Disability Rights Oregon, along with eight other organizations in the state concerned about the interests and rights of people with disabilities, just sent the attached letter to Senators Wyden and Merkley.
The letter urges them to oppose the American Health Care Act (AHCA), and talks about the particularly devastating impact it would have on people with disabilities.
What's happening in the U.S. Senate at the moment with the AHCA is extraordinary. National health care reporters are saying they haven't seen anything like it.
News reports indicate Senate leadership plans to bring the bill to the Senate floor the week of June 26 and have a vote just a few days later -- without any hearings, without giving most members any opportunity to review the legislation or make amendments. In a nutshell, they're planning to hold a vote before Senators have had a chance to analyze or amend the bill.
The AHCA will radically limit the amount of Medicaid federal funding that states receive. We're likely to see home- and community-based services greatly shrink or be eliminated entirely, which will harm Oregonians with disabilities.
The letter follows.
Dear Senators Wyden and Merkley:
As organizations deeply concerned about the interests and rights of people with disabilities in Oregon, we urge you to oppose the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as passed by the House of Representatives. The AHCA would harm a wide swath of Americans, and its impact on people with disabilities and their families would be particularly devastating.
We have received an outpouring of stories from Oregonians with disabilities and their families who rely upon the Oregon Health Plan. From across the state, they have shared their personal stories in hopes of helping others step into their shoes and see what cuts to Medicaid would mean for their lives.
Sage in Eugene relies on long-term care support to live in her family home. Luke in Tigard accesses community-support that enables him to volunteer at Meals on Wheels and the Union Gospel Mission while his parents work. For them, and thousands of other Oregonians with disabilities, home and community supports are profoundly important.
Medicaid helps families stay together and enriches the lives of people with disabilities by allowing their greater connection, community, and purpose. Non-disabled people’s lives are also enriched through this connection, community, and purpose.
Over the past four decades, we have worked to support the desire of people with disabilities to live fulfilling lives in our communities. Medicaid has been a key to achieving the goals of so many. It provides for home and community-based services and supports, personal care, mental health services, prescription drugs, and rehabilitative services that make community life possible. The same is true for injured or retired workers who run through their savings when they can no longer work.
The AHCA would reverse all of the incredible progress that we’ve made toward greater inclusion of and care for people with disabilities.
The legislation would:
- Undermine the lives of roughly 7,500 children and 18,000 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities;
- Eliminate the six percent in federal matching funds and $150 million per year in Oregon for vulnerable Oregonians who need community-based, long-term care services, and support;
- Segregate people with disabilities into different insurance pools, promote isolation, and risk institutionalization;
- Cap how much Medicaid can spend on services for people with disabilities;
- Eviscerate critical mental health care and substance abuse coverage.
The AHCA threatens the health and well-being of people with disabilities in Oregon. Its impact must not be overlooked. Please share with your colleagues the stories of Oregonians with disabilities.
Sincerely,
Disability Rights Oregon
Northwest Down Syndrome Association
Autism Society of Oregon
NAMI Oregon
Association of Oregon Centers for Independent Living
FACT Oregon
Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon
Mental Health Association of Portland
Oregon ABLE Savings Plan
