Underground Railroad 2001

EDITOR'S NOTE: Twenty-three years ago today Willie Robinson, a consumer of Disability Connection Midsouth, left a Tennessee nursing home for a home in the community in Colorado. Back then, Deborah Cunningham, the Executive Director of MCIL, called this our Underground Railroad. Please note the progress that this Center for Independent Living has made.

People with disabilities leave the state of Tennessee to avoid nursing home incarceration. 

Willie Robinson has lived in Tennessee all his life. Today he is leaving because the unfair Medicaid policy will only provide him with services in the least desirable and most expensive place – an institution. 

Willie Robinson is moving from a Tennessee nursing home to his own apartment in Denver Colorado. Mr. Robinson is not only capable of living independently; he will be starting over in Denver Colorado where he already has his own place with attendant services. Willie is optimistic about job opportunities in Denver that are non-existent for Tennessee nursing-home residents. 

"Because Tennessee has no attendant services, I have lost my job, my home, and my car," said Willie Robinson to Tennessee Senator Bill Frist at the Memphis Center for Independent Living. "I live in a nursing home now and I have no choice about what time I get up in the morning, what I have for meals and what time I go to bed at night." 

The small programs that Tennessee has adopted to expand home and community-based services in our state may be effective in preventing or delaying some individual’s entry into a nursing home, however; Tennessee remains 50th in the nation at providing options to institutions. Every other U.S. state offers more cost-saving home and community-based services to provide citizens choices other than an institution. 

Missouri, for example, with a larger total population than Tennessee, spends nearly $100 million less of state money on nursing facilities and over $200 million less in federal funds [Medicaid Financial Management Report FY 2000]. Tennessee is the most chronic example of the need for national Medicaid reform. Ninety five percent of the public funding for long-term care is funneled into the nursing home industry. 

The for-profit nursing home industry gets more than half of its revenues from Medicaid, yet they are the fourth-largest lobby generously giving money to state lawmakers [Tennessee Registry of Election Finance]. The nursing home lobby has been involved in the guidance of the new programs for home and community based living and made sure that they did not cut into the nursing home industry's profits. 

Willie has been working to change the system in Tennessee that concentrates almost all the Medicaid long-term care funding to the nursing home industry. Senators Harkin (D-Iowa) and Specter (R- Pennsylvania) will introduce bipartisan legislation this session to reform Medicaid and give people with disabilities choices in long-term care. Willie will see the MEDICAID COMMUNITY ATTENDANT SERVICES and SUPPORTS ACT (MiCASSA) become law from his own home - his new home in Colorado.

Social Security Eliminates Overpayment Burden

Social Security Eliminates Overpayment Burden for Social Security Beneficiaries – Automatic Overpayment Recovery Rate Reduced to 10 Percent

March 29, 2024 

By Jeffrey Buckner, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Reading Time: 3 Minutes; Last Updated: March 29, 2024

Social Security announced it will decrease the default overpayment withholding rate for Social Security beneficiaries to ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) from 100 percent, significantly reducing financial hardship on people with overpayments.

“Social Security is taking a critically important step towards our goal of ensuring our overpayment policies are fair, equitable, and do not unduly harm anyone,” said Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security.  “It’s unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.”

The agency works to pay the right people the right amounts at the right time, and Social Security issues correct payments in most cases.  However, there is room to improve, as people count on the agency to prevent overpayments from happening and make it easier to navigate the recovery and waiver processes when they occur.

When a person has been overpaid, the law requires the agency to seek repayment, which can create financial difficulties for beneficiaries.  As of March 25, 2024, the agency will collect ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) of the total monthly Social Security benefit to recover an overpayment, rather than collecting 100 percent as was previous procedure.  There will be limited exceptions to this change, such as when an overpayment resulted from fraud.

There will be a short transition period where people will continue to experience the older policy.  People placed in 100 percent withholding during this transition period should call Social Security’s National 800 Number at 1-800-772-1213 to lower their withholding rate.

The change applies to new overpayments.  If beneficiaries already have an overpayment with a withholding rate greater than ten percent and would like a lower recovery rate, they too should call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or their local Social Security office to speak with a representative.  If a beneficiary requests a rate lower than ten percent, a representative will approve the request if it allows recovery of the overpayment within 60 months – a recent increase to improve how the agency serves its customers from the previous policy of only 36 months.  If the beneficiary’s proposed rate would extend recovery of the overpayment beyond 60 months, the Social Security representative will gather income, resource, and expense information from the beneficiary to make a determination.

Social Security launched a comprehensive review in October 2023 of agency overpayment policies and procedures to address payment accuracy systematically. Learn about Overpayments and Our Process and read our Press Release.  This procedure change is a direct result of the ongoing review.  This change and the adjustment to 60-month repayment are part of four recently announced key updates to address improper payments.  The agency also is working to reduce wage-related improper payments by establishing information exchanges with payroll data providers that will significantly reduce the number of improper payments, once implemented.  The agency will continue examining programmatic policy and making regulatory and sub-regulatory changes to improve the overpayment process.

Additionally, people have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount.  They can ask Social Security to waive collection of the overpayment, if they believe it was not their fault and can’t afford to pay it back.  The agency does not pursue recoveries while an initial appeal or waiver is pending.  Even if people do not want to appeal or request a waiver, they should contact the agency if the planned withholding would cause hardship.  Social Security has flexible repayment options, including repayment of as low as $10 per month.  Each person’s situation is unique, and the agency handles overpayments on a case-by-case basis.

Give Us the Ballot

Clift Notes: Absentee Voting in Tennessee

By Christina Clift

At the age of eighteen every American is granted the right to vote in local, state, and federal elections. It is a right that hundreds of thousands of people have fought, marched, and died to defend. However, people with disabilities may be excluded from voting. The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted thirty-four years ago and requires that every voting option be accessible to voters with disabilities so that all voters can vote independently and privately whether in person or by mail. 

Since the ADA, the disability community has fought for accessible polling locations, accessible voting machines, and assisted in training polling officials. Things have gotten better. Yet, voters with print disabilities in Tennessee still do not have the ability to cast their absentee ballot in private or independently. In Tennessee absentee voting still remains as inaccessible today as it was fifty years ago. Shocking Right?

But there is hope on the horizon thanks to proposed legislation by the National Federation of the Blind Tennessee. The purpose of the Print Disability Absentee Ballot Accessibility Act is to increase voter access for people who have print disabilities. In-person voters consistently face barriers such as malfunctioning accessible voting machines, with polling officials lacking the ability to fix them or make even minor corrections. In rural areas transportation to the polls is challenging or nonexistent, so getting to a polling site is sometimes impossible. 

The Tennessee voting by mail system is also inaccessible. Blind voters and other people with comparable print disabilities are unable to mark their paper ballots independently. As a result, people with print disabilities must rely on others to mark their ballots, giving them no privacy, an unsecure vote, and very little independence. This violates the rights afforded by the ADA. In today’s political climate in which every vote matters would you want to have someone else marking your ballot without being able to see that it was done correctly? Do you want someone else to know who you voted for, especially if it is different from theirs? Privacy and independence are a critical part of each citizen's vote.

The Solution:

• The Print Disability Absentee Voting Act will allow people with print disabilities to receive an electronic delivery of their mail-in ballot just like our veterans serving overseas.

• Tennesseans with print disabilities will be able to fill out their accessible ballot independently using large print, screen readers, or other accessible means, ensuring that their ballots truly point to the candidate they wish to vote for.

• Then, the ballot will be printed out and mailed to their local voting district.  

Memphis needs an Office on Disability

People with disabilities are a growing and important part of our community. We are not going away. However, in Memphis and Shelby County, we have no coordination of public policy.

The Memphis area desperately needs an Office on Disability. While the population of people with disabilities is growing in our area, the impact of disability is also being felt more in employment, housing and transportation. Often, people with disabilities are the poorest of the poor and many of our group are over 60. We need to be proactive in including people with disabilities in everything.

Not including people with disabilities often leads to isolation and segregation. It makes our community into a burden and a problem rather than participants in solutions. An Office on Disability can create a coordinated, efficient and common-sense approach to disability issues in the Memphis Area. 

Here are seven effective reasons why a city should have an office of disability:

1. Accessibility and Inclusivity: An office of disability can focus on making the city more accessible and inclusive for individuals with disabilities. This includes ensuring that public spaces, transportation, and buildings are compliant with the ADA.
   
   
2. Advocacy and Representation: The office can serve as a voice for the disabled community, advocating for their rights and needs in various city initiatives, policies, and programs.
   
   
3. Policy Development: A dedicated office can actively participate in the development of disability-related policies and regulations. This can include drafting laws that promote disability rights, employment opportunities, and social services that cater to the specific needs of residents and visitors with disabilities.
   
   
4. Coordination of Services: The office can act as a central hub for coordinating services and resources for disabled individuals. 
   
   
5. Public Awareness and Education: Promoting awareness and education about disability issues, needs and rights is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and understanding community. 
   
   
6. Employment Support: Facilitating employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities is vital for their economic independence and social inclusion. 
   
   
7. Emergency Preparedness: An office of disability can play a key role in developing and implementing emergency preparedness plans that account for the unique needs of residents with disabilities, ensuring their safety and well-being during crises.

In summary, an Office of Disability can serve as a valuable resource for promoting accessibility, inclusion, and equity. By addressing the specific needs and concerns of individuals with disabilities, families, and community stakeholders such an office contributes to an equitable urban environment.