Informing & Educating Policymakers and the ACA
NACDD has visited with many of the offices of the Members of Congress who serve on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies subcommittees (Labor-HHS) (
http://appropriations.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee/?IssueID=34777) in the last two weeks. The information you have provided has been invaluable in educating offices about the important work of the Councils and making our request for increased funding to 76 million dollars.
Please continue to share stories of people whose lives have been impacted because of DD Council efforts so that we can share them. Congress still needs to decide how it will complete funding for FY 17. The current continuing resolution expires on April 28th. Given that they still need to complete funding for FY 17, they have not yet started making plans for FY 18, but the House will start the process with a hearing in the Labor-HHS subcommittee on March 8th.
On March 6th, the House Republicans introduced their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American Health Care Act. The bill will be marked-up in the Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees of the House of Representatives and then send to the House floor for a vote, followed by being sent to the Senate. Over the next few weeks, we need everyone to engage with their Members of Congress to educate and inform about what repeal of the ACA, and changing the structure of Medicaid will mean for persons with IDD.
Given this bill is on a fast track to move through Congress before the Easter recess, we have limited time to ensure that every Member of Congress knows the serious negative impact it will have on persons with IDD! The bill places caps on the federal funding states would receive for the Medicaid program, to pay for the repeal and replacement of the ACA, and guts the Medicaid expansion. The bill has not yet had a score for cost attached to it, so it is not known how much it will actually cost for the federal government and states to implement it should it pass. The Energy & Commerce Committee legislation can be read
here and the Ways & Means Committee legislation can be read
here.
NACDD is reviewing the legislation, and is working in collaboration with multiple coalitions to educate about the impact of the this legislation on persons with IDD. To help in our efforts, NACDD continues to collect good stories about how Medicaid and health insurance helps people with IDD be able to go to school, be employed, and live in the community. Send your good stories to Cindy Smith at
csmith@nacdd.org.
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