URGENT ACTION NEEDED – As the next Coronavirus Relief legislation moves through Congress, we urge you to include the rights and needs of people with disabilities. People with disabilities will be disproportionately impacted and face possible institutionalization – which would violate their rights and further risk their health.
It is critical that the new relief bill includes:
– Additional funding to create a Medicaid grant program to support access to home and community-based services and to support the DSP workforce.
– It must also include a permanent reauthorization of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program. MFP funds states to move people with disabilities and seniors back into the community, after time in a nursing home or hospital setting.
– Congress should ensure that any economic stimulus goes to people with disabilities, including those receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid who are subject to strict asset limits which should be raised to ensure that this stimulus does not put crucial benefits at risk.
– Paid leave for caregivers for people with disabilities. In the last bill, Congress covered sick days for many workers, but did not include caregivers for people with disabilities who have lost or will lose usual sources of care.
– No limitations on civil rights protections provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Affordable Care Act can be included in the legislation.
Please include the rights and needs of people with disabilities, their families and the direct support professionals workforce in Coronavirus Relief Legislation.
Senator Marco Rubio
https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
SENATOR RICK SCOTT
https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/contact_rick
Congressman Daniel Webster
https://webster.house.gov/email-me