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Mrs. Gore Briefing
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Mrs. Gore Briefing
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#minway
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
MEDICAID AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
TALKING POINTS
This Administration is working to protect Medicaid and Medicare
and the people served by these programs, including people with
disabilities.
We are engaged in a serious national debate about how to balance
the Federal budget. We must balance the budget, but in a way
that reflects the values that we have always held dear in this
country. The President's plan for a balanced budget calls for
reasonable reforms in Medicaid and Medicare, while keeping our
guarantee to those who need these programs, including Americans
with disabilities.
One positive development is that there is now renewed hope that
we may be able to enact insurance reforms this year, including
prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage due to
preexisting conditions. This reform is critical for people with
disabilities.
Why Medicaid is So Important to People with Disabilities
Medicaid is the primary insurer of children and adults with
disabilities. It provides health and rehabilitation services for
6 million individuals with disabilities. Often Medicaid is the
only form of health care coverage that people with disabilities
can obtain. Without Medicaid, medical costs for a child or adult
with a disability can easily impoverish a middle class family.
People with disabilities of all ages, and their families, most
often prefer to receive services and supports at home and in the
community, so that they can participate more fully in family and
community life. Over the past 15 years, as institutionalization
has become less common and people with disabilities have
increasingly become part of their communities, the Medicaid
program has adapted to this change.
Medicaid provides health coverage for approximately 734,000
adults with mental retardation or other developmental
disabilities (MR/DD). Medicaid services enable many people with
MR/DD to live in their homes and communities, to take care of
themselves and their homes, get around in their communities, and
work.
Medicaid and Children with Disabilities
Cuts in Medicaid would be particularly devastating to children
with disabilities. There are approximately one million children
with disabilities on Medicaid. These families cannot access the
private insurance market for all their child's needs, or often
even at all.
2
Medicaid allows many children with disabilities to get services
at home or in the community. These services have grown rapidly
over the past 15 years. Prior to that time, an institution was
too often the only option for a middle-class family with a child
with a disability.
In addition to the services that Medicaid provides children with
disabilities in hospitals and doctors' offices, Medicaid also
pays for equipment like wheelchairs and communication devices;
therapy, including teaching parents to perform needed therapies
at home; respite care for parents who need an occasional break in
caring for a disabled child; and home modifications needed to
allow a child to live at home.
Republican Budget Proposals
Under the Republicans' proposal to block grant and reduce
Medicaid funds, states would be forced to reduce Medicaid
eligibility and benefits for disabled individuals.
Families of children with severe disabilities might be
forced to impoverish themselves paying for their children's
medical care. Without these services, some parents may have
to give up their jobs to stay home to care for their
children or, worse yet, seek institutional placements for
their children.
Adults with MR/DD who live independently in community
settings with Medicaid supports might be forced to enter
state institutions or return to the homes of their aging
parents, who would have to provide care formerly covered by
Medicaid.
Faced with the Republican budget cuts, home and community-based
programs will find it especially hard to compete with hospitals
and nursing homes for scarce Medicaid dollars at the state level.
6-6772
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216 Mrs Gone
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sign Signe pollur A nderson Doug shor Pat hom 2966
PAYPAS pres pers
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
02-Feb-1996 11:38am
TO:
CN=Sally J. Aman/O=OVP
TO:
CN=Araceli Ruano/O=OVP
FROM:
CN=Skila S. Harris/O=OVP
CC:
WHITE_W
SUBJECT: Info for "Ability" Interview
Message Creation Date was at 2-FEB-1996 11:38:00
I asked Marca Bristo, Chairperson of the National Council On Disability, for
her suggestions on what MEG should cover in her interview. Here are her ideas.
- It is important to underscore this Administration's commitment to
"empowerment - inclusion - independence" for Americans with disabilities.
- The Administration's support of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act** (IDEA) has been very
important to the disability community. Continuing support of these is
essential to the community.
- Budget cuts are especially threatening to the disability community... of the
great concern are the possible changes in Medicaid. If all funding goes to the
states in block grants there is fear that those with disabilities will lose out
to populations with more political clout.
- This Administration has a track record of empowerment --- it has appointed
more people with disabilities than any other Administration.
(Bill will
provide the numbers on this and other relevant data.)
Less mainstream, Marka said MEG could talk about the misinformation that is
prevalent about the ADA and the overall lack of understanding of the abilities
of people with disabilities. The stereotypical views of people with
disabilities can only be overcome by education and positive personal
experiences.
**I think this is the right title someone should check to make sure this is
the correct name.