March 19, 2007
The Honorable
John Spratt
Chairman
House Budget
Committee
207 Cannon
House Office Building
Dear Chairman
Spratt:
The
undersigned members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) are
writing to strongly support the inclusion – in the FY 2008 Budget Resolution --
of a “sense of Congress” resolution opposing the issuance of a regulation
cutting the Medicaid rehabilitative services option by $2.3 billion over the
next five years. CCD is the largest coalition of national organizations
representing people with disabilities, their families, caregivers and
advocates.
Over 40
states use the rehabilitative services option to finance an array of critical
community-based services for persons with disabilities, including individuals
with developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and serious mental
illnesses. These services are essential
to reducing physical and mental disabilities as well as to maintain the health
and daily functioning of people with disabilities in the community.
Despite a
lengthy public record indicating the Administration’s support for
community-based services and choices for persons with disabilities rather than
institution-based care, (i.e., The New Freedom Initiative and Executive Order
13217 related to community-based alternatives for individuals with
disabilities), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had
repeatedly sought to narrow the definition of rehabilitative services under
Medicaid. Paradoxically, this policy will have the effect of increasing the use
of institutional facilities, emergency rooms, inpatient hospitals and nursing
homes and enhancing the already strong institutional bias of the program.
The overall
CMS approach to this matter adds another worrisome component. After the Congress rejected Administration
proposals to narrow the rehabilitative services option during deliberations
surrounding the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), CCD was troubled to learn that the
agency is now taking the unprecedented action of seeking the exact same
programmatic changes through regulations alone.
Mr. Chairman,
CCD believes that the proposed concurrent resolution is the first step toward
Congress ensuring access to these important Medicaid services. If the rehabilitative
services option needs to be re-examined, the committees of jurisdiction should
take appropriate action after consultation with the nation’s governors, state
legislators and county governments.
Thank you for
your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
ACCESS/DSPA
Adapted
Physical Activity Council
American
Association of People with Disabilities
American Association
on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
American
Counseling Association
American
Foundation for the Blind
American
Network of Community Options and Resources
American
Occupational Therapy Association
American
Physical Therapy Association
American
Therapeutic Recreation Association
Association
of University Centers on Disabilities
Center for
Disability Issues & the Health Professions
Easter Seals
Epilepsy
Foundation
Lutheran
Services in
Mental Health
National
National
Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics
National
Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National
Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
National
Association of Disability Representatives
National
Association of Social Workers
National
Association of State Head Injury Administrators
National
Consortium of Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities
National
Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National
Disability Rights Network
National Down
Syndrome Congress
National
Multiple Sclerosis Society
National
Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives
National
Rehabilitation Association
Paralyzed
Veterans of
Research
Institute for Independent Living
The Arc of
the
United
Cerebral Palsy
United Spinal
Association
World
Institute on Disability