The Arc logo

Affordable Care Act Vital to People With IDD

/in /by Kristen Bossi

Vigorous advocacy by The Arc and a coalition of disability rights and other champions was crucial to the enactment of the historic health care reform legislation nine months ago. The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (together known as the Affordable Care Act) contain numerous provisions of importance to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Now, the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is being tested. A narrow ruling yesterday in Virginia on the constitutionality of a provision of the Affordable Care Act is one of many recent rulings on similar cases in the past few months.

Opponents of reform have filed more than 20 different legal challenges since the law passed. The Administration’s motion to dismiss 12 of these cases has already been granted by judges. Moreover, in two cases, federal judges looked at the merits of the opponents’ arguments and determined that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and upheld the law.

Since the health reform law was passed there’s been tremendous progress to strengthen the nation’s health care system. A new patient’s bill of rights has been implemented to end some of the worst insurance company abuses and we are on a path to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities in health insurance.

It’s vital to our constituency that the courts find the Affordable Care Act constitutional, so that people with IDD can have access to the following provisions and more:

  • Prohibiting private health insurance exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
  • Expanding Medicaid to cover individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line (approximately $29,000 per year for a family of four).
  • Ensuring that minimum covered benefits include products and services that enable people with disabilities to maintain and improve function, such as rehabilitation and habilitation services and devices.
  • Improving training of physicians, dentists and allied health professionals on how to treat persons with disabilities.
  • Medicaid Community First Choice Option long term services and supportswith a 6 percent increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (or FMAP).

A member of The Arc who is a parent and a sibling in Minnesota said, “People with disabilities — especially young people — can look to a future free from the discrimination of being denied coverage due to preexisting conditions. This legislation is a relief for families and represents the hope we have that our needs will be met.”

Read more on Health Care Court Ruling on The White House Blog.

The Arc logo

Marty Ford Appointed Acting Staff Director of the Disability Policy Collaboration

/in /by The Arc

The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) are happy to announce that Marty Ford is now Acting Staff Director of the Disability Policy Collaboration (DPC). She will ensure a seamless transition of leadership in the organizations’ shared public policy office as Paul Marchand prepares to retire in January. During the two-month transition, Paul will retain his public policy portfolio.

“We are very pleased that Marty will assume this critical post. She is one of the nation’s leading advocates on issues that impact our constituency and has ensured that our voices are heard,” said Peter V. Berns, CEO of The Arc.

Marty has an extensive history in federal public policy issues affecting people with disabilities. She began her career in 1979 working for The Arc of DC joining the national office in 1984. Since 2003, she has represented both The Arc and UCP on Capitol Hill and in the federal agencies on numerous issues, including long-term services and supports (including Medicaid), the Supplemental Security Income program, and Social Security disability issues.

Marty recently served for three years as Chairperson of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), a coalition of more than 100 national disability organizations. She is currently the Vice-Chair of Advance CLASS, the newly created organization dedicated to the proper implementation of the private, employer-based Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) insurance program created by the health care reform law. She is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also, Marty was recently honored with the 2010 President’s Award at The Arc’s National Convention in Orlando, Florida for the significant impact her work over the past year will have on the success of the intellectual and developmental disability movement and the mission of The Arc.

The Arc logo

Interpretations of Rosa’s Law Confusing: Clarification From the DPC

/in /by The Arc

There has been some confusion among intellectual and developmental disability advocates over varied interpretations of the language in Rosa’s Law and how it will be implemented at local, state, and federal levels. The Disability Policy Collaboration has offered some clarification on key points in the legislation to help chapters of The Arc respond to questions by their constituents.

Rosa's Law Signing image 1

President Barack Obama speaks at the official ceremony of the signing of Rosa’s Law Friday, October 8.

Quick Facts about Rosa’s Law

  • The term “mental retardation” will be replaced with the term “intellectual disability” in federal health, education, and labor statutes. Rosa’s Law applies only to programs under the jurisdiction of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, such as IDEA, vocational rehabilitation, ADA, health care, and a few others.
  • The law does not require any terminology change in state law. However, since many of the affected federal laws relate to state programs, the states will likely begin using the new term for these programs. More importantly, when a program covered by Rosa’s Law, such as IDEA, is reauthorized, any rules to implement the changes will then use “intellectual disability” instead of “mental retardation.”
  • While most states have changed some terminology voluntarily and by statute, the changes vary in scope. For example, the vast majority of states have changed the names of their respective state agencies, using the term “developmental disabilities” in the agency name. But many of the programs overseen by these agencies still use the term “mentally retarded” (for example: Intermediate Care Facilities for Persons with Mental Retardation (ICF/MR)).

A goal of The Arc is to get a similar bill introduced in the 2011-2012 Congress, which will apply to other programs that are just as important to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, namely Medicaid.

To download these quick facts as a PDF, click here.