National Level Advocacy

UCP provides tools to its affiliates and partners so that they may be more effective advocates in their own communities. One example is informational videos, such as these tutorials provided by Paul Marchand, then-Director of UCP's shared policy arm, providing insights into key legislative battles in the 112th Congress.

 

Attacks on Entitlement Programs


Direct Support Worker Compensation


Federal Budget


Jobs


Protecting Health Care Reform

 

Washington Wire

UCP created a new weekly e-newsletter, which summarized the major federal and state issues impacting people with disabilities in easy-to-access language.  By boiling down “Washington speak” into every day terms, UCP equipped advocates with information they could use to better communicate with state and federal officials.

2010 Disability Policy Seminar, April 12-14, 2010

UCP was one of six sponsoring national organizations of this annual federal policy conference. More than 520 people attended and visited with their members of Congress, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Attendance was notable given the severe budget crisis in the states and its impact on individuals and service provider organizations. Health care reform dominated the agenda.

2011 Disability Policy Seminar, February 14-16, 2011

In 2011, more than 600 people attended the two-day federal policy conference and later visited with their representatives on Capitol Hill.

Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Health Care Reform):

UCP was a major leader in shaping health care reform that meets the needs of people with disabilities through work with Members of Congress, their staff and other disability coalition members. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 provides numerous improvements including:

Coverage:

  • Prohibiting private health insurance exclusions for pre-existing conditions;
  • Eliminating annual and lifetime caps in private insurance policies;
  • Restricting the consideration of health status in setting premiums;
  • Expanding Medicaid to cover individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line (approximately $29,000 per year for a family of four.

Benefits:

  • Ensuring that minimum covered benefits include products and services that enable people with disabilities to maintain and improve function, such as rehabilitation and habilitation services and devices.

Access to Quality Care:

  • Improving training of physicians, dentists, and allied health professionals on how to treat persons with disabilities;
  • Requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to collect data on beneficiaries with disabilities
  • Ensuring prevention programs include a focus on individuals with disabilities.

Long Term Services and Supports:

  • Increasing the federal share of Medicaid, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (or FMAP), for home and community based services (HCBS) and during periods of economic downturn;
  • Allowing states to offer additional services under the 1915(i) Medicaid HCBS Waivers State Plan Option;
  • Providing spousal impoverishment protections for HCBS Beneficiaries; • Strengthening long-term services and supports through a two pronged approach:

    1. Taking pressure off of the Medicaid program: The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act would create a national long term services insurance program which assists eligible individuals and their families to meet long term needs with a cash benefit and without forcing them into poverty to receive Medicaid benefits, and
    2. Improving the Medicaid program: The Community First Choice Option would help to eliminate the institutional bias by encouraging state states to cover personal attendant services under the state's optional service plan instead of through the waiver system by offering a 6% increase in the federal share of Medicaid for these services.
  • Obtaining an increase of $16.1 billion in Medicaid funding and $10 billion in education funding that states can receive for 2011.
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