April 7, 2023

VOR's Calendar of Upcoming Events:

Quarterly Networking Meeting

Monday, April 10, 2023

4 pm Eastern, 3 pm Central, 2 pm Mountain, 1 pm Pacific

Please come join with likeminded families of individuals with I/DD and autism for our quarterly Zoom meeting. Our topic this month will be how we can work with state and federal officials to ensure the safety of our loved ones.

This event is open to all. Here is the link to the Zoom Meeting:

• https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81502378224

Meeting ID: 815 0237 8224

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Meeting ID: 815 0237 8224

VOR's Annual Legislative Initiative

Briefing Session - Sunday, May 7, 2023

3 - 5 pm Eastern / 2 - 4 pm Central / 1 - 3 pm Mountain / Noon - 2 pm Pacific

On ZOOM

Registration is open!

The meeting for our 2023 Legislative Initiative will take place on Sunday afternoon, on Zoom.

We ask that you register prior to the initiative, and that your membership is up to date.

We will supply the legislative materials in advance of the Sunday meeting, and we will supply you with contact information so that you may set up with your elected officials for the week(s) that follow.

You must be a current member or VOR to participate in this event.

We encourage members to pre-arrange meetings with your

Congressional Staffers

during the weeks of

May 8 - 12 & May 15 - 19

(We sill provide you with contact information for the offices of your Members of Congress after you register for the Initiative)

\VOR's 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting

June 11, 2023 - 11:30 am - 5:30 pm (Eastern)

Our Annual Members Meeting (again, on Zoom) will take place on the afternoon or Sunday, June 11th. The schedule is yet to be determined, but the program will include a "State of the Union" speeches from our President, Joanne St. Amand, our Treasurer, Larry Innis, and our Executive Director, Hugo Dwyer, as well as reports from our various committee chairs on their work through the past year.

This Year's Speakers:

Congressman Glenn Grothman - (R-WI)

Representative Charlie Meier (Illinois General Assembly)

Amy S. F. Lutz, PhD.

And, as we do every year, we will have a special networking meeting for our members to submit reports on what is going in their states, so that we can share our problems, solutions, strengths, and hope.

This event is open to all. Registration will open in May.

Feds say Missouri Puts Group Home Residents at Risk with Lack of Regular Background Checks

By Susan Szuch, Springfield, News-Leader, April 2, 2023

The 2016 death of a man with developmental disabilities due to abuse and neglect prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services too inspect Missouri's group homes, and a DHHS Office of the Inspector General report released Wednesday cites some continuing red flags.

Carl Lee DeBrodie, 31, was a resident of a Fulton group home when he was reported missing in April 2017. DeBrodie's body was later found entombed in concrete, with investigators believing he died some time in 2016. Sherry Paulo was sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in prison on federal charges after prosecutors deemed her the "most culpable" for DeBrodie's death.

The Office of Inspector General audited 30 of the state's 218 individualized supported living providers in order to determine whether the Department of Mental Health's oversight of those providers ensured the health and safety of Medicaid recipients with developmental disabilities, and whether it had established infection control and prevention standards that prepared them for an emergency situation like the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the report found that the Missouri department ensured the health and safety of recipients with developmental disabilities, "improvements could be made."

After hiring, Missouri does not require providers to perform periodic background screenings of staff, so facilities that were audited had inconsistent policies. Nine of the 30 providers did not specify that periodic background screenings should happen at all, according to findings. Federal investigators found that one provider had five staff members that had not been screened in more than two years, even though the provider policy required annual screenings.

A lack of state-required background screenings after hiring could put vulnerable residents in danger, said the Inspector General's report: "There is an increased risk that some providers are not performing these screenings and that care is being provided by staff who have committed disqualifying crimes or adverse actions since the required screening they underwent when hired."

Continued

California - New Bill Promises to Bring Accountability to Services for Developmentally Disabled

By Ria Roebuck Joseph, Center Square, April 6, 2023

At a Zoom town hall on Tuesday, stakeholders, parents and advocates for the developmentally disabled met to discuss a bill to improve the equity, accountability and transparency of services to California's developmentally disabled community.

Disability Voices United (DVU) is co-sponsoring Assembly Bill 1147- Disability Equity and Accountability Act of 2023 which was introduced by Assembly Member Dawn Addis.

The town hall saw advocates from a wide cross-section of cultures that included Latino, Vietnamese, Korean, South Asian, Native American and African American communities among others, all sharing their challenges in finding services for the intellectually, developmentally disabled and the various cultural challenges groups faced with language, cultural expectations and the navigation of a complex system.

Judy Mark, President, Disability Voices United who hosted the town hall, said the bill is “A long time coming.”

DVU advocates for systemic changes to the system that provides for individuals with developmental disabilities to ensure choice and control, meaningful outcomes, equity and accountability, and works to reclaim power for parents who have been relegated to the sidelines, replaced by professionals and bureaucracy.

Their co-sponsorship for AB1147 reflects this mission. The bill seeks to amend and add to various sections of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.

The bill would require the department to establish, by January 1, 2025, a common set of services and supports, including supported living services, and would require every regional center to make those services and supports available to consumers in negotiating, developing, and amending the IPP.

The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature for the plans to be developed consistent with the federal Affordable Care Act requiring community-based long-term services and supports be person-centered and self-directed learning, and ensuring that goals in any plan allow for innovation and nontraditional service delivery. 

It also authorizes a regional center to exceed the time period for developing an care plan, if there is good cause, but no more than 60 days from intake. If a regional center fails to meet the 30-day or 60-day deadline, they are required to provide the consumer with an adequate notice of action and notify the department of the reason for failure to meet the deadline.

Nina Spiegelman, Director of Policy for DVU spoke of the need to make regional centers subject to the Public Records Act noting that consumers have a fundamental right to records of governmental agencies.

 “The hope is that ultimately we will be able to access our records in a way like you can access your medical records,” she said. I cannot tell you how hard it is ..just to get your (learning plan). Having a system ultimately that allows us to have, in our hands, access to these records is super important and the eventual goal of the IT system overhaul is to have data to see how providers are doing.”

Read the full article here

The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) partnered with the Ohio Department of Education to contract with the Ohio Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (OADSP) to offer training to high school students to become Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).

“DSP-U is a unique opportunity to spark the next generation of passion for our field and support in-demand jobs,” said DODD Director Kim Hauck. “Partnerships like this are what will help us take our recruitment efforts to the next level.”

OADSP offers the DSP-U program to high school and career/vocational schools and through partnerships with local county boards of developmental disabilities. The program provides opportunities for currently enrolled high school students interested in working with people with developmental disabilities to be better prepared for a career in the field. Students participating in the DSP-U program can earn professional credentials while receiving credit toward high school graduation requirements.

Continued

Oregon - Proposal on Paying Parent Caregivers of Children with Highest Disability Needs Advances

By Lynne Terry, Oregon Capital Chronicle, April 6, 2023

State lawmakers who’ve been grappling with proposals to pay parents of children with disabilities as their caregivers have opted for a limited option.

Senate Bill 91 would pay parents of about 1,000 children with the highest medical and behavioral health needs to care for them. The bill would allocate $3 million in state funds over the next two-year budget, less than what other proposals that would have included more children would cost.

Parent caregivers and advocates have been pushing for a bill for more than two years. During the pandemic, Medicaid has paid parents in Oregon with children with high intellectual and developmental disabilities to care for their children but that will end May 11. Currently, about 700 children classified as having the highest needs are eligible for the program, and more than 300 children are using it. Parents wanted a proposal that would offer even wider eligibility.

But human services committee chair Sara Gelser Blouin of Corvallis proposed the scaled-down version over financial concerns. She won the support of all of the committee members: Democrats Floyd Prozanski of Springfield and James Manning Jr. of Eugene and Republicans Suzanne Weber of Tillamook and Art Robinson of Cave Junction. 

The program, which would be funded by Medicaid, would need approval from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The federal government pays about two-thirds of Medicaid in Oregon, and the state pays the rest.

The bill has moved to the Joint Ways and Means Committee, joining a pile of other proposals that need funding. Many are not likely to make it to the finish, according to Senate President Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego.

Continued

New York State Agency Failed to Guide Disabled Group Homes through COVID, Comptroller Says

By Michelle Bocanegra, Gothamist, April 6,. 2023

The New York state agency in charge of helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities left thousands of group homes to fend for themselves in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an audit from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

DiNapoli and his auditors said the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities failed to provide steady oversight and guidance to the majority of group homes as the public health crisis began to unravel.

Though the agency issued emergency guidance to the eight state-run intermediate care facilities, close to 7,000 other sites — comprising nearly all of the homes under the agency’s purview — were excluded from its guidance, auditors said.

“Although we did not establish a causal relationship between OPWDD’s actions and COVID cases, we did find that these homes accounted for the majority of COVID-19 cases and deaths among OPWDD residential clients,” the audit reads.

The agency issued a contentious response to the report and defended its pandemic policies in a statement.

“During a global pandemic, OPWDD implemented best practices across facilities to minimize infections and satisfy state quarantine and isolation guidance, while keeping those residents in group homes safe and connected with loved ones,” said Erin Silk, a spokesperson for the agency, in a statement.

She said the ever-changing nature of the pandemic required agile responses and that the agency “is proud of the efforts that were made to sustain continuity of services while ensuring health and safety during this unprecedented, worldwide event.”

The agency told auditors that more than 600 people in its residential programs died from COVID-19 between March 2020 and April 2022; roughly 13,000 were infected. State facilities that received the guidance in question had fewer cases and deaths than facilities that had to create their own plans, according to auditors. But the state-run homes also house far fewer residents, so the finding doesn't necessarily translate to a lower frequency of COVID cases or deaths.

The report comes more than three years after the coronavirus began to wreak havoc on New York City in March 2020, at the time the American epicenter of the crisis.

A series of scandals in 2021 that eventually led to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation began with an explosive report from state Attorney General Letitia James, who said Cuomo’s health department undercounted the number of COVID-related deaths in nursing homes.

Group homes, which also housed a population that was exceedingly vulnerable to the virus, drew concerns that cases would spread like wildfire.

“The gravity of the crisis at the time demanded more action by OPWDD beyond simply what was required,” the audit reads.

Continued

Read the statement from the Comptroller's Office here

New York - Advocates Warn of Direct Support Professional Shortage Amid Low Wages

By Antwan Lewis, Fox 5 News NY, April 5, 2023

The bond between 27-year-old Dylan Snaith, who's non-verbal autistic, and Courtney, his direct support professional (DSP), didn't happen overnight. It took years of trust, dedication and love. But relationships like these are on the verge of disappearing. 

Advocates say wages within the DSP field are disproportionately low, and while the minimum wage was increased nationally, New York state has yet to catch up.

"A lot of us have two, three jobs," Courtney told FOX 5 New York. "I know myself worked two jobs for the past 10 years just to make, you know, make ends meet."

Russell Snaith, co-founder of the group New York Alliance for Developmental Disabilities (NYADD), called the wage disparity unacceptable. 

"Eventually we want to get them to be at least 50% above the prevailing minimum wage. And if we can do that, we will have a workforce that's sustainable," Russell Snaith told FOX 5.

In March, NYADD sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other leaders of the New York State Assembly asking for an increase in state funds for DSP agencies and their workers.

A recent survey by New York Disability Advocates found that 48% of providers were forced to close or reduce programs because of lack of staff, 39% did not reopen programs due to staffing shortages, and 25% of all DSP positions are currently vacant statewide.

Cathy Snaith said these numbers are sobering, telling FOX 5 that without the help of a DSP, "I don't know what our family would do."

"This pretty much saved our family," she added.

Continued

The ongoing assault on choice in employment opportunities:

Virginia Governor Amends Bill Ending Subminimum Wage for Disabled Workers

By Capital News Service, WTVR-6 News Richmond, April 5, 2023

Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently recommended the General Assembly accept an amended version of a bill that ends the practice of paying subminimum wage to certain Virginia workers with disabilities.

A certificate exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to determine pay for disabled workers based on a productivity calculation compared to other employees, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. These workers are currently listed within the “tipped employees” section of state code.

The original House Bill 1924 eliminated use of the certificate and increased minimum hourly pay to $9.50 in July. This rate would continue to increase incrementally until 2027, when it reached Virginia minimum wage. The slow increase is meant to help employers adjust, according to Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, who introduced the measure.

Hope’s bill passed the House unanimously on a block vote, meaning it was not discussed prior to voting. The bill passed the Senate 22-18.

The governor’s proposed amendment adjusts timelines. It would remove the incremental pay bumps of the original bill. Instead, the wages of all previously exempt employees would be raised to Virginia’s minimum wage when use of the certificates ended in 2030.

Any currently certified employer would be grandfathered in until 2030, but no new certificates would be issued after July 1.

Continued

Connecticut - Gov. Lamont: Southbury Training School, To Remain Open  

By Christopher Keatjng, Hartford Courant, April 2, 2023

At one time, the Southbury Training School served nearly 2,000 developmentally disabled residents with 24-hour care in an institutional setting.

Today, the population has dropped to just 127 as many of the longtime elderly residents have died in recent years.

Southbury ranks among the state’s most expensive programs with a worker-to-resident ratio of more than 4 to 1 as 556 state employees work on the campus for 127 residents who have round-the-clock care.

Many of the residents are medically fragile and have had the same caregivers for years.

Citing the elderly population, Gov. Ned Lamont told the Courant that he is not making any quick moves on the future of the facility.

“I know that moving those residents is really tough for them — for the families — so I think nothing is going to change for the foreseeable future,” Lamont said in an interview.

Regarding the high costs of running the campus, Lamont said, “There’s some overhead, but these are folks in need. These are folks who spend most of their lives there, and you don’t want to uproot them.”

Southbury is a relic of the past as intellectually and developmentally disabled citizens largely switched to group homes decades ago. The costs at Southbury are three times higher than those at group homes, advocates say.

But those still remaining at Southbury — along with their families and guardians — have wanted to remain in their longtime homes on the campus.

The residents range in age from 58 to 95 years old — with the average age at 73. The longest-serving resident has been there for 81 years, and the average length of stay is 60 years, according to state statistics. The newest resident has been there 39 years, and many residents are essentially in the only home they have ever known.

When the school opened, the grounds had 125 buildings on 1,600 acres, which is twice the size of New York’s Central Park and more than four times the size of Yale University’s 373-acre central campus in New Haven. As the population has dropped, the state has downsized Southbury to 400 acres and 20 primary buildings that are used on a fulltime basis for services. The state agriculture department oversees 400 acres and about 800 acres remain as open space.

House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford agrees with Lamont that the medically fragile residents should not be moved in the short term.

The training school made headlines last week when Shelly L. Carter was named as the first Black female fire chief in New England for the state Department of Developmental Services, which operates from the training school.

A former Hartford firefighter, Carter will oversee a team of six firefighters that will work with local departments as she also oversees 850 group homes statewide that include about 815 nonprofit homes and about 35 run by state employees.

Lamont hailed Carter in a pinning ceremony at the state Capitol, saying, “You can see how you lead by example … what that means for the firefighter school, what that means for every young girl — regardless of background, you can do this too. It’s one thing to be the very first. It’s even better to be the very first of many. And thanks to you, you’ll be the very first of many.”

Predicting the future of Southbury has been difficult in the past — as state officials cannot forecast the longevity of the elderly residents. In 2013, an internal memo at the state Department of Developmental Services stated that only 69 residents would be living there by 2021. Today, there are still 127.

Read the full article here

The following articles echo statements our families have been making for four decades.

Tennessee DIDD Partners with DCS to Provide Residential Care for Hospitalized Children 

Press Release from Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities April 5, 2023

As a part of Gov. Bill Lee’s TN Strong Families initiative, the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) has started serving children in DCS custody with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have complex medical needs at former state-operated community homes.

DIDD is offering short-term residential placements for children who are currently placed in children’s hospitals at formerly vacant state-operated properties once operated as intermediate care facilities (ICF/IID). The department is building the capacity to support up to 20 children in all three regions until a long-term placement or foster home can be attained.

“DIDD has a long history of providing direct care to those with complex medical and behavioral needs at its state-operated homes,” said DIDD Commissioner Brad Turner. “As more adults have chosen to live independently, we have experienced staff and comfortable four-bedroom homes that can provide a supportive environment for these children outside of the hospital. It’s our mission to support all Tennesseans living with intellectual and developmental disabilities and we are grateful for this opportunity to help.”

DCS Commissioner Margie Quin, who took over the agency in September, was transparent during the November budget hearing. Quin communicated to Gov. Bill Lee the need for alternative housing for medically fragile children allowing them to safely discharge hospitals for around-the-clock high-level care.

Quin creatively engaged resources, collaborating with DIDD, to help solve this pressing need for youth whose specialized needs make traditional foster care placement challenging.

“When state agencies work collaboratively to solve problems, Tennesseans benefit. In this case, the most vulnerable among us. With this new system in place, children will no longer wait in hospitals for a safe discharge plan. Once medically cleared, these children will receive comfort and care in a home-like setting thanks to resources made available by DIDD,” Quin says.

Continued

As a residential option for seniors, intermediate care facilities (ICFs) can house residents on a long-term basis. Residents can get help with activities of daily living and managing medical conditions. For instance, staff can help with:

• Bathing
• dressing
• meal preparation
• bathroom use
• getting in and out of a wheelchair
• taking medication
• monitoring residents’ medical conditions

Intermediate care facilities initially focused on meeting the needs of those with cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses. However, they have adapted to serve older adults as well. Some facilities run independently. Others are part of larger establishments, as when they comprise units housed within such facilities as continuous care retirement communities. 

The Benefits of an Intermediate Care Facility

• Level of Assistance. Many older adults prefer to remain in their homes and receive in-home care as they age. Yet sometimes they may require more consistent help. In intermediate care facilities, individuals can obtain round-the-clock assistance.

• Cost Savings. One reason people choose intermediate care is that it is relatively less expensive than other options, such as assisted living. Since residents do not typically get their own apartments, the room and board fees can be smaller than in assisted living.

• And in addressing the individual needs of residents, intermediate care facilities limit assistance to what residents require, further lowering costs.

• Care Options. ICFs also offer a range of care options. Intermediate care facilities can serve those who need extensive help with daily living as well as those who require aid in a few areas. Individuals receiving different degrees of care can live together in the same environment.

• Flexibility. Support can also adapt as residents’ needs change. For example, an older adult may move into an intermediate care facility for assistance with meals and medication management. If they then develop mobility challenges, they can get additional help; ICF staff monitor and respond to the person’s needs. 

Read the full article here

[Please click on blue link to view information about the bill]

VOR SUPPORTS:

H.R. 553 - Workplace Choice and Flexibility for Individuals with Disabilities Act

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6) - This bill would amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify the definition of competitive integrated employment.

H.R.1296 - Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6) - TTo amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure workplace choice and opportunity for young adults with disabilities.

H.R.485 - Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5) - This bill prohibits all federal health care programs, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and federally funded state health care programs (e.g., Medicaid) from using prices that are based on quality-adjusted life years (i.e., measures that discount the value of a life based on disability) to determine relevant thresholds for coverage, reimbursements, or incentive programs.

H.R.670 - Think Differently Database Act

Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-NY-19) - This bill would amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a clearinghouse on intellectual disabilities, and for other purposes. Such clearinghouse shall include information on individual community-based services and long-term support services available to individuals eligible for medical assistance under a State plan under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act.

VOR OPPOSES:

S.533 / H.R.1263 Transformation to Competitive Employment Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) / Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA 3) - This bill would support employers who wish to transform their facilities to provide only competitive integrated employment while forcing the elimination of programs that offer employment opportunities under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This bill would be unlikely to create a significant increase in employment for people with I/DD and autism, but would deprive over 120,000 individuals of the opportunity to work, develop skills, and be part of their community.

VOR HAS SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS WITH:

S.100 / H.R.547- Better Care Better Jobs Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) Rep. Debbie Dingell (D MI) This bill establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home- and community-based services (HCBS), such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services.

The bill also makes permanent (1) the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program (a grant program to help states increase the use of HCBS for long-term care and decrease the use of institutional care), and (2) certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of HCBS.

S.762 / H.R.1493 - The HCBS Access Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) Rep. Debbie Dingell (D MI) While this bill purports to eliminate waiting lists and provide more Home and Community-Based Services for people with I/DD and autism, it favors the aspirations of those individuals who are most independent and neglects the very real needs of those most dependent on Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports. It would not distribute funds appropriate to the varying needs of individuals, but to providers of HCBS programs. It fails to recognize the severity of the DSP and Nursing Crises, and paints an unrealistic picture of a simplistic solution. This is a purely political bill that would ultimately fail to make the extensive changes that the DD/A system needs.

VOR supports increasing funding for people with I/DD, but we have concerns that this bill, in its current form, would discriminate against people with the most severe I/DD and autism and jeopardize the higher-care facilities that are most appropriate to their needs.



[Please click on blue link to view information about the bill]

VOR SUPPORTS:

H.R. 553 - Workplace Choice and Flexibility for Individuals with Disabilities Act

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6) - This bill would amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify the definition of competitive integrated employment.

H.R.485 - Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5) - This bill prohibits all federal health care programs, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and federally funded state health care programs (e.g., Medicaid) from using prices that are based on quality-adjusted life years (i.e., measures that discount the value of a life based on disability) to determine relevant thresholds for coverage, reimbursements, or incentive programs.

H.R.670 - Think Differently Database Act

Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-NY-19) - This bill would amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a clearinghouse on intellectual disabilities, and for other purposes. Such clearinghouse shall include information on individual community-based services and long-term support services available to individuals eligible for medical assistance under a State plan under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act.

VOR OPPOSES:

S.533 / H.R.1263 Transformation to Competitive Employment Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) / Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA 3) - This bill would support employers who wish to transform their facilities to provide only competitive integrated employment while forcing the elimination of programs that offer employment opportunities under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This bill would be unlikely to create a significant increase in employment for people with I/DD and autism, but would deprive over 120,000 individuals of the opportunity to work, develop skills, and be part of their community.

VOR HAS SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS WITH:

S.100 / H.R.547- Better Care Better Jobs Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) Rep. Debbie Dingell (D MI) This bill establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home- and community-based services (HCBS), such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services.

The bill also makes permanent (1) the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program (a grant program to help states increase the use of HCBS for long-term care and decrease the use of institutional care), and (2) certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of HCBS.

S.762 / H.R.1493 - The HCBS Access Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) Rep. Debbie Dingell (D MI) While this bill purports to eliminate waiting lists and provide more Home and Community-Based Services for people with I/DD and autism, it favors the aspirations of those individuals who are most independent and neglects the very real needs of those most dependent on Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports. It would not distribute funds appropriate to the varying needs of individuals, but to providers of HCBS programs. It fails to recognize the severity of the DSP and Nursing Crises, and paints an unrealistic picture of a simplistic solution. This is a purely political bill that would ultimately fail to make the extensive changes that the DD/A system needs.

VOR supports increasing funding for people with I/DD, but we have concerns that this bill, in its current form, would discriminate against people with the most severe I/DD and autism and jeopardize the higher-care facilities that are most appropriate to their needs.



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As we approach the mid-April tax season, we ask that our members consider making a donation to VOR as a way to ease your tax burden while supporting our mission to advocate for individuals with I/DD and autism.

• For information on various forms of planned giving, including making a charitable contribution using the Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA, making gifts of securities, or making legacy contributions through your life insurance policy, please click here.

• For information on the lasting impact of a will bequest, please click here.

As always, we suggest you consult with your policy administrators and tax professionals to determine how best to contribute.

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