FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 18, 2009
Bruce Darling, CEO of CDR (585) 546-7510
Melanie Shaw, Executive Director for NYAIL (518) 465-4650
Constance Laymon, President of CDPAANYS (518) 464-0810

Cut the Political BS, Not the Medicaid Safety Net

(Rochester, NY) – Both the Senate and Assembly Minority Conferences have put forth proposals to eliminate essential Medicaid services that keep people with disabilities in their homes and in their communities at a far less cost to the state than the institutional services they would otherwise require. Senator Skelos has made it clear that the Senate minority will not vote for any Deficit Reduction Plan that does not include such cuts. This is clearly a political game which leaves the lives of people with disabilities hanging in the balance.

These services are not optional.

“Seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Personal Care Level I services aren’t doing so because it’s an option—they do so because they need these essential services to live their lives. It is dangerous to even think that simply because the service isn’t federally mandated that it is optional or irrelevant!”

said Constance Laymon, President of Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of NYS.

To put it in real-world terms, eliminating durable medical equipment will mean that individuals who use a motorized wheelchair will be unable to get out of their home and go to work. Personal care services that provide assistance for people to conduct their daily lives, such as bathing and toileting, keep people out of nursing facilities.

Disability rights advocates are concerned that putting these cuts on the table is irresponsible, particularly because the disability community prepared a cost savings plan that promoted the independence of people with disabilities.

“Our community put forth substantive and rational costsavings proposals. All the Governor and Minority members of the legislature have offered are cuts to vital Medicaid services that enable people with disabilities to live independently at home,”

said Bruce Darling, CEO of the Center for Disability Rights.

The advocates’ proposal produces significant cost savings without cutting rates or services for people and promotes independence and integration for people with disabilities. To view the proposal, click here.

Melanie Shaw, Executive Director of the New York Association on Independent Living said,

“State leaders should not balance the budget by sacrificing the freedom of people with disabilities and seniors and increasing state costs by forcing people into institutions that cost the state far more.”

These short-sighted cuts to services and coverage for certain populations will cause an immediate skyrocketing need for more intensive and expensive Medicaid hospital and nursing facility services.

Another concern is that many of these programs were included in the Medicaid program to draw down the federal matching funds. Particularly during this dire economic climate, the state must be cautious of proposals that result in the loss of vital federal dollars.

We have joined an unprecedented coalition of statewide advocates and consumers who are banning together to say that “optional services are not optional!”

The Center for Disability Rights, Inc. (CDR) is headquartered in Rochester, NY, with satellite offices in Geneva, NY and Corning, NY, and a policy office in Albany, NY. CDR is a statewide organization providing services and advocacy devoted to the integration, independence and civil rights of all people with all disabilities.

The New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL) is a collaborative organization representing 34 Independent Living Centers across the State. NYAIL executive committee members include Bruce Darling, Center for Disability Rights, Rochester; Maria Dibble, Southern Tier Independence Center, Binghamton; Sue Hoger, Resource Center for Accessible Living, Kingston; Mel Tanzman, Westchester Disabled on the Move, Yonkers; Chris Zachmeyer, Catskill Center for Independence, Oneonta.

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Associations of New York State (CDPAANYS) is the only statewide association for Consumer Directed Personal Assistance and is devoted to the expansion and advancement of self-direction as its sole focus. CDPAANYS represent nearly 5000 consumers in 42 counties across New York State.

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