SSAN Action Alert
April 16, 2009
Issue: Contact your Senators and Representatives about the Community Choice Act

Action: Utilize Center for Disability Rights' capwiz to contact your Senators and Representatives and ask that they become a co-sponsor of the Community Choice Act, or thank them for their support.

Click on the `Take Action Now' links below, which will take you to a sample letter to send. Feel free to edit it to make it more personal.

Take Action Now: Contact you Representative
http://capwiz.com/rochestercdr/issues/alert/?alertid=13144126

Take Action Now: Contact your Senator
http://capwiz.com/rochestercdr/issues/alert/?alertid=13144511

Background: Seniors and people with disabilities overwhelmingly prefer to live in the community with supports rather than receive long term care assistance in a nursing facility or other institution. Unfortunately, the current long term care system does not give people a choice and often requires that people go into a nursing facility or other institution to get
the assistance they need. The Community Choice Act gives people real choice in long term care options. This legislation ends the institutional bias in the Medicaid program by giving individuals who are eligible for nursing facility services or other institutional "care" equal access to community-based services and supports, like attendant services.

Please report your efforts by emailing mgodino@bcid.org

If you have any questions about this action alert, please contact Mike Godino at mgodino@bcid.org or by phone at 718-998-3000.

Posted by:

Lawrence Carter-Long
Acting Executive Director, Disabilities Network of NYC
__._,_.___

TO: ALL COMMUNITIY CHOICE ACT SUPPORTERS

The time for change is now! In order to make major changes in the long term services and supports system of this country, we must end the institutional bias once and for all. As states rip, pillage and burn home and
community-based services in these tough budgetary times, there was never a clearer reason why we need the Community Choice Act. ADAPT continues to work tirelessly towards it's passage, but we are seeking your help.

Below is a list of members of the Senate Finance Committee and the Special Committee on Aging, Senate leaders, who have not yet signed on to the Community Choice Act (S 683). Senator Harkin and his staff strongly urge us to do everything we can to get all of the legislators listed below on the CCA bill, and to get them to support including the CCA in health care
reform. If you are from one of these Senator's states, know someone in any
of these states, have an affiliation with a group, or you may know someone
who knows someone that might be able to help getting the legislator to sign
on as a co-sponsor, please contact them now and ask for their help in
securing the legislator in question.

It would be extremely helpful if you can identify a contact person from a
state, (with their consent of course) please send their contact info to
Linda Anthony at lanthony@drnpa.org . This is not absolutely necessary
especially if you are crunched for time, however ADAPT would like to refresh the list of these contacts as we continue to work on CCA and find we need assistance in states where we do not have a presence. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at the address above.
FREE OUR PEOPLE!!!!

Here is the list of key contacts still not yet signed on to CCA.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee:
Democrats not currently co-sponsors -
Baucus (Montana)
Bingaman (New Mexico)
Rockefeller (West Virginia)
Conrad (North Dakota)
Lincoln (Arkansas)
Wyden (Oregon)
Cantwell (Washington)
Nelson (Florida)
Menendez (New Jersey)
Carper (Delaware)

Republicans not currently co-sponsors -
Hatch (Utah)
Snowe (Maine)
Kyl (Arizona)
Bunning (Kentucky)
Crapo (Idaho)
Ensign (Nevada)
Enzi (Wyoming)
Cornyn (Texas)

Members of the Special Committee on Aging:
Kohl

Members of the HELP Committee:
Reed (Rhode Island)
Mikulski (Maryland)
Hagan (North Carolina)
Merkley (Oregon)

Newer members who should be willing to sign on:

Udall, T (New Mexico)
Udall, M (Colorado)
Klobuchar (Minnesota)
Feingold (Wisconsin)
Shaheen (New Hampshire)
Cardin (Maryland)
Whitehouse (Rhode Island)
Begich (Alaska)
Warner (Virginia)
Webb (Virginia)
McCaskill (Missouri)

Others
Brownback (Kansas)

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Say thanks to Finance Committee members who are on, and stress we need their support to get the provisions of CCA (esp. mandatory benefit) in health care reform:

Stabenow (Michigan)
Schumer (New York)
Kerry (Massachusetts)
Roberts (Kansas)

Linda Anthony, PA ADAPT Member
Voice (717)236-8110, ext 314
Voice (toll-free) 800-692-7443, ext 314
TTY (toll-free) 877-357-7139
lanthony@drnpa.org

NATIONAL ADAPT MAILING LIST - Adapt Community Choice Act List http://www.adapt.org