Michelle
09-17-2006, 06:02 PM
Program: NPR Morning Edition Friday, September 15 2006
Title: Disabled Activists Win Battle for Independent Care
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6076125
Reporter: Joseph Shapiro
The audio of the story, and additional material, will be
available on the NPR website at: http://www.npr.org
Morning Edition
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3
September 15, 2006 - Earlier this summer, federal officials
announced what they call the boldest change in the way the
government pays for long-term care since the invention of
Medicare and Medicaid. Washington will now provide $2 billion to
states that help people leave a nursing home - instead of paying
for them to live in one.
That decision came because of a highly unlikely alliance between
a group of disabled activists in wheelchairs who came to
Washington trying to get themselves arrested at the White House
gates -- and the Bush administration aide who ended up listening
to them.
The Wheels Begin Turning
The momentum for change began four year years ago when about 200
demonstrators in wheelchairs rolled into the intersection closest
to the White House and shut down all traffic.
"It was really quite a scene," says Bob Kafka, a leader of the
group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT). "It
was thundering and lightning. It was sporadically raining."
ADAPT uses non- violent direct action tactics to enact policy
changes for disabled individuals. Many of the ADAPT protestors
are severely disabled and require the help of an attendant to
move.
Still, the protestors travel around the country and practice
civil disobedience. They want people with disabilities to get out
of nursing homes and for the government to pay for personal care
attendants. Getting an attendant for a few hours a day makes the
difference between whether they can live in their own homes or
end up moving into a nursing home.
Four years ago, the protestors tied up traffic for three hours in
front of the White House and the police were getting ready to
make arrests when a White House aide got an urgent phone call.
"I was working in my office on probably about 15 other issues,"
says Mark McClellan, who was at the time a member of the
President's Council of Economic Advisors. "I got a call from the
chief of staff of the White House, saying, 'Mark, there are some
people outside who are blocking traffic at the intersection of
17th and Pennsylvania. It's coming up on rush hour. Go fix it.'"
McClellan went outside, where he met the demonstrators and Bob
Kafka in the middle of the intersection. His clothes and young
looks contrasted with Kafka's long gray hair and wild beard. The
two men could not be more different in terms of political beliefs
or style. But on that rainy day outside the White House, they
found things in common.
The Administrator and the Activist
Both Kafka and McClellan are fascinated by the policy details of
how the government cares for the elderly and disabled. Both also
believe that individuals often make the best choices about their
own care.
McClellan practiced medicine before joining the Bush
administration. "Many of my patients had disabilities and chronic
illnesses," he says. "And in those experiences, there were so
many cases if you just listen to the patient -- if you could get
the patient involved in deciding what treatments were best for
them -- you could get the better results."
After President Bush appointed McClellan the head of the agency
that runs Medicare and Medicaid, he met with Kafka and other
ADAPT members four times a year.
Earlier this year, the White House proposed legislation to start
a program called Money Follows the Person, which gives states
extra money to move elderly and disabled people out of nursing
homes and into their own residences. Congress allotted $2 billion
over the next five years for the program -- still just a tiny
portion of what Medicaid spends on nursing homes.
Bob Kafka says it's enough to move at least 100,000 people. "Mr.
McClellan has made us a believer in bureaucrats," he says, "That
they can keep their word and follow through."
Though some disability and health advocates object to other parts
of the Medicaid reform law -- specifically the part which allows
states to change benefits and charge co-payments -- McClellan
says those objections miss the historic significance of the new
long-term care policy.
"This is the biggest change in long-term financing in decades,"
he says.
McClellan recently announced his resignation. Though he'll be
most remembered for setting up the new Medicare drug benefit, he
says one of his proudest accomplishments was his work with ADAPT.
Adapt and Move On
For Bob Kafka, the work isn't over. He was back in Washington
this week, where several hundred ADAPT protestors surprised a few
security guards at the side entrance of a downtown hotel, where a
trade organization for managed care companies was having their
legislative conference.
The protestors in wheelchairs and scooters rushed into the ornate
hotel lobby and took it over. "We as people with disabilities
want the managed care community to understand that we want to
live on our own," says Kafka.
The ADAPT demonstrators held the hotel lobby for two hours and
got their meeting with the managed care officials.
But Kafka has one other meeting before he leaves Washington.
Today, he and other ADAPT leaders will meet with Mark McClellan
to talk about how the new federal program is progressing.
They will take about how McClellan's agency just started taking
applications for grants two weeks ago. Thirty states have
recently told McClellan that they want to take part in the new
program to help elderly and disabled people move out of nursing
homes.
__________________________________________________ ____________
For more Money Follows the Person news issues, see:
http://www.aapd.com/News/mfp/indexmfp.php
# # #
DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information
of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue
in the disability community. Information circulated does not
necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is
non-partisan.
JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are
available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/
MODERATOR, Gwen Gillenwater, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of
the American Association of People with Disabilities. To
contact Gwen, please email her at JFAgwen@aol.com.
JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national
coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at
http://www.aapd.com.
Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions
To subscribe or unsubscribe,
send an email to majordomo@JFAnow.org
with subscribe justice OR unsubscribe justice
in the body of your email message.
Title: Disabled Activists Win Battle for Independent Care
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6076125
Reporter: Joseph Shapiro
The audio of the story, and additional material, will be
available on the NPR website at: http://www.npr.org
Morning Edition
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3
September 15, 2006 - Earlier this summer, federal officials
announced what they call the boldest change in the way the
government pays for long-term care since the invention of
Medicare and Medicaid. Washington will now provide $2 billion to
states that help people leave a nursing home - instead of paying
for them to live in one.
That decision came because of a highly unlikely alliance between
a group of disabled activists in wheelchairs who came to
Washington trying to get themselves arrested at the White House
gates -- and the Bush administration aide who ended up listening
to them.
The Wheels Begin Turning
The momentum for change began four year years ago when about 200
demonstrators in wheelchairs rolled into the intersection closest
to the White House and shut down all traffic.
"It was really quite a scene," says Bob Kafka, a leader of the
group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT). "It
was thundering and lightning. It was sporadically raining."
ADAPT uses non- violent direct action tactics to enact policy
changes for disabled individuals. Many of the ADAPT protestors
are severely disabled and require the help of an attendant to
move.
Still, the protestors travel around the country and practice
civil disobedience. They want people with disabilities to get out
of nursing homes and for the government to pay for personal care
attendants. Getting an attendant for a few hours a day makes the
difference between whether they can live in their own homes or
end up moving into a nursing home.
Four years ago, the protestors tied up traffic for three hours in
front of the White House and the police were getting ready to
make arrests when a White House aide got an urgent phone call.
"I was working in my office on probably about 15 other issues,"
says Mark McClellan, who was at the time a member of the
President's Council of Economic Advisors. "I got a call from the
chief of staff of the White House, saying, 'Mark, there are some
people outside who are blocking traffic at the intersection of
17th and Pennsylvania. It's coming up on rush hour. Go fix it.'"
McClellan went outside, where he met the demonstrators and Bob
Kafka in the middle of the intersection. His clothes and young
looks contrasted with Kafka's long gray hair and wild beard. The
two men could not be more different in terms of political beliefs
or style. But on that rainy day outside the White House, they
found things in common.
The Administrator and the Activist
Both Kafka and McClellan are fascinated by the policy details of
how the government cares for the elderly and disabled. Both also
believe that individuals often make the best choices about their
own care.
McClellan practiced medicine before joining the Bush
administration. "Many of my patients had disabilities and chronic
illnesses," he says. "And in those experiences, there were so
many cases if you just listen to the patient -- if you could get
the patient involved in deciding what treatments were best for
them -- you could get the better results."
After President Bush appointed McClellan the head of the agency
that runs Medicare and Medicaid, he met with Kafka and other
ADAPT members four times a year.
Earlier this year, the White House proposed legislation to start
a program called Money Follows the Person, which gives states
extra money to move elderly and disabled people out of nursing
homes and into their own residences. Congress allotted $2 billion
over the next five years for the program -- still just a tiny
portion of what Medicaid spends on nursing homes.
Bob Kafka says it's enough to move at least 100,000 people. "Mr.
McClellan has made us a believer in bureaucrats," he says, "That
they can keep their word and follow through."
Though some disability and health advocates object to other parts
of the Medicaid reform law -- specifically the part which allows
states to change benefits and charge co-payments -- McClellan
says those objections miss the historic significance of the new
long-term care policy.
"This is the biggest change in long-term financing in decades,"
he says.
McClellan recently announced his resignation. Though he'll be
most remembered for setting up the new Medicare drug benefit, he
says one of his proudest accomplishments was his work with ADAPT.
Adapt and Move On
For Bob Kafka, the work isn't over. He was back in Washington
this week, where several hundred ADAPT protestors surprised a few
security guards at the side entrance of a downtown hotel, where a
trade organization for managed care companies was having their
legislative conference.
The protestors in wheelchairs and scooters rushed into the ornate
hotel lobby and took it over. "We as people with disabilities
want the managed care community to understand that we want to
live on our own," says Kafka.
The ADAPT demonstrators held the hotel lobby for two hours and
got their meeting with the managed care officials.
But Kafka has one other meeting before he leaves Washington.
Today, he and other ADAPT leaders will meet with Mark McClellan
to talk about how the new federal program is progressing.
They will take about how McClellan's agency just started taking
applications for grants two weeks ago. Thirty states have
recently told McClellan that they want to take part in the new
program to help elderly and disabled people move out of nursing
homes.
__________________________________________________ ____________
For more Money Follows the Person news issues, see:
http://www.aapd.com/News/mfp/indexmfp.php
# # #
DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information
of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue
in the disability community. Information circulated does not
necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is
non-partisan.
JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are
available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/
MODERATOR, Gwen Gillenwater, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of
the American Association of People with Disabilities. To
contact Gwen, please email her at JFAgwen@aol.com.
JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national
coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at
http://www.aapd.com.
Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions
To subscribe or unsubscribe,
send an email to majordomo@JFAnow.org
with subscribe justice OR unsubscribe justice
in the body of your email message.