The right of people with disabilities to live in the community is under attack from all sides. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are approving state initiatives that reinforce the institutional bias. The US Department of Labor has proposed changes in federal companionship rules which even they say will result in the institutionalization of people with disabilities. Now, the Democratic Governor of Washington State is considering appealing an Olmstead-related case to the Supreme Court!
TAKE ACTION and tell the White House they need to tell us how they are addressing these issues.
This Friday, August 24th, the White House is holding its Monthly Disability Call to update us on various disability issues. This month’s call will feature Senior Advisor to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Cecilia Muñoz. TAKE ACTION and urge them to talk about protecting the freedom of Americans with disabilities.
It’s important that they address critical issues that affect the ability of people with disabilities to live in the community and talk about what they are doing to address the potential Democratic assault on Olmstead in the Supreme Court, concerns raised by the disability community about the Department of Labor’s proposed changes to the companionship exemption, and CMS’s role in assuring that implementation of managed care eliminates – not reinforces – Medicaid’s institutional bias.
RIGHT NOW, TAKE ACTION NOW to send a personal email to Valerie Jarrett, Cecilia Muñoz, and Kareem Dale telling them to address these issues issue on the White House Disability Call. Feel free to add other issues you want them to discuss or talk about the importance of Olmstead. Just go to: http://ly.adapt.org/ap
ON FRIDAY JOIN THE WHITE HOUSE CALL.
Call Information:
Friday, August 24, 2012
Start Time: 2:00 p.m. EDT (dial in 5 minutes early)
Dial in: (800) 762-7308
Code: White House Disability Call
For live captioning, at the start time of the event, please login by clicking on the link below. http://www.fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1998026&CustomerID=321
