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Disabilities Act Passes
First Hurdle
by Joel Ulland and John Tschida
A key component of the Minnesotans with Disabilities
Act of 2005 won unanimous approval from the House Health Policy and
Finance Committee Feb. 24, 2004.
The proposal, a comprehensive package of health care policy and funding
improvements for those with physical, developmental and mental health
conditions, was praised by both Republicans and Democrats on the Committee.
The bill (HF980) is
one of several pieces of legislation crafted by the Minnesota Consortium
for Citizens with Disabilities (MN-CCD), a coalition of over 40
provider and advocacy organizations serving the state's disability
community. Nine months in the making, the proposals "are
designed to show how many different parts of government need to be
coordinating programs and services for individuals with disabilities
to live successful, independent lives," said Joel Ulland, public
policy director for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society-MN Chapter,
and MN-CCD co-chair. Other proposals addressing employment, transportation,
and education will be heard later in the legislative session.
Unveiled at a Feb. 14
press conference, disability community leaders were flanked by
a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, including House Speaker
Steve Sviggum and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, as they
explained the need for the Minnesotans with Disabilities Act. Supported
and sponsored by some of the legislature's most conservative and
liberal members, the ambitious set of proposals were developed "using
three guiding principles: access to needed services, empowerment and
choice, and quality of care," Ulland said.
The public support of the legislature's most powerful leaders at a
media event on any issue - one Republican and the other a Democrat
- is rare. But both Johnson and Sviggum spoke of the state's historical
commitment to people with disabilities. While reserving judgment on
specific funding levels that would be required by the proposals, both
leaders acknowledged that protecting the health, safety and independence
of those with disabilities would be a high priority. The chief task
of the 2005 legislature is to formulate a state budget for the next
two years.
The health care component
of the MN-CCD proposal is the most wide-ranging and complex, with
many policy and financial implications. Chief sponsor of HF980,
Rep. Tim Wilkin (R-Eagan) said the health care bill "focuses
on a number of critical areas" and both "spends some money
and makes some needed governmental reform." How much the bill
would cost has not yet been determined by the Minnesota Department
of Finance.
The bill approved Feb. 24 would:
-
create a Disability Services Coordination Commission
to plan for the future of disability services and link legislators
and multiple state agencies to ensure the complex needs of Minnesotans
with disabilities are met;
-
lower monthly parental fees for families
now enrolled in the TEFRA program;
-
repeal the $500 annual dental
cap for individuals now enrolled in Medical Assistance, General
Assistance Medical Care, and MinnesotaCare;
-
call for a study to examine access to dental services
for people with disabilities. This will address geographic access,
physical accessibility issues, and look at the poor reimbursement
rates for dental services that has caused many dentists to stop
providing care to people who have Medical Assistance as their insurance
plan;
-
increase the Medical Assistance income standard
to 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline. This would allow
people with disabilities to keep an extra $200 per month and still
remain eligible for Medical Assistance;
-
increase the personal needs
allowance from $76 to $150 per month for those living in a licensed
setting, such as an adult foster care facility;
-
increase the Medical Assistance reimbursement rates
of home and community based providers of services to
people with disabilities. Most of this money will be passed on
to the direct care workers as a compensation increase:
-
create more choices for individuals who are in
need of case management or nursing home relocation services. Historically,
counties have served in this role, but the proposal would ensure
that private agencies and organizations could also provide
these services;
-
provide a one-time $3000 allowance for people with
disabilities moving from a nursing home to the community. This
would allow for spending on things like security or damage deposits,
travel to and from a potential home or apartment, and essential
household items or utility start-up costs;
-
expand the Minnesota Disability Health Options
(MnDHO) program, which is a voluntary managed care program for
people with physical disabilities. Now available in a handful of
Metro area counties, the proposal would ask the Department of Human
Services to provide access to this program in targeted regional
centers throughout the state.
Many individuals with disabilities attended the hearing and 12 advocates
and individuals directly affected by the issues in the bill testified
in support of the proposal.
"I can't explain to you what it was like to live in a nursing
home," Ron Conaway told committee members. "My quality
of life was horrible." Ron, a double amputee who now lives in
his own home in Anoka, is enrolled in the MnDHO program, and says
the help he got from health coordinators at AXIS Healthcare, "literally
saved my life."
Waunita Clare, a young woman now
living with Multiple Sclerosis, talked about the devastating financial
effects of living with a disability. "We
shouldn't have to sacrifice a lifetime of savings just to get the
health care we need," she said. The bill, as passed, would allow
people with disabilities to access Medical Assistance coverage but
keep more of their income each month and have more money in savings.
HF980 will next be heard in the House Governmental Operations Committee,
where discussion will center on the Disability Services Coordination
Commission. It will then return to the Health Policy and Finance
Committee for a discussion on the costs of the proposal.
The Senate companion to the proposal,
SF984 sponsored by Sen. Beck Lourey (DFL-Kerrick), likely will
be heard in early March. Exactly how much of the bill eventually
becomes law "will depend on
how much money lawmakers are willing to invest in Minnesotans with
disabilities," said John Tschida, vice president of public affairs
and research at Courage Center and MN-CCD co-chair. "But with
House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Senate Majority Dean Johnson as strong
supporters, we're hoping to take a giant step forward this year."
Note: Anyone interested in following the legislative progress of
the Minnesotans with Disabilities Act of 2005 can do so by using
the web site of the Minnesota Legislature at www.leg.state.mn.us,
or contact your state legislators. You can determine who represents
you at the Capitol by calling the House of Representatives Public
Information office at 651-296-2146.
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House Health Policy and Finance Committee meeting
on February 24, 2005
From left to right: John Tschida, Joel Ulland,
and Rep. Tim Wilkin
Ron Conaway
Waunita Clare
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