Hello,

 

The Senate is moving forward to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act before they recess for the July 4^th! They issued draft bill text a few minutes ago. I have not read any of it yet, but I am passing it along: https://www.budget.senate.gov/bettercare. I will send updated talking points and analyses as I get them from healthcare experts.

 

Regardless of specific provisions in the bill, NACDD will not be supporting it because it will cap Medicaid in exchange for tax breaks for wealthier individuals. The messages that advocates should continue to use are the same ones below. It is critical to flood offices with calls this week and early next week!

 

Senate Process:
There are no scheduled Committee hearings or mark-up of the bill. We are also still waiting on a score of the Congressional Budget Office to be scored. Given that text is now available, it should be expected that the debate and vote in the Senate will be next week, possibly as early as Wed.

 

How You Can Help:

Have constituents flood the local offices with visits, calls to the D.C. offices, sending messages to Members using social media. Every office can be reached at 202-224-3121. The most effective advocacy is people showing-up in-person or sending photos and a 2-3 paragraph story of how the ACA and/or Medicaid has helped them. Every Senate office needs to hear from constituents about why the ACA and Medicaid provide essential health care and other critical supports to people with disabilities and their families.

 

What to Tell Offices:

●     I am your constituent.

●     I am a person with a disability or I am a family member of someone with a disability or I am a professional in the disability field.

·         Do NOT repeal and replace the ACA without an open and transparent process that allows your constituents to weigh in on the final bill. The impact on my healthcare and life is too important!

●     Do NOT repeal the ACA without a replacement that maintains or improves coverage and protections.

●     Do NOT allow restructuring and cuts to Medicaid to be part of an ACA replacement.

●     The ACA and Medicaid has helped me/my family member to have health care and community based services because it has provided...

Messages:
Message 1: Do NOT cut and cap Medicaid! 

Medicaid is a partnership between the federal and state governments with matching state and federal funds. Under a Medicaid per capita cap, the federal government would set a limit on how much to reimburse states based on enrollment in the Medicaid program. Unlike current law, funding would not be based on the actual cost of providing services. Much like the proposed block grants, the intent of the per capita caps is to restructure the program and save money for the federal government, which will inevitably lead to cuts in funding in the states. 

The negative impact for Medicaid recipients could include:

●      Losing home and community-based services and supports. Waiting lists would quickly grow.

●      Losing other critical services such as personal care, mental health, prescription drugs, and rehabilitative services.

●      Shifting the costs to individuals or family members to make up for the cuts in federal funding. The costs of providing health care and long term services and supports will not go away, but will be shifted to individuals, parents, states, and providers. 

Message 2: Do not repeal the Affordable Care Act!

The ACA is the most significant law for people with disabilities since the Americans with Disabilities Act:

●      Because of the ACA, health insurers can't deny health insurance or charge higher premiums if you have a disability or chronic condition.

●      Because of the ACA, there aren't arbitrary financial limits to how much health care you can get in a year or in your lifetime.

●      Because of the ACA, more people with disabilities and chronic health conditions are able to access health care due to the Medicaid expansion.

Resources:

·         ASAN’s toolkit on basic civic engagement for self-advocates

·         Center for Public Representation’s Medicaid website: https://medicaid.publicrep.org/ (Messaging, key states to target, and more)

·         Consortium for Citizen’s with Disabilities Protect the ACA and Medicaid website: http://c-c-d.org/rubriques.php?rubpage=42

o   If you are leading efforts in your state and to get emails directly from CCD’s Save Medicaid Grassroots Working Group, email Christine Grosso at xxxxxx@aucd.org