From Colleen Graham of the Disability Policy Consortium/DPC:







Petition for Health Care Reform that Meets the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities and Chronic Health Conditions and their Families


Click HERE for the Petition


We, the undersigned, call on President Obama and the bipartisan leadership in Congress to work together to enact health care reform legislation in this Congress that truly meets the needs of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions and their families. The more than 50 million Americans with disabilities have waited long enough for a health care system that includes both quality, affordable acute care and consumer-directed long-term services and supports. Now is the time to:

  • remove the institutional bias in the Medicaid program by passing the Community Choice Act;

  • create new ways to finance home and community-based long-term services and supports outside of Medicaid by passing the Community Living Attendant Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act);

  • reform our private insurance system so that people with disabilities are able to get the coverage they need, including mental health coverage, without being forced to participate in Medicaid or Medicare as their only options;

  • address health disparities and accessibility issues that often prevent people with disabilities from receiving quality care in their communities;

  • ensure that people with disabilities have access to durable medical equipment, orthotics, prosthetics, and other assistive technologies and related services that maximize their independence and do not include unfair limits and restrictions;

  • provide access to health care based on individual health needs and not on income or employment status;

  • limit the burden of out-of-pocket expenses and cost-sharing requirements for participants on a sliding scale based on income, with a commitment to affordability and no work disincentives; and

  • engage people with disabilities as partners in the effort to make our health care system work better.


People with disabilities and chronic health conditions are the right litmus test for whether any health care reform legislation is truly going to meet the needs of all Americans. We call on President Obama and Congressional leaders to work together to design a new system that works well for these diverse constituencies and advances the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.

Click Here for the Petition


 

This article was posted by Carol in category Disability News