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Thursday, September 02, 2010 - 2:39:30 PM
Local News
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Disability Community Protests State Budget Proposals To Cap Access to Personal Care Services - 3/10/2010
The New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL), the Center for Disability Rights (CDR), and the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State (CDPAANYS) will gather over 100 individuals with disabilities in the Capitol and Legislative Office Building to protest the proposal to cap Medicaid-funded personal care services at 12 hours a day. The protestors will engage in theater that demonstrates the problem with the personal care cap and its impact on the lives of people with significant disabilities. These presentations will occur in public areas of the Legislative Office Building and the Capitol.
The proposal would require individuals who need more than 12 hours of personal care a day to be served in alternate programs, including the Long Term Home Health Care program (LTHHCP), Managed Long Term Care Program (MLTC), and the Nursing Home Transition and Diversion Waiver (NFTD), that are not designed to meet round-the-clock needs of individuals with the most significant disabilities.
By limiting access to services for the most disabled individuals – 4,268 of the 67,937 people receiving personal care services - the cap will cause unnecessary nursing facility placement of people who can and do live in the community, contrary to the State’s obligation under the 1999 Supreme Court Olmstead decision and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Maria Dibble, Executive Director of Southern Tier Independence Center, stated how critically important it is to reject the proposed Medicaid personal care services cap. “A system that allows people to stay in their homes, in their communities, offers benefits to all. The consumer maintains his or her independence and can hire his or her own personal care assistants based on his or her exact needs. The community benefits twofold – the employment of the assistants and continued local purchasing of services and goods by the consumer. New York State residents benefit as a whole by keeping the costs lower for in home care than facility care. Even in cases where an individual needs around the clock care, it is still fiscally wise to provide the consumer with in-home care instead of nursing home care.”
“Saving money by cutting access to medically necessary personal care services that support independence and community integration for people with the most significant disabilities is discriminatory and illegal,” said Melanie Shaw, NYAIL’s Executive Director. “We are counting on the Legislature to remove this proposal and ensure access to community based services and supports for all New Yorkers with disabilities.”
The New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL) is a statewide membership organization of Independent Living Centers, community-based not for profit organizations run by and for New Yorkers with disabilities of all ages. NYAIL strengthens local Independent Living Centers and is a leader in the civil rights movement for all people with disabilities.
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