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Senator Arlen Specter's Comments in Support of the Introduction of S.
971
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| Senator Specter speaks
at a MiCASSA rally |
Mr. President, I have sought recognition to join Senator TOM HARKIN, my colleague and distinguished ranking member of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and
Education, which I chair, in introducing the ``Medicaid Attendant Care Services and Supports Act of 2003.'' This creative proposal addresses a glaring gap in Federal health coverage, and assists one of our Nation's most vulnerable populations, persons with disabilities.
In an effort to improve the delivery of care and the comfort of those with long-term disabilities, this vital legislation would allow for reimbursement for community-based attendant care services, in lieu of institutionalization, for eligible individuals who require such services based on functional need, without regard to the individual's age or the nature of the disability. The most recent data available tell us that 58.5 million individuals receive care for disabilities under the Medicaid program. The number of disabled who are not currently enrolled in the program who would apply for this improved benefit is not easily counted, but would likely be substantial given the preference of home and community-based care over institutional care.
Under this proposal, States may apply for grants for assistance in implementing ``systems change'' initiatives, in order to eliminate the institutional bias in their current policies and for needs assessment activities. Further, if a state can show that the aggregate amounts of Federal expenditures on people living in the community exceeds what would have been spent on the same people had they been in nursing homes, the state can limit the program. No limiting mechanism is mandated under this bill, And finally, States would be required to maintain expenditures for attendant care services under other Medicaid community-based programs, thereby preventing the states from shifting patients into the new benefit proposed under this bill.
Let me speak briefly about why such a change in Medicaid law is so desperately needed. In 1999 the Supreme Court held in
Olmstead v. L.C., 119 S. Ct. 2176 (1999), that the Americans with Disabilities
Act, ADA, requires States, under some circumstances, to provide community-based treatment to persons with mental disabilities rather than placing them in institutions. This decision and several lower court decisions have pointed to the need for a structured Medicaid attendant-care services benefit in order to meet obligations under the ADA. Disability advocates strongly support this legislation, arguing that the lack of Medicaid community-based services options is discriminatory and unhealthful for disabled individuals. Virtually every major disability advocacy group supports this bill, including ADAPT, the Arc, the National Council on Independent Living, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the National Spinal Cord Injury Association.
Senator HARKIN and I recognize that such a shift in the Medicaid program is a huge undertaking--but feel that it is a vitally important one. We are introducing this legislation today in an attempt to move ahead with the consideration of crucial disability legislation and to provide a starting point for debate. The time has come for concerted action in this arena.
I urge the Congressional leadership, including the appropriate committee chairmen, to move forward in considering this legislation, and take the significant next step forward in achieving the objective of providing individuals with disabilities the freedom to live in their own communities.
The Congressional Record
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - May 01, 2003) Page: S5664
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