disabilities | The Lund Report

Treasury Launches Oregon Able Savings Accounts on Dec. 8

The treasury has moved up the start date for families and people with disabilities to open state savings accounts to help them with the costs of daily living. Account holders will be able to invest up to $14,000 a calendar year to put toward expenses while still keeping their Medicaid benefits. Correction NOTE: Program launches Dec. 6, not Dec. 8.

A second-grader at Portland’s Bridlemile Elementary, Archer Hinckley loves hiking and music and banging on the drums.

But the boy has Down Syndrome, which impedes his fine-motor skills, and his father, Jonas, is unsure whether Archer will ever be able to drive or work a full-time job.

By:

Chris Gray

Treasury Expects 2017 Launch for Savings Accounts for Disabled People

The accounts will take a year for the Oregon 529 Savings Board to set up with the help of outside investment advisors. Families of people with disabilities will be able to deposit money in the accounts that will be invested without losing government assistance.

Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler has set the stage for new tax-free savings accounts for people with disabilities, directing a citizen panel to hire an investment advisor, set rules for the program, and get these accounts ready to go by 2017.

By:

Chris Gray

Legal Settlement for People with Intellectual Disabilities Opens Door for Real Jobs

The state conceded its fight against disability rights advocates and agreed in a settlement to offer integrated job opportunities for thousands of intellectually disabled people, whom advocates argued had been unnecessarily cloistered in closed workshops doing menial work for terrible pay.

The state of Oregon will be forced to take concrete steps toward offering people with disabilities a chance at work outside sheltered workshops and into the regular workforce, with all of the wages and benefits it offers, under a landmark agreement released Tuesday.

By:

Chris Gray

State Policy Encourages Fuller Lives for Disabled, but Denies Them Equipment

Disabilities activist Joseph Lowe has appealed to the Legislature to require the Oregon Health Authority to provide the equipment people need to move around in their communities -- not just their homes -- so that others won’t have to fight for their right to participate as he did. Even as CCOs show a 9 percent profit margin, people with disabilities are being denied the wheelchairs and scooters they need to leave the house.

Joseph Lowe has been in a wheelchair since he was five years old, but he never had any persistent back pain until recently, when the state refused to pay for the durable medical equipment that his doctor prescribed to meet his needs.

By:

Chris Gray

Keny-Guyer Hopes to Create Pilot Program to Refurbish Used Medical Equipment

Project would attempt to fill a gap that creates long wait times, logistical headaches for disabled people and their families

Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland) plans to introduce a bill this fall that aims to help families waiting for durable medical equipment -- while keeping used equipment in circulation.

By:

Christen McCurdy

Employment Providers for Disabled Still Waiting on DHS Funding

Non-profit agencies that help employ people with disabilities got their funding slashed during the worst of the Great Recession. They thought they successfully lobbied to get their funding restored this June, but a lawsuit and a governor’s order has the Department of Human Services rethinking its priorities.

When the agencies that provide jobs for people with disabilities lobbied the Legislature for a better Department of Human Services budget this summer, their leaders thought they would see their own funding restored that was cut in the recession.

By:

Christopher David Gray

State Agencies Seek Disaster Relief Map of Vulnerable Residents

Sen. Betsy Johnson nearly quashed a plan for state agencies to seek federal funds to keep track of disabled and elderly residents in case of a Katrina- scale emergency, saying the agencies would be duplicating others’ efforts and stepping beyond their authority.

By:

Christopher David Gray

Neighbors and Providers Fight Closure of Providence Therapy Pool

The hospital says the pool will be too expensive to repair – but some say the hospital will get more money by replacing it with a day surgery center

September 6, 2012 -- Nine years ago, Sue Moen retired early from her job as an elementary school teacher. She'd been diagnosed with a rare, degenerative neuromuscular condition, and couldn't be on her feet all day anymore.

By:

Christen McCurdy

OHSU Investigates Healthcare Experiences for People with Autism

Researchers hope to develop a toolkit to help people improve their experiences

November 30, 2011 -- Researchers at OHSU are developing a toolkit to deal with the barriers faced by people with autism in the healthcare system.

By:

Christen McCurdy

OHP Kids Lack Wheelchairs Outside the Home

But opponents remain concerned about potential abuse and higher costs

September 28, 2010 -- Frustrated with how long it takes to get wheelchairs approved for children who have developmental needs, a group of pediatric rehabilitation specialists has proposed rule changes to expand coverage for wheelchair-bound children covered by the Oregon Health Plan.

By:

Miriam Widman