August 2011
Health Care
Reforms
The United
States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) awarded $185M to
help states continue to establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges that will
enable individuals and small businesses purchase health insurance. HHS
also proposed new rules to streamline consumers’ ability to use the exchanges
not only to buy insurance, but also to receive premium tax credits, or enroll
in Medicaid. HHS also awarded $28.8M to 67 community health center programs to
establish new health service delivery sites to care for an additional 286,000
patients.
HHS Awards 13 States Millions
to Build Health Exchanges
Last week, the HHS announced its intentions to award 13 states, as well as the
District of Columbia, approximately $185 million in grants to help fund efforts
in developing state exchanges. Three states were previously awarded the
“establishment grants,” which go to actually build exchanges as distinct from
planning them. Forty-nine states previously received planning grants.
“Innovator grants,” have been awarded to seven states to develop information
technology systems all states can draw on in developing exchanges. States may
apply for establishment grants through June 2012, with open enrollment for exchanges
anticipated to launch in the fall of 2013.
Debt Ceiling "Super Committee" Appointed
The House
and Senate Majority and Minority
leaders released their committee picks to work on the Federal Debt ceiling.
This "Super Committee" will be responsible to come up with at least
$1.2 trillion more in spending cuts before the new year. Senate Majority Leader
Reid selected Senator Rob Portman of Ohio as one of the members of the
Committee. Included on the agenda
for this work is a crackdown on Medicare fraud and abuse; raising the Medicare
eligibility age; restructuring Medicare benefits; turning Medicaid into block
grants; and, repealing the CLASS Act.
Response to Intervention in IDEA
The National
Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance recently released a
congressionally mandated study that provides a national picture of state agency
implementation of early intervention programs and Response to Intervention
(REI) for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study
found that REI is used in 61 percent of elementary schools, 45 percent of
middle schools and 29 percent of high schools. Seventy one percent of
school districts use REI in at least one of their affiliated schools.
U.S. Department of
Education Grant Opportunities
Applications are being accepted for
Assistance Projects to Improve Employment Outcomes for Individuals with
Disabilities. The Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Disabilities, Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, has announced Special Demonstration
Programs-National Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Employment Outcomes
for Individuals with Disabilities Notice. The deadline for transmittal of
applications is September 12, 2011. The purpose of this program is to expand
and improve the provision of rehabilitation and other services authorized under
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or to support activities that increase the
provision, extent, availability, scope and quality of rehabilitation services
provided under the Rehabilitation Act.
U.S. Court of Appeals
A divided U.S. Appeals Court in Atlanta ruled that a key provision of last year's
federal health-care overhaul is unconstitutional, siding with a group of 26
states that challenged the law. The Appeals
Court has handed the Obama Administration its biggest defeat to date in the
battle over the health-care overhaul passed last year, ruling the law's mandate
on Americans to carry health insurance was unconstitutional. However, the panel
reversed a lower court ruling and upheld the constitutionality of the remaining
provisions of the law. The 2-1 ruling directly conflicts with another appellate
ruling in June, making it a near certainty that the Supreme Court will eventually step in and provide the final word.
At the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, the majority
agreed with two lower courts that said Congress
overreached when it required most Americans to carry insurance or pay a
penalty.
President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
The HHS, Administration for
Children and Families, President's
Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will hold
meetings on Monday, September 26, 2011, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM EST, and
Tuesday, September 27, 2011, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST. Committee
members will discuss preparation of the PCPID 2011 Report to the President,
including its content and format, and related data collection and analysis
required to complete the writing of the report. The meetings will be open
to the public.
Hill &
Legal Happenings: Policy & Politics
The Senate
and House were in Summer Recess
during the month of August. They
will resume legislative business on September 6th and 7th,
respectively.
New York Cracks Down on Abuse of People with Disabilities
The Governor’s Office announced guidelines for reporting crimes against
the disabled. The agreement covers the 126,000 developmentally disabled people
who live in state and privately run group homes and institutions, or who
receive a variety of other services. The plan has the potential to reshape how
the state approaches enforcement against abuse of the developmentally disabled.
Rhode Island State Budget Cuts Hurting People with Disabilities
Rhode Island and its governor recently
passed a $7.7 billion state budget that includes $24 million in cuts to state
spending for services specifically dedicated to people who are aging and people
with disabilities. Beside the cuts for people with disabilities, the state
budget is also calling for families on RIte Care (the Rhode Island state
subsidized health insurance program) to pay more out-of-pocket costs each month.
Families will also no longer have their co-pays covered by the state. Residents
in assisted-living facilities will also see their Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) payments fall from $538 per month to the bare federal minimum of $332 per
month.
National Perspective is a publication of the
Ohio Association of County Boards of DD, designed to update
Association members on national and federal issues of interest.
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