State Government Shifts into Neutral
Many Agencies Serving People
with Disabilities Closed
by John Tschida
With no
state budget deal in place, thousands of state employees remain
idle as Minnesota continues to endure a partial government shutdown.
While critical state-paid
services that affect Minnesotans with disabilities—including those provided by Metro Mobility, home
health agencies, and hospitals—continue uninterrupted, many
government programs and services are on hold.
While buses in the metro
area will continue to run for a month without a budget deal, accessible
transit in rural Minnesota for the elderly and those with disabilities
is now unavailable. (Medical transportation rides are still available.)
If you’d like to apply for Medical
Assistance or Minnesota-Care, you’ll have to wait. No new applications
are being processed. What about State Services for the Blind? Closed.
Want to file a complaint with the Department of Commerce because
you’re unhappy with your health plan? You can’t. Questions
about how a job offer would affect your housing subsidy? Don’t
call the Work Incentives Connection. They’re closed, too.
The Minnesota State Council on Disability, which fields up to 50
calls a day from all across Minnesota, is also no longer open.
“We’re a first call for help for many, many people,
especially for those in rural Minnesota,” said Joan Willshire,
the council’s executive director. “There are other resources
out there, but a lot of what we do is to link people to those resources.”
You can still buy a
fishing license at your local sporting goods shop, but you can’t use it at one of the state’s 70 state
parks. They’re closed for business. Similarly, people with
existing vocational rehabilitation plans and authorized services
will continue to be served by community providers. But if you had
a July appointment scheduled with a state vocational rehabilitation
counselor, forget it. Rehabilitation Services offices within the
Department of Employment and Economic Development has closed up shop.
Legislators completed some of their budget work, including funding
for state colleges and universities, and public safety concerns.
But human services and elementary education deals have remained elusive.
So a state judge, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Ed Stringer,
was forced to decide which governmental services had to continue
and which could be delayed until lawmakers resolved their differences.
“It is confusing,” said Jeff Bangsberg, governmental
affairs director for the Minnesota Home Care Association. “I
hope this can be resolved quickly so that we can return to business
as usual.”
The Department of Human
Services, in a June 21, 2005 letter to Medical Assistance recipients,
wrote that “you may not be able to get
some health care services” because, without a budget, the state “will
not be able to pay for all health care services.”
State checks will still
be cut to pharmacies, group homes, PCAs, home care agencies and
nursing homes, so there’s no effect
on individuals with disabilities who rely on these services. Any
cash grants to individuals or food assistance from the state will
also continue.
“But people need to check with their local clinic or dentist
to see if they’ll honor an existing appointment or not,” said
Joel Ulland, public policy director for the National MS Society-Minnesota
Chapter. “The state has asked those health professionals to
keep providing services, even though they won’t get paid for
them until the shutdown is over. The truth is, they can say ‘no’ if
they want to.”
Further information on the
shutdown can be found at www.doer.state.mn.us.
