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主頁 / 相冊 1903
- ADAPT (1381)
- ADAPT (1382)
[logo SEIU] Stronger Together ANDREW L. STERN International President ANNA BURGER International Secretary-Treasurer PATRICIA ANN FORD Executive Vice President ELISEO MEDINA Executive Vice President TOM WOODRUFF Executive Vice President [letters begins] May 14, 2002 To concerned members and leaders of Adapt: For many years, SEIU has worked with Adapt across the country on issues of mutual concern to both organizations. The leaders of Adapt have requested to meet with President Stern to discuss federal legislation which Adapt is interested in promoting. President Stern welcomes the opportunity to meet -with the leaders of Adapt to discuss this legislation and other issues of concern to Adapt. We will meet with Adapt by July 14, 2002, at a mutually agreeable time. We will contact Babs Johnson at 303-277-9324 to set up this appointment. Sincerely, [signed] Orrin Baird [typed] Orrin Baird Associate General Counsel - ADAPT (1383)
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations JOHN J. SWEENEY PRESIDENT Richard L. Trumka Secretary-Treasurer Linda Chavez-Thompson Executive Vice President Vincent R. Sombrotto Frank Hanley Douglas H. Dority Patricia Friend CArroll Haynes Arturo S. Rodriguez Martin J. Maddaloni Boyd D. Young John W. Wilhelm James P. Hoffa Edwin D. Hill Clyde Rivers Leo W. Gerard Gerald W. McEntee Michael Sacco Stephen P. Yokich Michael Goodwin James La Sala Robert A. Scardelletti John M. Bowers Dennis Rivera Elizabeth Bunn Capt. Duane Woerth Joseph J. Hunt Cecil Roberts Melissa Gilbert Morton Bahr Frank Hurt Clayola Brown Joe L. Greene William Lucy Andrew L. Stern Sandra Feldman Bobby L. Harnage Sr. Michael E. Monroe Terence O'Sullivan Cheryl Johnson Edward C. Sullivan Edward J. McElroy Jr. Gene Upshaw Gloria T. Johnson M.A. "Mac" Fleming Sonny Hall Leon Lynch Edward L. Fire R. Thomas Buffenbarger Stuart Appelbaum Michael J. Sullivan Harold Schaitberger Burce Raynor William Burrus 815 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 637-5000 http://www.afIcio.org Ms. Stephanie Thomas National Organizer ADAPT of Texas 1339 Lamar Square Drive Suite 101 Austin, TX 78704 Dear Ms. Thomas: May 14, 2002 The AFL-CIO supports the effort to move care for people with disabilities into the communities where they live and work, allowing them to retain their independence, while getting care and services in the most appropriate setting. We believe that can be done in a way.that ensures a living wage and other important employment protections for the workers who assist the disabled. As you may know, we have a long history of supporting people with disabilities, including passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and currently, election reform. On these issues and others, we work closely with Disability Rights, Education and Defense Fund and American Association of People with Disabilities. On other issues, including employment, we have worked closely with the former President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. We have many interests of mutual concern with the disability community, including the Medicaid program. The AFL-CIO and our affiliate unions are currently working to increase federal funds for the Medicaid program and fight state efforts to use Medicaid waivers to reduce benefits and restrict eligibility for Medicaid. These issues affect all Medicaid beneficiaries, including people with disabilities. As a democratic organization, the AFL-CIO develops policy in consultation with our affiliate unions. Until we have had an opportunity to review S. 1298 and H.R. 3612 with our affiliates, we cannot take a position on the legislation. Please be assured that we will work with the bill sponsors, Senator Harkin and Representative Davis, and the disability community to pass a bill that recognizes the needs and dignity of both people with disabilities and the workers who care for them. As part of that process, we will schedule a meeting with President John Sweeney in the next 60 days. Sincerely, [signed] William Samuel [typed] William Samuel, Director Department of Legislation - ADAPT (1384)
- ADAPT (1385)
5-14-02 The Columbus Dispatch [headline] Seeking help for disabled people [image] [image caption] Members of ADAPT, a national organization of disabled activists, block an intersection near the White House. The group lobbied yesterday for Medicaid funding to help disabled people live in their own homes. - ADAPT (1386)
Dear Colleague: Please join join us as a co-sponsor of H.R. 3612, the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA) - long-awaited legislation that helps bring our Medicaid system into accord with the Supreme Court's 1999 Olmstead decision. The Olmstead ruling called upon States to end unnecessary institutionalization for people who can remain at home with community support services. At present, Medicaid funding is biased against the financing of individual care in community and home-based settings. As a result our aging parents and hundreds of thousands of younger adults with disabilities who would prefer to receive care in more integrated settings are relegated to living in institutions. The only Medicaid long term care service currently guaranteed by Federal law in every State is nursing home care. Only 27 States have adopted the benefit option of providing personal care services under the Medicaid program. Although every State has chosen to provide certain services under home- and community-based waivers, they are unevenly distributed, have long waiting lists and reach just a small percentage of eligible individuals. We can do better. The MiCASSA bill has been put together based on what we have learned from pilot programs and best practices throughout the States. Instead of creating a new entitlement, MiCASSA makes the existing Medicaid entitlement more flexible. It amends Title 19 of the Social Security Act and creates an alternative service called Community Attendant Services and Supports. This allows individuals eligible for Nursing Facility Services or Intermediate Care Facility Services for the Mentally Retarded, regardless of age or disability, the choice to use these dollars for "Community Attendant Services and Supports." These attendant services and supports range from assisting with activities of daily living, such as eating, toileting, grooming, dressing, bathing and transferring, as well as other related activities. Although such community-based services have been shown to be less costly than institutional services, the bill also allows states to limit the total amount spent on an individual's long-term care in a year to what the state would have spent on institutional services. Whether a child is born with a disability, an adult has a traumatic injury or a person becomes disabled through the aging process, we can and must do better. If you have any questions, please contact Robert Hartt in Congressma n Davis' office (ext. 6-7817) or Kelly Childress in Congressman Shirnkus' office (ext. 5-5271.) Sincerely, Danny K. Davis Member of Congress Congress John M. Shimkus Member of 9/6/02 - ADAPT (1407)
[Headline] ADAPT to Confront Health Care Lobby in New Orleans [Subheading] "Our Homes Not Nursing Homes" New Orleans, LA---What do you do if you're the "little guy", a disabled or older American, getting trampled by corporate greed and possible fiscal mismanagement? If your name is ADAPT, you fight back! ADAPT, the national grassroots, disability rights group, will be in New Orleans, October 5-10, to confront the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the nursing home lobby, on its continued opposition to "Community First" for Americans with disabilities, young and old. "Community First" is the rallying cry of 50 million Americans, old and young, who don't want to be forced into nursing homes and other institutions when they could receive the same long term care services and supports in their own homes, in their own communities. Currently, the nursing home industry has a monopoly on long term care services. Federal Medicaid policy mandates that states provide long term care services in nursing homes and state institutions, but doesn't mandate that states also provide community based long term care services. As a result of this "institutional bias", older and disabled Americans are forced into institutional settings, and are thus deprived of the choice to remain in their own homes, receiving needed services there, services which are usually much less expensive in the community. According to information from the HHS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), between 1989 and 2001 payments to nursing homes increased by 625%, or $35.9 billion dollars, while the number of people in nursing homes increased only incrementally. During the same period CMS reports that community based services, which operate at roughly a quarter of the nursing home budget, have gone up by only $18.9 billion dollars while serving approximately 500,000 more people. AHCA is lobbying strenuously for Congress to once again vote for a payment increase to the nation's nursing homes before the end of the year. They hope to convince Congress with a massive marketing campaign carrying the message that more dollars mean improved quality. Yet, a recently released report by the Government Accounting Office (GAO-02-431R) states that there is no correlation between nursing home funding and improved quality of care. This has advocates wondering just what has happened to all the public dollars that have gone to nursing homes for the past 13 years, since there have been no significant improvements in care, and relatively small increases in the number of people served. "Once again, AHCA is asking Congress to throw money at a problem that begs a far different solution. Did the nursing home industry make a bunch of bad investments with our tax dollars?" asks Stephanie Thomas, a National Organizer for ADAPT. "Did owners pocket too much as profit? Are they now asking Congress for a corporate bailout? We'd sure like to know why Congress would even think about rewarding possible nursing home industry mismanagement by throwing good money after bad. This is corporate welfare at work." While in New Orleans, in addition to holding AHCA accountable for its opposition to "Community First", ADAPT will be promoting MiCASSA, bi-partisan legislation now in Congress (S.1298 and HR 3612), which reforms federal Medicaid policy to allow all Americans in need of long term care services to choose to receive those services in their own homes. ADAPT will challenge AHCA to support MiCASSA and give people with disabilities, older Americans and families a real choice in long term care services and supports. ### - ADAPT (1408)
This page continues the article from Image 1409. Full text is available on 1409 for easier reading. - ADAPT (1409)
[Headline] ADAPT'S Ten Worst States [Subheading] Summary Background Louisiana: outline of the state Mississippi: outline of the state Washington DC: outline of the state Illinois: outline of the state Indiana: outline of the state Tennessee: outline of the state Nevada: outline of the state 90.3% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. Spends less than 1/2 the national average per capita on community services. 5th highest spending per capita on nursing home services. 3rd highest spending per capita for ICF-MR facilities for people with developmental disabilities. 90.7% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. 47th in community fiscal effort for persons with developmental disabilities. 23rd in per capita spending on nursing homes. 94 % of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions 5th lowest spending per capita on community services. 4th highest spending per capita on nursing homes. The highest per capita spending on ICF-MR facilities. 85.6% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. 6th lowest spending per capita on community spending. 42nd in community fiscal effort for persons with developmental disabilities. 85.3 % of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. 7th lowest spending per capita on community services. 34th in community fiscal effort for person with developmental disabilities. 84.6% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. 8th lowest spending per capita on community services. 39th in community fiscal effort for persons with developmental disabilities. 74.7% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. 2nd lowest spending per capita on community services. Lowest in the nation community fiscal effort for persons with developmental disabilities. New Jersey: outline of the state Ohio: outline of the state Georgia: outline of the state 81.9% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions 6th highest spending per capita on nursing homes. 41st in community fiscal effort for persons with developmental disabilities. 85.1 % of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions. 6th highest spending per capita on ICF-MR facilities. 12th highest spending per capita on nursing homes. 79.4% of long term care spending goes for nursing homes and other institutions 4th lowest spending per capita on community services. 50th in community effort for persons with developmental disabilities. [boxed text] Dear Advocates for Home and Community Services: These are the "Ten Worst States." Use this information to reform the long term service and support system. Hold a press conference to highlight the poor job these states are doing, and issue a challenge to state officials to improve the community service system. COMMUNITY FIRST! Though being in the worst category is nothing to be proud of, it gives your state the opportunity to commit to using 2002/2003 as a year to improve community services. If you have any question please contact us at 512/442-0252. For an Institution Free America, The ADAPT Collective - ADAPT (1410)
[Headline] Louisiana FY 2001 [Subheading] The Worst in the Country [Subheading] Background Information. Louisiana spends 90.3% of Medicaid Long Term Care (LTC) dollars on nursing homes and ICF-MR facilities; This funding bias exists: • 30 years after the passage of Section 504 • 12 years after the passage of the ADA • 2 years after the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision [Subheading] The Numbers: • Nursing Homes: 69% on facilities for people with disabilities, old and young • ICF-MR: 21.3% on facilities for people with developmental disabilities • Community spending: 9.7% (Medicaid waivers, Home Health) Total Louisiana Medicaid LTC spending: $1.68 billion Louisiana Medicaid spending on nursing homes: $1.16 billion Louisiana Medicaid spending on ICF-MR: $ 355.27 million Louisiana Medicaid total spending on Community: $ 163.43 million State's ratio of nursing home beds per capita exceeds national average by more than 50%. This means Louisiana has more beds than it needs (20 % are empty). States ratio of ICF-MR beds is three times the national average. Louisiana Medicaid per capita spending nursing homes: $259.43 (over 70% higher than national average) National Medicaid per capita spending nursing homes: $150.04 Louisiana Medicaid per capita spending on ICF-MR: 79.57 (over 115% higher than national average) National Medicaid per capita spending on ICF-MR: $36.35 Louisiana Medicaid per capita spending on Community: $36.60 (Less than 1/2 the national average) National Medicaid per capita spending on Community: $77.99 Access to Long Term Care is uncoordinated across programs. Louisiana's system is fragmented and difficult for people to access. Attendant wages average $5.56 - only 7% have health benefits. - ADAPT (1411)
Incitement Incitement Incitement Volume 18 No. 3 A Publication of ADAPT Fall 2002 [Headline] Ten Worst States Survey 2002/2003 [Subheading] Louisiana The Worst in the Nation Periodically ADAPT ranks how the states are doing in providing options for people with disabilities and older Americans to live and receive sup-port services in the community. Looking at the states provision of long term services and supports, our analysis for this ranking weighed various long term care factors based both on published data and on the evaluation of people with disabilities (old and young). ADAPT used three sources of information to rank the states: * The MEDSTAT Group Inc data on Medicaid long term care expenditure in Federal Fiscal Year 2001; (May,2002) * The State of the States in Develop-mental Disabilities: 2002 Study Summary; (June 2002) * Advocate's assessment of the states services.(September 2002) The rankings at right are ADAPT's analysis of the above information: [boxed text] TEN WORST RANKING • 1. Louisiana (worst nationally) • 2. Mississippi • 3. Washington, DC • 4. Illinois • 5. Indiana • 6. Tennessee • 7. Nevada • 8. New Jersey • 9. Ohio • 10. Georgia The next ten worst states: Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kentucky, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Arkansas and Missouri. - ADAPT (1406)
[Headline] US News Blows Apart Nursing Home Industry's Sympathy Pitches, While GAO Report Questions Wether More Money Leads to Better Care. US News and World Report magazine is not a bastion of liberal propaganda, and yet, through good research and reporting, they have found the nursing home industry might be less than trust worthy. Their 9/30/02 issue Health & Medicine section, contains an amazing article by Christopher H. Schmitt entitled The New Math of Old Age: Why the nursing home industry's cries of poverty don't add up. This extensively researched and well written article, explains why many of the industry's claims are unreal. To quote a short summary of the findings from the article itself: US News conducted a home-by-home examination of the industry's finances. The magazine analyzed hundreds of thousands of pages of nursing home financial statements and shared the results with current and former regulators, patient advocates, congressional staffers, and others knowledgeable about the industry. The findings: ❑ The nursing home industry is profitable and growing, with operators spinning a far brighter tale for Wall Street than for Capitol Hill. Many nursing homes are earning exceptionally healthy profit margins, often 20 and 30 percent. ❑ There is no strong evidence, as the industry claims, that inadequate federal payments for care of the elderly poor are dragging down profits Likewise, there is no evidence that patients are markedly sicker today. ❑ Even as they report tough financial times in their official government filings, many nursing home operators steer big chunks of their revenues to themselves or related businesses before they calculate the bottom line. ❑ The government funding cuts the nursing home industry has described as catastrophic actually amount to about 1 percent of current revenue. More details and fascinating explanations of the tricks of the trade reveal [text cuts off] [boxed text] Incitement Incitement Incitement ADAPT/ Incitement 1339 Lamar SQ DR #101 Austin TX 78704 (512) 442-0252 V/ TTY (512) 442-0522 FAX Incitement is produced from the offices of Topeka Independent Living Resource Center (TILRC) Articles, letters, compositions, displays and photos are encouraged. Please contact Tessa Goupil for deadlines for submission of materials. The Editor reserves the right to edit or omit any material that is submitted. For more information, contact Tessa Goupil at TILRC or Stephanie Thomas at ADAPT. Topeka Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. 501 SW Jackson St., Suite 100 Topeka, KS 66603-3300 (785) 2334572 v/TTY (785) 233-1815 TTY (785) 233-1561 FAX [end boxed text] - ADAPT (1417)
- ADAPT (1418)
- ADAPT (1419)
This page continues the article from Image 1421. Full text is available on 1421 for easier reading.