because it would give us the freedom to choose where we want to live. It would allow us to take advantage of opportunities that other Americans take for granted - to take a walk when we want to, to choose what we want to eat, when we want to go to bed, to have a job, visit family and friends and be part of our communities.

4) This amendment is a win-win. People with disabilities get the choice to live in the community and states get the needed resources to rebalance their long term service systems to increase the availability of community based services.

5) This amendment provides 350 million dollars to states per year for five years for a total of 1.75 billion dollars. It provides 100% of the cost for the first year that a person moves from an institutional setting into the community. After that, the federal government pays its regular rate.

6) The thirteenth anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act is approaching on July 26th. This amendment will help states comply with the ADA and the Olmstead decision. The Supreme Court said in Olmstead that needless institutionalization was discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

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