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- ADAPT (86)
Rocky Mountain News PHOTO, News Photo by Jose R. Lopez: A thin woman [Theresa Preda] with dark hair and a big smile stands facing a man [LA Kimball] sitting at a "classroom style" conference table. He has a sickly smile on his face as he looks up at her. Between the tables and beside the woman is a manual wheelchair and she is pointing to it. It appears a man in another wheelchair [Mark Johnson] is pushing the wheelchair toward Teresa. At the table next to Kimball another man, also a presenter, who does not appear to have a disability, stares at Kimball with a slightly startled look on his face. Caption reads: Theresa Preda presents a wheelchair to RTD Executive Director LA. Kimball, right. Disabled riders' flap marks parley By JERRY BROWN News Staff Acting under a court order, Regional Transportation District officials and members of Denver's handicapped community met Wednesday to discuss their differences, but a longstanding argument among the handicapped over the type of bus service they want dominated the session. The 90-minute meeting at the Cosmopolitan Hotel opened with two organizations that have fought for accessible service on RTD’s regular routes presenting a wheelchair to RTD Executive Director L.A, Kimball and urging him to use it to learn firsthand the difficulties handicapped people experience in riding buses. Kimball pledged to use the wheelchair presented by Atlantis and Holistic Approaches to Independent Living, but told reporters: “l probably won't tell you in advance when I'm going to do it." The meeting was the result of a negotiated court order between RTD and the two organizations stemming from a series of demonstrations the organizations staged at RTD buildings in January. Atlantis and HAIL were protesting the transit agency's decision not to put wheelchair lifts on 89 buses scheduled for delivery next year. They have filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court in an attempt to force RTD to put lifts on the buses. But more than half of the l00 or so handicapped people attending the meeting indicated they believed RTD should focus its efforts on the door-to-door service that RTD has provided the handicapped for more than five years — not the accessible service on regular routes advocated by Atlantis and HAIL. Kimball drew cheers when he announced that the door-to-door service, known as Handi-Ride, would not be discontinued this summer as planned. " Kimball said the door-to-door service would continue until sometime next year, and suggested that the handicapped groups present join in a regional effort to devise a system under which someone else would provide the door-to-door service when RTD ends it. RTD began providing wheelchair-accessible service on some regular routes last summer and has promised to have half of its peak-hour service and virtually all of its off peak service wheelchair accessible by July 1. Saying RTD cannot afford to provide both types of accessible service, RTD officials had said they would discontinue the HandiRide service after July 1. The threatened loss of HandiRide service has created a split within the handicapped community, which dominated Wednesday's meeting. Spokesmen for Atlantis and HAIL said they believe both types of service are necessary, and promised to fight any efforts by RTD to discontinue the HandiRide. They accused RTD of using the HandiRide to create dissension among their ranks and “stacking” the audience by sending invitations to HandiRide patrons. But Atlantis spokesman Wade Blank said: "In a way RTD did us a favor." Blank said the meeting would help open communications between the two handicapped factions. - ADAPT (860)
Boston Sunday Globe Sunday May 1, 1994 Globe Photo by Dennis Vandal: A woman sits in her reclining wheelchair in front of a raise up computer. On her lapboard in front of her she has one hand on a device of some kind. Above that on a raised platform in front of the computer is a keyboard. She appears to have very limited mobility. What look like degrees or awards hang on the walls beside her computer and behind her. The room is dark. Caption reads: Veronica McSherry, working at her computer in her Worchester home, says without a personal care attendant, "I couldn't function at all." [Headline] Disabled are wary on health reform [subheading] Washington rally set to air concerns By Richard A. Knox, Globe Staff Advocates for Americans with disabilities, a group that by one official count makes up one-fifth of the US population, say disabled people constitute a litmus test for health care reform. “If the system works for us, it will work for anybody," says Linda Long, a Massachusetts disability lawyer. But the way health care reform addresses the needs of the disabled is a test many anxious activists fear Congress will fail. Some believe reform may even leave people with disabilities worse off than they are now. “ln a very real sense, people with disabilities have the most to gain and the most to lose with health care reform," says Frederick A. Fay, a Massachusetts psychologist who has been paralyzed from the neck down since a backyard accident 30 years ago. “I'm a little discouraged," adds Edward V. Roberts. a Californian who founded the ‘independent living" movement in the 1970s and now heads the World Institute on Disabilities. Like 1,000 or more other advocates for disabled people, Roberts plans to roll his wheelchair across Washington's Memorial Bridge tomorrow to a rally at the Lincoln Memorial. “Somehow we've got to wake Americans up to the fact that this issue is not just about money." People with disabilities are not just “a little special interest group." insists Washington activist Justin Dart Jr., 64, the Republican scion of a wealthy Houston family and a wheelchair-using polio survivor. Disability touches “every family in America, including the families of the health care lobbyists who oppose significant reform, Dart says. The number of Americans with disabilities is large by any reckoning. The Census Bureau's definition encompasses 49 million people, about half of whom are considered severely disabled. Mitchell LaPlante, who heads the Disability Statistics Program at the University of California at San Francisco, says 36 million Americans have impairments that significantly limit their activities, about 25 mfllion of whom are under age 65. But such static numbers can be misleading. The figures show that the vast majority of Americans will become disabled if they live long enough. Brandis University sociologist Irving Kenneth Zola, another polio survivor, notes that “from one third to one-half of one's later years will be spent dealing with a disability." To underscore this point. some disability activists like to call the rest of us “temporarily able-bodied.” “We embody the health care needs of the total population over time," says Bob Griss, director of the Washington-based Center on Disability and Health. “If the system doesn't meet our needs now, it isn’t going to meet the temporarily able-bodied population's later on.” No one is so heartless (or politically foolhardy) as to assert publicly that this country cannot afford to care for people who use wheelchairs, require assistance to dress or bathe, or are dependent on respirators. Nevertheless, the reform debate's current rhetorical drift is propelled by an assumption that many proposals are too costly even for Americans with ordinary health care needs, not to mention those who need [words missing] intensive care. [subheadline] Attack on universal coverage Politicians express doubt, for example, that the nation can guarantee universal health insurance coverage. Lack of insurance is a special problem for people with disabilities, more than 4 million of whom lack any coverage despite government safety-net programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. “A person with a disability who does not have health insurance utilizes 35 to 50 percent less physician and hospital care, compared to one with similar disabilities who is insured," says LaPlante. Many worry about the strong incentives to join managed care health plans in many proposals, including President Clinton's. They point out that such plans’ emphasis on gate-keepers--primary care physicians who decide whether patients need more specialized care--may bar disabled subscribers from seeing specialists for their unique needs. “Typically you have to make a lot of noise to get the care you need,” said Michael Auberger, 39, a leader of ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today) who was paralyzed in all four extremities by a bobsled accident. “If you aren't a real strong advocate, you just continue to deal with physicians who have no idea about disability.” “Their concerns are probably correct," said Dr. Harris Berman, president of Tufts-Associated Health Plan in Massachusetts. “I'd welcome legislation to ensure that disabled people are appropriately cared for. That's what government is for.” Another motif in the debate is the assertion that health insurance benefits, current and proposed, are too generous. The American Academy of Actuaries last month criticized Clinton's health plan benefit package as “richer than it should be,” while conservative members of Congress argue that liberal tax treatment of health insurance premiums has led to Americans being “over-insured.” Such statements have an ominous ring to disability activists, most of whom favor either a government sponsored “single-payer” health plan or Clinton's proposal, even though they criticize certain elements. - ADAPT (861)
[This is a series of charts with text, that is very difficult to read due to the poor copy quality.] Headline: Disabilities and health care reform People with disabilities constitute a sizable portion of the US population, and most Americans will become disabled if they live long enough. Activists say meaningful health care reform should cover everyone and meet the particular needs of the disabled. Numbers The census Bureau says 49 million (19.4 percent) of the 251.8 million Americans have some disability. Pie Chart shows 202.9 million have no disability, 24.8 million have a non-severe disability and 24.1 million have a severe disability. AGE 56 million Americans are younger than 15 years old, 31 million are 65 or older and 165 million are between 15 and 65 years old. The number of disabled in each group [there is a chart showing these numbers on a horizontal graph.] [Text continues] Someone is considered disabled if her or she has used a wheelchair, cane or similar aid for six months or more, has difficulty seeing, hearing or being understood, has difficulty dressing, eating or toileting, has difficulty preparing meals or keeping track of money, or is mentally or emotionally unstable. A severe disability includes many of these categories in combination or conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or cerebral palsy. [Headline] Health Insurance [Subheading] Type of coverage for the 165 million Americans between 15 and 64 years old [3 pie charts are below] The first is labeled No Disability and shows 80% have private insurance, 14.8% have no insurance, and 5.2% have government program. The second pie chart is labeled Disability, Not Severe and shows 74.1% have private insurance, 18.7% have no insurance and 7.2% have government program. The third chart is labeled severe Disability and shows 48.1% have private insurance, 36.2% have government program and 15.7% have no insurance. Source: US Census Bureau - ADAPT (862)
Photo by Tom Olin (?): President Clinton is standing on a platform edge smiling and bending forward slightly to receive a dark binder or book from two women in wheelchairs (L Denise Figueroa and R Stephanie Thomas). Stephanie is also handing Clinton a note on top of the book. Behind the president are a couple officials in chairs and a podium beside which stands an interpreter for the deaf. To the far side of the platform is a man with a camera and four people in wheelchairs. Paul Spooner is sitting in the middle of that group with a health care for all T-shirt. Lurking by the wall are secret service men in their dark suits. - ADAPT (863)
THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON April 29, 1994 Greetings to everyone gathered in our nation's capital to voice your support for providing health security to all Americans. I am delighted that so many of you have come together for this exciting event. Now is the time to act on our awareness that disabilities are a natural part of the human experience. Having a disability does not diminish one's right to participate in any aspect of mainstream society. With the shared strengths of all those participating in this rally, you send a powerful message —— the key to improving the quality of life for millions of Americans with disabilities and their families is passing a comprehensive health care plan that meets the needs of each one of our citizens. The active participation of groups like ADAPT, the National Council on Independent Living, and the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities is essential in meeting this crucial goal. I commend you for working toward making health care reform a reality. Your knowledge and expertise are helping to advance the rights of and services for all Americans, especially those persons with disabilities, and I thank you for your leadership and dedication. Working together, we can build a health care system that moves our nation from exclusion to inclusion, from dependence to independence, and from paternalism to empowerment. Hillary joins me in extending best wishes to all for a successful rally. [signed] Bill Clinton - ADAPT (864)
[This page continues the article from image 866. Please refer back to 866 for the full text] PHOTO by Tom Olin: Two police officers escort a man in a motorized wheelchair and a dark wide brimmed hat with several buttons on it [Rick James] and an older white haird woman [his mother] who is holding onto the back of his chair. They are walking down a street and on one officer you can see the medical exam gloves his is wearing. Caption reads: Rick James and his mom, Iris, arrested together in Vegas protesting AHCA. - ADAPT (865)
[This page continues the article from image 866. Please refer back to image 866 for full text] - ADAPT (866)
Incitement p.3 "ADAPT To Congress: Free Our People! A good portion of the credit for keeping long term care on the health reform agenda goes to ADAPT, a grassroots group of activists with disabilities that since 1990 has sought to redirect 25% of Medicaid dollars toward the creation of a national attendant services policy. " [quote] from the National Coalition of Citizens for Nursing Home Reform newsletter, July\August 1994 issue. Photo by Tom Olin: A huge crowd, led by people in wheelchairs with posters across their legs, crosses a bridge. With shorter people in the front and taller walking people behind it looks almost like a giant wave crashing toward you, [Headline] ADAPT’S CAPITOL ACTION by Jim Parker "Be an agent of change. an agent of empowerment, never forget that you are carrying on your shoulders now not only your cause, but ours as well" President Clinton told ADAPT and other disability activists invited to the White House. Fifty members of ADAPT were joined by representatives from the National Council of Independent Living, NCIL, the Consortium on Citizens with Disabilities, CCD, and other Beltway disability establishment groups to meet with the President and press for inclusion of long term care in the Health Security Act. In his address to the group Clinton added "we cannot run away from this, because we cannot afford to either have everybody forced into a nursing home or living in abject neglect... And we need to provide the opportunity for every American to live up to his or her capacity in the least restrictive environment that person might choose" [subheading] A BRIDGE TO FREEDOM ADAPT, along with NCIL, CCD, and many other groups joined in a call-to-action that mobilized over 2,500 disability right supporters from 35 states and two nations on the "Bridge to Freedom" march across Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. ADAPT led the historic march to rally for community-based attendant services; a real change from the nursing horne\institution based services currently available. ADAPT national organizers Mike Auberger and Stephanie Thomas along with Senator Tom Harkin, President’s Committee Chair Tony Coelho, Justin Dart, and many other disability rights leaders all strongly voiced the need for a community-based national attendant services program in Health Care Reform. Auberger said "as we were gathered here, Congress, lobbyists for the insurance, nursing home and medical industries are deciding our futures and counting their profits If we passively hand over that future to the same industries, which have controlled and profited from our lives, - until today — I can guarantee that the only future we will have is one that will sentence our brothers, our sisters and ourselves to nursing homes and institutions for generations to come." Photo by Tom Olin: A man (Charles Johnson) in a manual wheelchair and a Piss on Pity t-shirt raises his right arm with the power fist as he leads a chant. In front of him and below you can see a crowd riled up. Behind him is a darkened doorway and a man (Frank Krall) stands and chants, as another man (Erik von Schmetterling) in a wheelchair chants and signs. Caption reads: Charles Johnson of Michigan ADAPT leads a chant to FREE OUR PEOPLE. The March to Freedom also called for universal coverage; affordable. comprehensive benefits; consumer driven psychiatric services; durable medical equipment; as well as prescription drugs. subheading: NO MORE BAND-AIDS! REAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL [Subheading] Tuesday May 3rd ADAPT was the first organization to shut down both the Democratic and Republican national headquarters to demand assistance in arranging a meeting with ranking congressional leadership of the committees responsible for health care reform. ADAPT divided its force of 500 to occupy the two headquarters. ADAPT took over all three floors of the DNC and occupied the main floor of the RNC. ln the end neither party succeeded in setting up a single meeting. ADAPT took over both the headquarter buildings simultaneously to drive homo the point that attendant services MUST be part of any health care reform. that people's lives go beyond party politics. People with disabilities told the leadership at both party buildings that without a strong long-term care component as part of health care reform. society will continue to warehouse innocent citizens young and old, with disabilities in modern day concentration camps - nursing homes and institutions And, that the acquittal of Dr. Kevorkisn, means society is already on the road to sanctioning systematic extermination of people with disabilities -people who are just as much a part of the life cycle as able-bodied people. The Congressional leadership's inability - or refusal - to meet drove ADAPT to our next step. [Subheading] Wednesday May 4 Cold, wet and windy it was, but ADAPT's message was the powerful element as we took to the hallways and offices of the Russell Senate and the Rayburn House Office Building. Although seemingly rebuffed by the Congressional Leadership at party headquarters buildings on Tuesday, the message got through to the members of Congress. The effect of Tuesday's actions became very clear when the ADAPT folks who went to the House Offices were greeted with an invite to meet with Representative Dingell (D- IL) Chair of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee. 250 of the troops packed into a hearing room for the meeting. After some smaller meetings, the ADAPT "House crowd" moved on to the office of [then] Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R - GA). Lining the halls and packing the office, ADAPT calmly said we would wait when his staffers told us he was not available all day. Shortly thereafter Gingrich miraculously found the time to meet with us. And it was well worth the wait. Gingrich endorsed ADAPT's position on attendant services, promised to work to include such a position in any health care reform and introduce a stand-alone bill for a national attendant services program. Currently, some 1.7 million men, women and children are incarcerated in nursing homes and MUST be liberated! ADAPT‘s demand is simple: re-direct 25% of Medicaid billions currently budgeted for nursing homes to establish s national system of community-based personal assistance services created and controlled by the real experts — people with disabilities. On the Senate side, 250 ADAPTers met with top aides for Senators Kassebaum (R-KS), Kennedy (D-MA), and Moynihan (D- NY) and were assured follow-up meetings back at home. While the walk home was cold and wet, a fire had been lit and a message sent that people with disabilities are not going to sit idle until we have a national attendant services program. [IMAGE] [Caption] Rick James and his mom, Iris, arrested together in Vegas protesting AHCA. Photo: Tom Olin - ADAPT (867)
Nation The Boston Globe Tuesday, May 3, 1994 Photo by AP: A line of people in wheelchairs and some walking people, some holding signs some not, snakes in front of a white monument with pillars and many steps. Tourists are milling in the background. Caption reads: Advocates for disabled people, in Washington to demonstrate and lobby on health reform, gather at the Washington Memorial yesterday. President Clinton told activists, “The health care system is failing Americans with disabilities, but in so doing, it is failing us all.” [Image caption] Advocates for disabled people, in Washington to demonstrate and lobby on health reform, gather at the Washington Memorial yesterday. President Clinton told activists, "The health care system us failing Americans with disabilities, but in so doing, it is failing us all." AP PHOTO - ADAPT (868)
Photo by Tom Olin: In an office a large group of ADAPT protesters meet with Newt Gingrich. Gingrich is the only person from his office visible. On the back wall over a couch a mirror hangs and you can see there are more ADAPTers than are visible in the room. To Gingrich's left is Mike Ervin, to his left is Eleanor Smith, someone wearing a poncho is in front of her and beside that person , facing Gingrich is Bob Kafka in a fishing hat. To his right is a woman from Georgia. To her right, at the far end of the group are Mark Johnson in his white jacket, and Diane Coleman in front of a doorway. - ADAPT (869)
LOS ANGELES TIMES Title: INSURE: Home Care May Be in Package Continued from A1 (unavailable at this time) The emerging basic benefits package, which is also expected to cover mental health services and electlve abortions. is at the core of the overall health care reform agenda that the President is expected to unveil in mid-June. That the President has tentatively decided to include long-term care in the basic benefits package ls not a surprise. although it marks a dramatic new turn in federal health policy. Administration officials. most notably Mrs. Clinton, have strongly argued that long-term custodial care at home is much cheaper than that provided in a health care institution or a nursing home. The long-term care program is expected to be vigorously supported by such powerful groups as the American Assn. of Retired Persons—but just as strongly opposed by the insurance industry. which would like to see private insurers continue selling such policies. Whether the long-term care program will gain widespread middle-class support remains to be seen. On the one hand. the cost of the President's health care reform could roach $90 billion or more a year. and that could sap popular support for his agenda, including the long-term care coverage. Yet key Administration officials view long-term care as a family issue that cuts across generations and they are known to believe that such coverage would gain the support of members of the middle class because it affords them a new measure of peace of mind. "Protection from the high cost of long-term care increases the public's willingness to support and pay for health care reform," said Judith N. Brown, who chairs AARP's board of directors. An estimated 7 million disabled Americans need help annually with basic daily tasks, and that number may double by the year 2030, according to Sen. William S. Cohen of Maine. the ranking Republican member on the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Today, nearly half of all long-term care costs are paid for out-of- pocket by those in need or their families. The high costs of such labor-intensive care often wipes out the life savings of those without long-term care coverage, forcing them into Medicaid programs to make them eligible for government-subsidized nursing home care. The Administration's long-term goal is to provide coverage for institutional care as well. One top insurance industry official called It "a fundamental mistake" to include long-term care for all disabled Americans regardless of age or wealth. "Those who can afford to cure for themselves should attempt to take care of themselves." he said, asking to rennin anonymous. According lo one set of options prepared for the President by his task force working group on long-term care, purchase of such coverage could be voluntary. During a recent closed meeting with members of Congress. Mrs. Clinton cited as one model for the White House a program in Wisconsin that began in the mid-1980s called Community Options Program. It now serves 11,300 disabled persons. And by keeping them out of more expensive nursing homes or other institutions, the $71.6-million program is saving an average of more than $100 million annually, officials said. COI has a two-year waiting list of 3,700 persons. The program uses personal case-managers in each county and is often tailored to each individual. A similar program in Arkansas, which also has served as a paradigm for the Administration, has 10,000 beneficiaries, many of whom are costing the state $300 a month instead of $1,200 a month for intermediate care in a nursing home, officials said. - ADAPT (87)
Rocky Mountain News PHOTO by News' Jose R Lopez: A driver sits at the wheel of a city bus. He is looking over his right shoulder and beside him you can see the farebox. Caption reads: Herbert Fletcher says Kimball is reaping a harvest for himself. [Headline] Kimball hike fuels discord in RTD ranks By Norman Draper, News Staff. A 10 percent salary increase of Regional Transportation District Executive Director L.A. Kimball has added salt to the festering strike wounds of RTD employees. "It's pretty bad timing," said four-year driver Alan Hill, who was among the random sample of RTD drivers and mechanics interviewed Friday. "He (Kimball) kept talking about us making too much money, so he must really be making too much money. Kimball orchestrated a public relations campaign during the recent RTD strike, stressing that union workers were overpaid. RTD's board of directors announced Thursday that Kimball's salary would be raised from the current $65,000 to $71,500 a year. The raise is retroactive to Sept. 14. Kimball also was given an extra $7,200 to buy a house in the Denver area. "It's disgusting" said a driver who declined to be named. "In these days of austerity I don't think anybody should get a 10 percent raise." RTD board Chairman Lowell Hutson said Kimball was awarded the raise because of his efficient running of the district, his successful negotiation of a union contract and improvement in worker morale. "He deserved it said Sondra Lewis who has been driving buses for five years. "He did a good job giving the royal shaft to the drivers." One driver call Hutson's remark about morale "Baloney." Other drivers agreed: "I've been driving buses for 36 years and I've never seen it (morale) so low, " said veteran driver Bob Sebern. "You can't really hold somebody else's wages down and reap the harvest for yourself" said nine-year veteran driver Herbert Fletcher. In the RTD garage at 350 S Santa Fe Drive, someone had taped about 30 photocopies of a newspaper article detailing the pay hike to lockers throughout the maintenance area. Above the article were the words, "Plucking the bucks?" "I'm trying to buy a house now," said a mechanic who wouldn't give his name. But I didn't see the board loaning me money for it. Most people are sick to their stomach about the way the situation was handled. RTD bus drivers, mechanics and clerical workers were on strike July 12 when negotiations with RTD for a new contract stalled. They returned to work Aug.9 after a contract was approved by the 1,375 member Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001. The contract awards RTD's union employees an average 4.5 percent yearly increase over three years. RTD's 1983 budget includes average 6 percent merit increases for the management staff. - ADAPT (870)
The New Yolk Times NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MAY 3, 1994 [Image] Photo by David Scull of theThe New York Times: Picture from a distance of a line of people in wheelchairs and people walking across a plaza in front of the Lincoln Memorial.The picture is from below, two steps are in the foreground and the Memorial stands in the distance against the sky. [Image caption] Disabled demonstrators marched past the Lincoln Memorial in Washington yesterday to urge a health care plan that provides universal coverage. David Scull/ The New York Times By ROBIN TONER Special to The New York Times WASHINGTON, May 2 — Supporters of a Canadian-style system of government-financed health insurance announced a new advertising campaign today, hoping to build on their success in a recent grass-roots campaign on behalf of the idea in California. The new campaign pits the comedy team of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara against the Health Insurance Association of America's "Harry and Louise," two aging yuppies fretting about the future of health care in a series of television advertisements. Appropriating the tag line of the insurance industry's spots, Ms. Meara declares in one commercial: "Harry and Louise, there is a better way." The advertising campaign is small compared with the industry's: just $1 million, only a fourth of which has been raised, as against the more than $10 million spent by the insurance association. But the advocates of a Canadian-style system, in which the government pays nearly all medical bills, have already demonstrated substantial support at the grass roots. [Subheading] Million Sign California Petition Last week a coalition of consumer, labor and doctors' groups in California submitted more than one million signatures to put a measure on the ballot this fall that would create a government-financed health care system paid for by taxes. Officials must still verify the signatures before the measure goes on the state ballot, but organizers said the number was well above the threshold required. Around the country, advocates of a Canadian-style system hope the California experience helps them in their struggle to demonstrate the political viability of their plan. They are convinced that their principal problem is not the substantive merits of a national health insurance system, but the perception in the White House and on Capitol Hill, fed by the industry groups, that it is simply too radical for the American people. The House is considered the strong-est baSe of single-payer support, but even there the Canadian-style bill has fewer than 100 sponsors, well under the 218 necessary for passage. "The giant insurance companies have spent millions in advertising, campaign contributions and lobbying to push sii,gle payer off the table," said Sara Nichols, a staff lawyer for Public Citizen's Congress Watch. "But we're still here." [Subheading] Lobbying With the Disabled The new commercials, which will first be broadcast in Washington, are an effort to put some pressure on Congress as its committees begin moving toward a vote. The campaign's organizers included Public Citizen, Neighbor to Neighbor and Single Payer Across the Nation, or SPAN. In other developments on health care, President Clinton met today with advocates for people with disabilities, arguing that his health care plan would "empower" the disabled by providing an array of new assistance to help them work and live at home. "Does it cost more in the short run?" he asked. "Yes, it costs some extra money. But if you look at the population trends in this country, if you look at the people with disabilities who are surviving and having lives that are meaningful, if you look at the fastest-growing group of Americans being people over 65, and within that group, the fastest-growing being people over 80, this is something we have to face as a people." [Subheading] A grass-roots campaign that says, 'Yes, there is a better way.' "We will either do it now in a rational way, or we will be dragged kicking and screaming into it piece-meal, Band-Aid like, over the next 10 years," the President said. "But make no mistake about it: we cannot run away from this because we can-not afford either to have everybody in the world forced into a nursing home or living in abject neglect." Meanwhile, Hillary Rodham Clinton took her health care pitch to a local Safeway supermarket, which is putting a new message on its grocery bags: "Safeway Supports Affordable Health Care for All Americans." - ADAPT (871)
Graphic with the words: A Bridge to Freedom [the name of this action] - ADAPT (872)
The New York Times New York, Wednesday, May 4, 1994 [Image] A mass of people in wheelchairs and standing blocking the entrance to a building. Protesters are facing every direction. Some are yelling. One man has his arm in the air with the right on fist. [Image caption] Disabled Take Protest to Party Offices Members of a group called the American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today demonstrated yesterday to press Congressional leaders for meetings on such health-care legislation as allowances for attendants used in the home. Protesters blocked the entrance to the National Republican Center, above, and three floors of the Democratic National Committee offices. Photo by David Scrull/The New York Times