FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2017

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Disability Community Urges Congress to Preserve Disability-Specific Aspects of the Affordable Care Act to Protect the Rights of the Disabled 

January 10, 2017 – Congress is acting swiftly to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including several critically important initiatives for the Disability Community; two of which underpin one of the fundamental rights that Americans are guaranteed under the Declaration of Independence and Constitution: Liberty. 

The Disability Community is calling on Congress to preserve disability-specific aspects of ACA that are completely unrelated to the primary provision of the law. These include: the prohibition of discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions by insurance companies; an extension of Money Follows the Person - an initiative diverting thousands of disabled people from institutional placement; the Community First Choice Option - an incentivize for states to promote community-based options rather than nursing facilities and institutions; and the authorization of accessibility standards for Diagnostic Medical Equipment so people with disabilities can get access to preventative healthcare screenings and appropriate diagnostic testing.

While there has been support from President-elect Trump and other conservatives for maintaining the protections for people with pre-existing conditions in healthcare, disability-specific protections and programs are at risk in a blanket repeal of ACA. The Disability Community urges Congress and the President-Elect to carefully review the proposals to repeal ACA, in order to ensure that these protections and programs are not inadvertently undercut when the law is changed.

The Disability Community includes people of all political persuasions. These issues matter to our community because they support our freedom, allow us to be contributing members of society, spend time with our families, and live our lives! These protections and programs secure the Constitutional right to Liberty for People with Disabilities, and we urge all members of Congress and the new Administration to preserve and advance our community’s right to Liberty as they enact legislation to reform healthcare.

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