People with disabilities should not have to choose between staying in their homes and getting the services they need. Sad to say, that is what happens way too often.
- Community First Choice Option and CLASS Act let people with disabilities get the services they need at home – rather than a nursing home.
- Health care reform ends health insurance discrimination against people with disabilities and chronic conditions
If you act now, we can change this – so people with disabilities can get needed services and supports that let them stay in their own homes.
Please act now! Ask your Senators and Congressman/woman to enact health care reform now – and to include both the CLASS Act and the Community First Choice Option. If healthcare reform is not enacted this year, we will be many years until there is another opportunity.
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Health care reform bills in Congress have two provisions to achieve this goal – the CLASS Act and the Community First Choice Option. The CLASS Act is for anyone whose job pays at least $1000 per year and chooses to participate in a payroll deduction program. The Community First Choice Option is for people on Medicaid.
CLASS Act- Community Living Assistance Services and Supports: This is a voluntary payroll deduction that would create a system for people with disabilities to receive a cash benefit to pay for – and choose — assistive services after paying into the system for five years. It allows people to stay employed if they are able and keep their Medicare or Medicaid benefits. It also saves the federal government $2.5 billion in the first ten years alone.
The CLASS Act allows many choices for how the money is spent – depending on the individual’s own needs and preferences. It can be spent on services — such as help with bathing, food preparation or handling personal finances – and on such things as adding a ramp, modifying a vehicle or purchasing assistive technology and equipment.
Community First Choice Option (CFC). For people on Medicaid, the CFC Option gives states the choice of providing community-based attendant services and supports through state Medicaid programs. CFC is much broader than existing Medicaid state options. It is flexible about the services to be paid for in order to meet needs of the individual person – including services such as supervision and training. To encourage states to adopt this option, the federal government will pick up more of the share of costs (called an increased “FMAP”) than it normally does in Medicaid.
Support Health Care Reform. People with disabilities and chronic conditions will benefit tremendously from enactment of health care reform. Major bills: - require health insurers to provide the same coverage and charge the same premiums to people no matter what their disability or pre-existing conditions; - prohibit annual and life-time caps on coverage; - guarantee continued coverage after someone acquires a disability or serious condition.
