Governmental Affairs Newsline

August 21, 2013

National Down Syndrome Congress

Governmental Affairs Newsline

In This Issue

Bills to Assist Military Dependents

Community Living is Not a Reality

National Down Syndrome Congress
30 Mansell Court

Suite 108
Roswell, GA 30076
ndsc@ndsccenter.org
800-232-6372/770-604-9500

Bills to Assist Military Dependents

Senator Kay Hagan has introduced the

Disabled Military Child Protection Act of 2013 (S. 1076), a bill that would allow the

payment of monthly annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan for dependents of Military personnel to go into a special needs trust. A similar bill, H.R. 2249 has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Jim Moran of Virginia.

According to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), this bill would allow more than 1,000 military dependents with significant disabilities to receive survivor benefits through a special needs trust, without fear of losing access to their Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

According to NAELA, currently, if a military retiree chooses to leave his or her Survivor Benefit Plan to their dependent with a disability, the veteran must leave the benefit directly to the dependent.This will likely make him or her ineligible for the much needed long-term support benefits (Medicaid) to which they are entitled.The Disabled Military Child Protection Act of 2013 will allow the veteran to transfer his or her benefits to a special needs trust, thus allowing the dependent to remain eligible for public benefit programs.

We will keep you posted on the progress of this bill and will call for action when it is timely.

Community Living is Not a Reality

According to a new report "Separate and Unequal: States Fail to Fulfill the Community Living Promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act",

states are failing to meet their obligations to transition individuals with disabilities out of institutions and into community settings, in violation of the Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C., which held that unnecessarily segregating individuals with disabilities in institutions is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This report was based on a year-long investigation by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).

The report stated that nationally, there "has been a fundamental rebalancing of spending on individuals with disabilities in institutions as compared to spending on home and community based services in the years since the Olmstead decision." From 1995 to 2010 the state share of Medicaid spending on institutions, including nursing homes, mental hospitals, and institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities dropped from 79 percent to 50 percent.

But the report noted that these numbers "fail to paint a complete picture. In reality, only 12 states spent more than 50 percent of Medicaid LTSS (Long-term Services and Supports) dollars on HCBS (Home and Community-Based Services) by 2010." Further, the population of individuals with disabilities under 65 in nursing homes actually increased between 2008 and 2012.

The report recommended that Congress amend the ADA to clarify and strengthen the law's integration mandate; amend the Medicaid statute to end the institutional bias in the Medicaid program; called on states to take advantage of new federal programs designed to encourage them to transition more individuals into community-based settings; to shift away from waivers; and called on the Department of Justice to expand its Olmstead enforcement efforts.

You can read the full report at this link.

If you have questions, contact susan@ndsccenter.org