Demanding a meeting with the President and Vice President Gore, ADAPT condemned the one billion dollar corporate giveaway which tacitly reinforces the existing institutional bias in Medicaid. "It is unconscionable for the President to reward the corporations that make billions of dollars by forcing us to lay in our own waste, and depriving us of choice in our everyday lives, while not committing at least an equal amount to community based care," said Bob Kafka, a national organizer for ADAPT.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, met with ADAPT shortly before the President's nursing home speech, and had committed to continue negotiations on the following points;

1. Policy (perhaps already covered in Medicaid "freedom of choice" provisions) that allows states to have "the money follow the person", rather than be heavily weighted toward forced institutionalization in order to get needed services and supports.

2. HHS support for $250 million to accomplish Real Choice systems change.

3. HHS support for $600 million for Home and Community Based Services for the transition/diversion of persons with disabilities of all ages from nursing homes and other institutions, including the use of a portion of the funds to increase wages and benefits in order to ease the current crisis in securing home and community service workers.

4. Support for 10,000 new Section 8 housing vouchers in the next 5 years for persons with disabilities, old and young, who will transition from, or are at imminent risk of being admitted to, nursing homes and/or other institutions.

5. Support for $50 million for the HHS Office of Civil Rights to adequately enforce the Olmstead decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, 1999.

6. Support adequate funding for Independent Living Centers (ILCs) to play a substantial role in implementing Olmstead (identifying and assisting persons who want to move out of nursing homes and other institutions.)

"Frankly, the national disability community feels sucker punched and outraged by the President's gift to the nursing home industry," said Nadina LaSpina, New York ADAPTorganizer. "Here we were, working with Sec. Shalala to achieve some equity in Medicaid policy, and out of the blue, the President takes an action guaranteed to reinforce the institutional bias currently in Medicaid policy. The President and Vice President Gore must act positively on the six points we've been working on with Sec. Shalala in order to show their commitment to not exacerbate the current institutional bias."

FOR MORE INFORMATION on American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) Please visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/

For direct inquiries regarding this press release please use the contact information at the beginning of this message or Email adaptpr@adapt.org