Action Alert! We Must Continue the Fight to Protect Medicaid

January 25, 2018

The House and Senate Republicans and Democrats are meeting at the end of the month to determine their respective caucus’ legislative priorities for 2018.  The disability community must remind Congress that we support the Medicaid program and that they should not take steps to cut or cap the program.

 

Background

Key House and Senate leaders have indicated that they would like to cut spending on federal programs such as Medicaid in response to the 1.5 trillion dollar loss of revenue due to the tax cuts. Some leaders have been careful to say that Medicare and Social Security are off the table for possible cuts but Medicaid, food assistance, Supplemental Security Income and others remain targets.  This is a continuation of the fight in 2017 except they are using different messaging.  Medicaid is at risk whether they are calling it “welfare reform” or “opportunities” or “jobs for people”, the end result is reducing enrollment in Medicaid and spending less on the program.

The only feasible way for Congress to enact major cuts or caps to Medicaid this year is through special budget rules (known as reconciliation) that allow the Senate to pass budget-related legislation with a simple majority. But reconciliation cannot proceed without first passing a budget resolution that includes instructions that would allow the Senate to use special budget rules.  We must remind Congress that we want to protect Medicaid and other programs. Insist that Congress refuse to include reconciliation instructions in any budget legislation and instead seek bipartisan efforts to strengthen Medicaid and other social programs people with disabilities rely on.

 

Take Action

Call your Representative and Senators today — 202-224-3121.  EVERY call matters.  If we can prevent Congress from passing a budget, then Congress will not be able to cut or cap Medicaid. Act now as Congress will be deciding what direction to take at the end of the month.

What to Say:

  • I am your constituent.
  • I am a person with a disability (or a family member, or professional in the field).
  • Medicaid provides critical services to people with disabilities.
  • Protect Medicaid from cuts and caps.
  • Do not pass a budget that allows Medicaid cuts.

 

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This action alert was developed by the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities (CCD).

Action Alert! Remind your Senators why Health Care Matters to You while they’re Home on Recess

May 31, 2017

The US Senate is in recess through June 4, and Senators are now in their home states. This presents an opportunity for you to share your concerns about health care coverage for people with disabilities with your Senators in-person. Or, call them in their district offices. It’s a critical time to get Senators to commit to protecting health care and Medicaid. What they hear this recess will make the difference in how they will address health care proposals when they return to Washington next week.

The Senate is currently working on their version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the bill that was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month that, in its current form, would be devastating to individuals with disabilities and their families.

Read AAPD’s Statement regarding House Passage of the American Health Care Act

Before the AHCA reaches President Trump’s desk, the Senate must pass their version of the bill and then reconcile it with the House of Representatives.  NOW is the time to make sure your Senators understand the life-saving coverage that people with disabilities receive thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the services and supports provided by Medicaid that enable people with disabilities to live, work, and participate in their communities. ALL currently threatened by the AHCA!

While the legislation is expected to change in the Senate, the current form of the AHCA:

  • Decimates Medicaid with $834 billion in cuts over the next decade
  • Results in 23 million people losing their health care by 2026
  • Does not protect people with pre-existing conditions
  • Increases the likelihood of more people with disabilities going into nursing homes and institutions
  • Reduces or eliminates essential health benefits (including prescription drugs, mental health services, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, and more)

 

Take Action

Participate in town halls or other events

You can find public events for Senators all across the country thanks to the Town Hall Project. Make sure that Medicaid and health care concerns for people with disabilities are raised during these events. Sharing personal health care stories can be particularly impactful.

 

Contact your Senators

Contacting Congress allows you to easily search for your Senators and access information on their home-state offices.

Tweet your Senators and use the hashtags, #ProtectOurCare, #SaveMedicaid, #KeepAmericaCovered, and/or #CoverageMatters

Sample Tweets:

[insert your Senator’s Twitter handle] Over 10 million people with disabilities rely on #Medicaid for healthcare coverage. Please – #ProtectOurCare & #SaveMedicaid.

[insert your Senator’s Twitter handle] Don’t allow insurers to discriminate against people w/ disabilities because of pre-existing conditions. #ProtectOurCare

[insert your Senator’s Twitter handle] The #AHCA would leave people w/ disabilities & millions of others without healthcare. #ProtectOurCare & #KeepAmericaCovered

 

Additional Resources

  • A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Medicaid
    The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) recently released their third plain language advocacy resource: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Medicaid. This guide has six parts: Medicaid introduction and background, Who Can Get Medicaid?, What Does Medicaid Pay For?, Medicaid funding, What Could Happen to Medicaid?, and a summary and glossary explaining the terms used in the toolkit.
  • Join the Fight to Protect Medicaid
    The Center for Public Representation developed this website to help people with disabilities, their families, and advocates/allies understand the impact of AHCA and give them the tools to advocate.
  • Protect Our Care Initiative
    Families USA hosts and action center on their website that provides updates on the status of the American Health Care Act as well as an Action Kit to help advocates contact their Members of Congress.

 

 

Action Alert! The Harmful Health Care Bill is Coming Back – Call Congress Now

April 10, 2017

Congress is on recess now through April 21st, but there is an urgent need for advocates to tell their Members of Congress not to support the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The Administration and House of Representatives are negotiating and applying pressure to try to secure enough votes to pass the legislation.

This is the bill that proposes to change the structure of the Medicaid program through per capita caps and block grants and repeal many provisions of the Affordable Care Act that are critical to people with disabilities.

Now, while Members of Congress are at home in their districts, is the time to remind them that the AHCA is a bad deal for people with disabilities.

On March 24, House Speaker Ryan (R-WI) declared that there were not sufficient votes for the bill to pass the House of Representatives and the bill was pulled.  Last week, Members of the House of Representatives and the Trump Administration renewed talks and proposed harmful changes to gain more support of this dangerous bill.

The AHCA repeals major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and many of its critical protections. It cuts $880 billion from the Medicaid program and uses it to help pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, corporations, and providers. The Medicaid changes are particularly devastating to people with disabilities. Under the cap and cut proposal, the federal government would no longer share in the costs of providing health care services and community services beyond the capped amount. It weakens Medicaid by ending the Medicaid expansion earlier, offering Medicaid block grants to states, and promoting work requirements.

The latest proposal makes a bad bill even worse, particularly for people with pre-existing health conditions.

  • Loss of essential health benefits: New discussions would give states the option to waive important consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act. For example, states could choose to ignore the essential health benefits requirement. The essential health benefits were designed to ensure that health plans cover basic services, many of which are particularly important to people with disabilities. These benefits include prescription drugs, mental health services, and rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices. Without a requirement that basic services be included in the health plans, insurers are likely to drop coverage of therapies or medications that would support people with more health care needs.
  • No more protections for pre-existing conditions: Another dangerous change being discussed is letting states waive the requirement for community rating. This would allow insurance companies to charge people with pre-existing conditions – including people with disabilities – whatever they wanted, essentially making the pre-existing condition protections meaningless. The combination of these changes would make it nearly impossible for people with pre-existing conditions to find affordable plans that cover basic health care services.

 

Take Action:

 

Participate in town halls or other events:

You can find public events for Members of Congress all across the country thanks to the Town Hall Project. Make sure that Medicaid and health care concerns are raised during these events, and share your personal health care stories.

 

Keep up the calls:

Members of Congress need to continue hearing from their constituents over the next couple of weeks to #RejectRepeal. Feel free to use SEIU’s call-in numbers with your members to get calls going into the House and Senate.

  • English: 866-426-2631
  • Español: 877-736-7831

You can also contact your Member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard.

  • Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

 

Tweet your Member of Congress and Governor

 

Key messages:

  • Do NOT support the American Health Care Act.
  • Do NOT allow the structure of the Medicaid program to be weakened. Per capita caps and block grants would decimate the program on which people with disabilities and seniors rely for critical healthcare and community services.
  • Do NOT allow states to opt out of requiring health plans to cover basic health care; keep healthcare affordable for people with pre-existing conditions, including people with disabilities.

 

If you need guidance on how to advocate with your Member of Congress check out these resources:

 

FamiliesUSA Recess Toolkit

FamiliesUSA developed a Toolkit to help advocates engage their Members of Congress during recess. The Toolkit includes:

  • Social media graphics and posts
  • Questions to ask your Members at a townhall
  • Townhall event tracker to locate townhalls near you
  • Tips for meeting with Members of Congress
  • Talking points for interacting with Members
  • Tools for directly emailing your Member

Access the FamiliesUSA Recess Toolkit

 

Additional Resources

  • Join the Fight to Protect Medicaid
    Resource from the Center for Public Representation to help people with disabilities, their families, and advocates/allies understand the impact of the changes proposed in the AHCA and give them the tools to advocate.

 

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This action alert was developed with content provided by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and FamiliesUSA.

Action Alert! Call Congress Now to Save Healthcare

March 24, 2017

The House of Representatives has rescheduled their vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – the legislation that will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – for later today. People’s health, services, and lives are at stake! We urgently need you, your family, and your friends to reach out to your Representative and tell them to stop the repeal of the ACA and the cuts to Medicaid. Call your Member of Congress today!

Last night, the House added an amendment to the AHCA that would remove Essential Health Care Benefits and time limit rehabilitation treatments, prenatal care, and vision and hearing services. Removing Essential Health Care Benefits allows insurers to offer plans that do not provide coverage on the services that allow people with disabilities to work and live independently in the community. This amendment is in addition to earlier changes that would allow a block grant option for Medicaid and Medicaid work requirements.

The bottom line: The AHCA will have a devastating impact on the services people with disabilities rely on to live and work independently in their community. Tell your Member of Congress to VOTE NO today.

 

Take Action

Contact your Representative – call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be directed to your Representative. We need to keep the pressure on as some of the new amendments might lead to some Members of Congress flipping their “no” vote to a “yes” vote.

 

Tweet your Representative and tell them to VOTE NO on the AHCA.

 

Message:

The ACA is the most significant law for people with disabilities since the Americans with Disabilities Act:

  • Because of the ACA, health insurers can’t deny health insurance or charge higher premiums if you have a disability or chronic condition.
  • Because of the ACA, there aren’t arbitrary financial limits to how much health care you can get in a year or in your lifetime.
  • Because of the ACA, more people with disabilities and chronic health conditions are able to access health care due to the Medicaid expansion.
  • Converting Medicaid to a per capita cap or block grant system would result in funding cuts.
  • Medicaid cuts lead to the loss of home and community-based services and supports.
  • Medicaid cuts lead to the loss of critical services such as personal care, mental health, prescription drugs, and rehabilitative services.
  • Medicaid cuts shifts the cost of providing health care and long-term services and supports to individuals and families.

 

If you need guidance on how to advocate with your Member of Congress check out these resources:

 

Additional Resources

  • Join the Fight to Protect Medicaid
    Resource from the Center for Public Representation to help people with disabilities, their families, and advocates/allies understand the impact of the changes proposed in the AHCA and give them the tools to advocate.

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