Throughout the U.S., health care premiums and medical costs are skyrocketing while health coverage is shrinking. This is the conclusion of two new reports, one from Health Care for America NOW (HCAN) and the other from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Continue Reading

On June 11, a bill was introduced into both the U.S. House and Senate that promises to improve access to home and community-based services by generating Medicare and Medicaid savings and allowing more older Americans to receive health support in their homes.

“Project 2020: Building on the Promise of Home and Community-Based Services” was introduced on the Senate side as S. 1257 by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), both key members of the Senate Finance Committee. On the House side, Reps. Bruce L. Braley (D-IA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, introduced the companion bill H.R. 2852.

The bill’s stated purpose is “To amend the Social Security Act to build on the aging network to establish long-term services and supports through single-entry point systems, evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion programs, and enhanced nursing home diversion programs.” Continue Reading

President Barack Obama has launched  “The Year of Community Living,” an effort to assist Americans with disabilities, instructing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to “work together to identify ways to improve access to housing, community supports, and independent living arrangements.”

The announcement was made on the tenth anniversary of the Olmstead case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

An announcement from Sebelius issued the same day indicated that she was taking various actions at HHS in support of the new initiative, including the creation of a new HHS Coordinating Council “to put in place solutions that address barriers to community living for individuals with disabilities and to give people more control over their lives and the supports they need.”

She also said she would direct additional funding toward the HHS Aging and Disability Resource Center Programs (ADRCs), which are a collaborative effort of the Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and intended to provide a “one-stop shop for consumers for long-term care information, assistance, and access to services.”

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan

HUD announced, in turn, that it was making available $30 million in voucher assistance to provide housing support for 4,000 non-elderly disabled families, including 1,000 vouchers that are targeted specifically at people who are transitioning out of nursing homes and other institutions. Notably, these 1,000 vouchers directly satisfy an ongoing demand from ADAPT.

Some individuals and organizations expressed a tempered optimism regarding the new initiative.

Chris Hildebrant, Director of Advocacy for the Center for Disability Rights, opined in a June 23 blog post that while the initiative contains many positive points, it still fails to eliminate the institutional bias in America’s long-term services and supports.

Denika Boardman, systems change coordinator for Central Coast Center for Independent Living in California, called the initiative a “positive development” in a July 2 column for The Californian, but said that “many people with disabilities have little to celebrate on this anniversary” of the Olmstead decision, since California’s catastrophic budget crisis is resulting in cuts to “nearly every community support service people with disabilities need to live independently.”

But President Obama expressed resolute optimism even as he acknowledged the long delay in achieving full independence for individuals with disabilities.

“The Olmstead ruling was a critical step forward for our nation, articulating one of the most fundamental rights of Americans with disabilities: Having the choice to live independently,” he said. “I am proud to launch this initiative to reaffirm my Administration’s commitment to vigorous enforcement of civil rights for Americans with disabilities and to ensuring the fullest inclusion of all people in the life of our nation.”

In response to a lawsuit filed by SEIU, a federal judge has blocked the State of California from reducing the wages of home care workers by up to $2.00 per hour.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken issued an injunction on June 25 to halt the wage cuts, ordering the state to continue paying workers for its In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program up to $12.10 in wages and benefits. Without this injunction, tens of thousands of IHSS workers would have seen their wages shrink from $11.50 to $9.50 per hour beginning July 1, the first day of the state’s new fiscal year.

The injunction states that before California can make such cuts, it must first offer an analysis of how they would impact the efficiency, economy, quality, and accessibility of care (“State vows to pursue home care workers’ wage cuts,” Mercury News, June 26). Continue Reading

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)

Fifteen U.S. Democratic senators have sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Hilda Solis urging the extension of federal wage and hour laws to cover the nation’s estimated 1.5 million home health-care workers.

Background

Domestic workers were excluded from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that was enacted in 1938 to ensure a minimum standard of living for workers through the provision of a minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections. Continue Reading

A delegation of state lawmakers, representing 700 of their colleagues across the nation, delivered letters to the Obama administration and Congress on Thursday, June 18, supporting comprehensive health care reform, including a public plan option, affordability protections, and shared employer responsibility for premiums. Continue Reading