A major increase in funding for home care and community support services for elderly and disabled Americans hangs in the balance. Please join the broader disability community, in letting lawmakers know how important Home and Community Based Services are. Here is an Action Alert from New York Caring Majority …
===============
As you know, we are all in the middle of the fight for $400 billion in funding for Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS) to be included in the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better package currently being negotiated by Democratic Senators. You may have seen this article today that indicates that the $400 billion for Medicaid HCBS is at grave risk of being cut by as much as a half.
Will you take two minutes to make a call to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer right now?
Call Sen. Chuck Schumer at (212) 486-4430 or (202) 224-6542
Script:
I am calling to share my support of President Biden’s proposed $400 billion for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). Most of us and those we love -- 70% -- will need long-term supports and services. And 75% of us want to live and age at home. We all deserve to have the choice to live and age with dignity in our own homes. We're counting on you to hold the line, Chuck! We need $400 billion for HCBS!
Increased funding for Medicaid HCBS means that states will finally be able to clear the waitlists of millions of people who are waiting to get the care they need. The historic proposed $400 billion for HCBS means that more people can access the care they need, when and where they need it. More people with disabilities and older adults can live and age in their homes and communities with dignity. More family caregivers will have the support they need, and care workers will have benefits and good wages. We can’t wait anymore.
It’s time to turn up the heat and let these Senators know that millions of people across the country support this massive investment in HCBS and we demand they support it too! That's we we all need to call Senator Schumer today.
We’re going to win so that everyone has access to HCBS and can have the choice to live and age in their homes and communities. Like care consumer Engracia says: “Caregiving affected my life because it allowed me to maintain the level of independence that I thought I lost acquiring a disability.”
Let’s do this!
===============
A few more notes:
1. Call your U.S. House members too. If you live in the North Country region of New York, contact Rep. Elise Stefanik at:
Plattsburgh: (518) 561-2324
Washington, DC: (202) 225-4611
2. If you have a disability and either use now or need home care or other community support services, tell them that. Describe how these services help you every day, or how they would make your life better if you could get them.
3. If you are having trouble keeping good home and community based care aides because of the low pay available, tell them that.
4. If you don’t use these services personally, but know or care for someone who does, explain that too!
===============
If you are interested in this or other disability advocacy issues, contact Colleen Downs, Systems Advocate at:
colleen@ncci-online.com
(518) 563-9058 Ext. 110
The Mission of the North Country Center for Independence is to help people with disabilities to live more independent and productive lives, and promote better policies and community understanding of disability issues. NCCI serves people with disabilities, families, and the community on issues related to physical and mental disabilities. NCCI is led and staffed mostly by people with disabilities. It is one of the 41 Independent Living Centers in New York State. There are also hundreds of similar centers throughout the United States. NCCI serves Clinton and Essex Counties, New York.