Where in the World is Senator Lamar Alexander?

ADAPT Demands Sen. Alexander protect the health care of Tennesseans

By Allison Donald

 
The Senate has delayed the vote on a replacement to the Affordable Care Act. However, this week remains critical as Senate leadership will continue trying to cut deals with senators to get to 50 votes. People with disabilities need to make it clear that Medicaid is essential to us remaining in ours homes and in the community and should not be part of any reform or replacement. The bill at its core is a tax cut for wealthy at the expense of healthcare for the rest of us.

Mid-South ADAPT along with allies from the Tennessee Justice Center, Indivisible Memphis, Black Lives Matter, and the Memphis Coalition for Concerned Citizens visited the office of Senator Lamar Alexander.  We were there representing the 1.6 million Tennesseans who get comprehensive affordable health coverage through Medicaid.  Our demand is simple.  We want Senator Alexander to vote no to the Better Care Reconciliation Act and protect the liberties of Tennesseans especially Medicaid. 

“The proposed cuts to Medicaid,” said Mid-South ADAPT activist Michael Heinrich, who was arrested and dragged out of Speaker Mitch McConnell’s office last month, “will result in people paying more for healthcare coverage, but receiving less services.”


Fourteen activists filed into the office of Senator Lamar Alexander and took seats on the floor. We began to demand to speak with someone in the Washington DC office that had a direct line to Senator Alexander.  Mary Wooldridge the constituent representative took notes as each individual explained how the proposed cuts to Medicaid would affect their life.  Ms. Wooldridge, who is retired, said the healthcare issue doesn’t affect her because her coverage is from the phone company. The issue did not concern her.

After all of the personal testimonials were done Allison Donald repeated the demand for Ms. Wooldridge to get someone from the Washington DC office on the phone.  She then stated that she could not do so. 
“I will make 201 Poplar my home,” said Allison Donald the organizer for Mid-South ADAPT, “before I go into a nursing home.”

At that point the exchange ended. The sit-in began and ADAPT was not going anywhere.  We were in the office for about 30 minutes a security officer and an officer from the Department of Homeland Security entered and informed us that there were too many people in the office and that only four of us could be in the office at a time. Four people choose to stay: Tim Wheat (ADAPT), Michael Heinrich (ADAPT), Allison Donald (ADAPT), and Karen Spencer McGee (BLM). 

Ms. Wooldridge, who claimed that she was not able to get in contact with the Washington DC office, had her phone ring and Senator Alexander’s Washington DC office was on the other end. Allison Donald made arrangements to speak with Brandon Morton the scheduler for Lamar Alexander.

Officer James of Homeland Security informed us that we could not wait for the final arrangements in Senator Alexander’s office while Ms. Wooldridge conducted business.  He also stated that we could not protest inside of a federal building.  About fifteen minutes passed and Officer James issued his first warning for us to leave the office or be arrested. 

With the contact information in hand, the ADAPT activists met our colleagues downstairs to discuss the next steps. 

Disability Integration Act Introduced

Disability Integration Act (S. 910) Introduced, Kick-off event coming up soon

Senate Minority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York has introduced the Disability Integration Act, Senate Bill 910 in this legislative session. Sen. Casey and Warren are original cosponsors of the bill that will have a more public kick-off sometime later this spring.

Twenty-five years after the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, unwanted institutionalization remains a serious problem for people with disabilities and seniors. This issue was documented in the HELP Committee report: “Separate and Unequal: States Fail to Fulfill the Community Living Promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act”.

That report recommended that Congress amend the ADA to clarify and strengthen the law’s integration mandate in a manner that accelerates Olmstead implementation and clarifies that every individual who is eligible for LTSS under Medicaid has a federally protected right to a real choice in how they receive services and supports. The report and this recommendation were well received by the Disability Community.

Although the Disability Integration Act (S.2427) does NOT amend the ADA, the legislation, modeled on the ADA and the ADA Amendments Act, strengthens Olmstead’s integration mandate and creates federal civil rights law which addresses the civil rights issue that people with disabilities who are stuck in institutions cannot benefit from many of the rights established under the ADA.

Legislative Background
The Disability Integration Act builds on the 25 year campaign that ADAPT has done to end the institutional bias and provide seniors and people with disabilities an alternative to unwanted institutionalization. There have been a number of different incarnations of legislation intended to address Medicaid’s institutional bias, starting with the Medicaid Community Attendant Services Act.

Previous versions of legislation were required to do two things: create a Medicaid infrastructure that would meet the assistance needs of all individuals at the institutional level of care and mandate that states implement such a program. Consequently, previous versions of legislation were focused on Medicaid.

However, the Affordable Care Act included language that created the Community First Choice (CFC) Option. This language established a simple Medicaid State Plan option that pre-invests the savings associated with transition to home and community-based services into an incentive of an enhanced FMAP.



Current Environment
Although CFC was optional, it was believed that the six percent additional FMAP would result in states selecting the option and providing a real alternative to institutionalization. Unfortunately, only six states (California, Oregon, Maryland, Montana, New York and Texas) have implemented Community First Choice. Other states have indicated that they intend to implement CFC or have submitted a State Plan Amendment to CMS, but uptake of this option has been extremely limited. Some states – like Illinois – determined the state would actually generate excess long term revenue by implementing CFC, but still haven’t selected the option. It is possible for states to implement CFC, secure the extra federal funds, and continue to maintain policies that limit access to services or fail to provide a real alternative to institutionalization.

http://www.disabilityintegrationact.org/sen-chuck-schumer-on-disability-integration-act/

MCIL asks Congress to preserve disability aspects of the ACA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:

Sandi Klink 901-726-6404

The Memphis Center for Independent Living today called on Sen. Lamar Alexander to preserve critical components of the Affordable Care Act which secure the rights of people with disabilities to live in the community and provide vital healthcare services.  MCIL is joining disability rights organizations, the National Council on Independent Living and Centers for Independent Living all over the US in asking that Congress keep items necessary for the independence of people with disabilities.

“The Center has a long history of supporting people with disabilities right to live and work in the community like everyone else,” said Sandi Klink the Executive Director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. “The loss of these programs will hit Tennessee taxpayers harder. We hate to see the dissolution of the common-sense programs in the healthcare law that will force people back into expensive institutions.”

Congressional Republicans are moving legislation that eliminates the Community First Choice Option (CFCO) by 2020 as part of a strategy to cut Medicaid funding for individuals with disabilities. CFCO, which was introduced as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides enhanced Federal funds to states, is the only current Medicaid program aimed at ensuring people with disabilities’ right to live in the community. CFCO saves states millions of taxpayer dollars and grant disabled citizens the freedom to decide where they want to live.

The concern is that in capping or block granting Medicaid congressional Republicans are setting limits on how many people with disabilities can transition from institutions into the community, and eliminating CFCO restores the Medicaid bias toward institutionalization that MCIL and the Disability Community has long fought to reverse.

The right to live in the community was first recognized in Federal law in the Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead case. The years since have seen the growth of centers for independent living as Disability Rights organizations have made community integration one of their primary concerns.

PRESS CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES INDEPENDENCE

WHEN: 3:00 P.M. Wednesday, March 22, 2017

WHERE: 1633 Madison Ave. Memphis, TN 38104

SAVE MY CARE!

Save My Care Bus Tour in Memphis this Monday

The Save My Care Bus Tour is a two-month, cross-country tour focused on telling the stories of the more than 30 million Americans who will lose their health care under Congress’ dangerous repeal plan. 

So far, the bus has held 31 rallies in 14 states and traveled 7,457 miles telling the stories of the more than 30 million Americans who will lose their health care under Congress’ dangerous repeal plan.

Memphis Stop: February 27, 2017 12:00pm-2:00pm

Navy Park South Second Street and GE Patterson
Memphis, TN 38103

SAVEMYCARE.ORG

ADAPT Diary Day 1

Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children & Judge Rotenberg Center

By Allison Donald
Two hundred members of National ADAPT traveled to Canton, Massachusetts on Halloween to visit the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children and the Judge Rotenberg Center.  Both facilities have much in common.  Both facilities are surrounded by picturesque neighborhoods.

The Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children and the Judge Rotenberg Center are isolated and controlled.   In the case of the Judge Rotenberg Center allegations of abuse have been made for years and they have used electric shock on people.  The children locked away are out of sight, out of mind. These young children and adults are seemingly forgotten because they are in a “safe” environment with professionals who could watch them so the neighbors can sleep at night.

The administrations of both facilities were caught off guard by ADAPT’s visit.  The Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children was more receptive to National ADAPT when they were informed that all we wanted was to bring the kids some candy for Halloween.  It gave members of Massachusetts ADAPT an opportunity continue to put pressure on the state to adopt budget policies that would make it possible for institutionalized children to be at home with their families. 

This was in stark contrast to the reception National ADAPT received at the Judge Rotenberg Center.  As members of National ADAPT ascended onto the front steps and packed the entrance the staff looked confused about who we were and why we didn’t line the road and protest like other groups had.  The tension between Judge Rotenberg Center employees ratcheted up once the police arrived and they realized we were not going anywhere.

ADAPT kept up constant chants.  We wanted the administration and residents alike to know that the torture of people with disabilities is egregious and should not and would be tolerated in any circumstance. 

National ADAPT put the Pappas Rehabilitation School for Children and Judge Rotenberg Center on notice. ADAPT and disability rights activists are watching and they will be held accountable for the treatment of people with disabilities. FREE OUR PEOPLE!

People Power

ADAPT teaches direct action to youth leaders

By Allison Donald

Sunday April 19, 2015 changed my perspective on the power that I possessed being a person with a disability.  I was marching in line with people from all over the United States and we had come together as a collective force to declare access is a civil right in the streets of Washington DC.  I was nervous and fraught with anticipation, because I had never been a part of anything like this in my life.  

I don’t know if it was the stories that Sher Stewart would share with me about her and Deborah Cunningham’s numerous arrests or Michael Heinrich sitting with me in the capital and explaining to me why this movement is so urgent and necessary, or maybe it was the sense of freedom and belonging I felt, because for once this square peg fit into a round hole.  I was hooked and I knew where I had found a home with ADAPT.  I wanted to learn as much as I could which led me to Rochester, New York to attend the ADAPT Youth Conference August 5th-9th.

I had attended three ADAPT actions, but I was always one of the troops following orders.  I knew this time would be different, because I was going to be forced out of my comfort zone by our teachers Josue Rodriguez, German Parodi, and Nicki.  My specific purpose for being there was to learn the strategies and develop into a community organizer that could lead effectively and efficiently as a representative of the Memphis Center for Independent Living and Mid- South ADAPT.  

The first half of day during the workshop were led by Josue Rodriguez.  The activities he planned for the group were designed to make us challenge ourselves and ask ourselves how we upset the balance of power in such a way that those in power had no choice, but to offer us a seat at the negotiating table.  The highlight for me during those exercises were the mock action we put on in the halls off the center in Rochester.  It was intense and I think Josue was slightly injured, but it was needed to test each individual’s limits.  

After lunch, the focus shifted to the issues that affect so many in our community.  German Parodi and Nicki usually led those spirited discussions.   These conversations offered a welcomed break to the work that was ahead.  One conversation in particular drew the ire of everyone in the room.  German asked “If you could be cured of your disability would you take the chance?” This is not a new debate, but to hear the comments of post ADA babies was invigorating and is proof that this debate will be never ending.

Each exercise and conversation helped us foster a sense of trust and open the channels of communication among the group of trainees both of which is needed in abundance to strategize, plan and execute a successful action.  As a final test we were given the task of planning an action against an inaccessible restaurant just down the street from where the workshop was being taught.  

We had about twelve hours to identify the target, come up with a viable strategy, and execute so that those individuals in mobility devices would be assured equal access to the establishment.  I was assigned to the negation team, but could enter the building due to the scooter I was riding.  Now that I think about it kind of ironic that why we were there.  

As with every action everything didn’t go as planned, but it followed its own divine design and we ultimately gained the access we came demanding.  At the end of the workshop I was exhausted, but the sleepless nights and ink stained hands were worth it for the sense of accomplishment we felt as community and most importantly the bond we built as a family, because we are the children of the gang of nineteen.

Tom Harkin asks for our help

Dear Friends of Disability Rights and Services:

I am participating in ADAPT s 10th Annual FUN*RUN for Disability Rights on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at Upper Senate Park in Washington, DC.

This event will support disability activists in our continuing fight to END THE INSTITUTIONAL BIAS in our long term services and supports system.  This battle continues even as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Though the passage of the ADA was one of the most significant pieces of legislation I sponsored in 30 years in the United States Senate, there is still more to do.

The ADAPT Community is the largest national grassroots disability rights activist organization in the country.  Through their work, thousands of people with disabilities and older Americans have gotten out of or avoided going in to nursing homes or other institutions.  I was proud to promote the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program and get the Community First Choice Option in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  The END THE INSTITUTIONAL BIAS Campaign is also a state issue as we fight to protect the Medicaid funding and services that low income children, young adults and seniors with disabilities depend on to live in the community with dignity, independence and good health.

You can support me, disability rights activists, and the END THE INSTITUTIONAL BIAS Campaign by pledging for the laps I run around Upper Senate Park. To make a tax-deductible contribution all you have to do is click on the link and follow the easy instructions.

www.adaptfunrun.net/runner/message/385<http://www.adaptfunrun.net/runner/message/385>

Even though I am not a Senator anymore, it is important to remember in these politically charged times that there are real people with real support needs behind all the rhetoric we hear from Washington, DC.  You can make a difference with your contribution. Together we can and will make a difference.

Thank you,

Tom Harkin


CELEBRATE ADA25!!

Flyer: http://ly.adapt.org/FRLtr

Inaccessible Business in Memphis

Memphis ADAPT reminds The Wharton Firm that “Access Is a Civil Right.”

Memphis ADAPT a grassroots, direct action, disability rights organization marched down Madison Ave. today at 11:30 am to The Wharton Law Firm, 1575 Madison, to remind them of their obligation to include people with disabilities. The Wharton Law office has a single public entrance that is up three steps.

“We are tired of being treated as second-class citizens,” said Deborah Cunningham, the Executive Director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. “After twenty-four years, it just doesn't make sense that attorneys are unaware of the law or cannot afford equal access.”

The Memphis Center for Independent Living filed a federal complaint on the twenty-fourth anniversary of the ADA. Memphis ADAPT delivered the message to the Wharton office that the community of people with disabilities expects the firm to respect the civil rights of people with disabilities.

"An agent of the firm appeared at the door," said one ADAPT member who at the protest; "but they seemed unconcerned with our communities civil rights and ignorant of the firms accessibility responsibilities."

The Memphis ADAPT members returned to the Memphis Center for Independent Living and had lunch together. The march and protest had accomplished its goal of delivering the message to The Wharton Firm that people with disabilities expect equal access.