Current Issues
ACTION ALERTS
Below you will find a list of recent and past Action Alerts that have been sent out to the advocacy network. If you would like to join the advocacy network and receive action alerts click on the following link "subscribe advocacy network" and send us your contact information.
2008 NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Below you will find a list of bills that that is currently active in the 2008 N.H. legislative session. Click on bill number for more information.
ACTION ALERTS
Congratulations! Senators Gregg and Sununu Sign on to ADA Legislation
Posted: 8/1/08
ADA Amendments Act in the Senate. Contact Senator Gregg
Posted: 7/23/08
21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008, H.R. 6320
Posted: 7/7/08
Bus Access to be Severed in Manchester! Tell Officials to Continue Manchester Intercity and Commuter Bus Service
Posted July 2, 2008
ADA Amendments Act Passes House. Your Help is Urgently Needed in the Senate!
Posted 6/27/08
ADA Amendments Act National Call in Day
Posted 6/23/2008
GSIL Receives Part B Funding for Transportation, Home Modification and Service Coordination from the SILC
Posted: 6/8/08
HB 1447 Signed into Law
Posted: 5/28/2008
Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Coverage at Risk
Posted 5/21/2008
Support HCR 10 Accessible Parking Awareness Days
Posted 4/28/2008
Accessible Parking Bill Next Tuesday
Posted 4/21/2008
Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities Hearing Next Tuesday
Posted 4/3/2008
Important Hearing HB 717
Posted 3/24/2008
Contact Division III Finance Committee Members on Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled Bill
Posted 3/3/2008
Medicaid for Employed Adults with DisabilitiesTalking Points
Posted 1/23/2008
Important Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities Hearing
Posted 1/22/2008
2008 NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
HB 1447 - relative to Medicaid for employed adults with disabilities.
Congratulations! Senators Gregg and Sununu Sign on to ADA Legislation
August 1, 2008
Congratulations!
Your calls, e-mails, letters, and personal contact over the last year have paid off. Senators Gregg and Sununu have signed on as original co-sponsors to the Senate version of the ADA Amendments Act (S. 3406).
Yesterday, Senator Harkin and Senator Hatch introduced the Senate version of the ADA Amendments Act. When the bill was brought to the floor, the bill already had 30 Senators on board, but both Senators Harkin and Hatch, unrelenting, went to numerous members directly on the Senate floor and were able to sign on an additional 26 Senators as co-sponsors!
Please take the time and contact Senators Gregg and Sununu and thank them for signing on as co-sponsors to the ADA Amendments Act, and for their support of people with disabilities in New Hampshire. We have been advocating all year for this and they deserve to hear our appreciation. The Senators contact information is below.
Congratulations again!
Senator Gregg
http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Senator Sununu
http://sununu.senate.gov/webform.html
ADA Amendments Act in the Senate. Contact Senator Gregg
July 23, 2008
Senator Gregg is on the Senate Committee that is currently working on the ADA Amendments Act. Please take the time to contact the Senator with the following message:
Please keep the definition of disability broad under the ADA Amendments Act. Any narrowing of the proposed definition of disability language may limit the intent of the legislation which is to put a stop to discrimination. The disability and business community have worked long and hard on the current language and have agreed on its scope and merits. Please support the current language as passed by the House and continue to support people with disabilities in New Hampshire.
Right now, all across America, a multitude of people with a wide range of disabilities are shut out of their civil rights protections on account of the Supreme Court’s narrow interpretation of the ADA. More than 90% of the time, courts throw out the legal cases of people with disabilities before they even have a chance to prove the facts of discrimination because they decide that they are not “disabled enough” to warrant the law’s protections in the first place.
If we don’t pass ADA Restoration legislation, it is not clear how much further the courts will go in narrowing the scope of the ADA’s protected class. Any person with a disability who is able to work and live independently is at risk of being found not disabled “enough” for civil rights protections in the workplace given the decisions that we have seen in the federal courts.
Under the current ADA Amendments Act language, if a person is discriminated against because of an actual, past, or perceived physical or mental impairment, regardless of severity (except for transitory and minor impairments like the common cold or flu), s/he is eligible for protection under the ADA.
The proposed language:
• Requires that the definition of disability be interpreted broadly;
• Prohibits courts from considering the effects of medication, prosthetics, hearing aids, etc. when determining whether a person meets the ADA’s definition of disability;
• Defines “disability” as any actual, past, or perceived physical or mental impairment that “substantially limits a major life activity” and then defines this phrase to mean “materially restricts a major life activity;”
• Includes a broad definitional section listing a wide range of major life activities that is intended to restore coverage for many of the groups who have been interpreted out of the ADA by the courts, and
• Includes a broad “regarded as” prong that will provide civil rights protection to anyone who is adversely treated based on a physical or mental impairment.
Please take the time to contact Senator Gregg as soon as you can.
Senator Gregg
http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008, H.R. 6320
Posted: 7/7/08
The Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008 was introduced last month by Reps. Ed Markey and Heather Wilson. The bill would amend the Communications Act to ensure that new Internet-enabled telephone and television services are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities and it also closes existing gaps in telecommunications laws.
Contact your Representative and ask them to support and co-sponsor H.R. 6320 which will provide for crucial communication technology for people with disabilities. The specifics of the bill are further explained in the press release below.
Representative Hodes and Shea-Porter’s contact information is below also.
Thanks for your help!
Representative Paul Hodes
http://hodes.house.gov/contact.aspx
Representative Carol Shea-Porter
http://shea-porter.house.gov/?sectionid=84§iontree=84
"The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008"
Washington, D.C.—The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) is delighted that Representatives Edward Markey (D-MA) and Heather Wilson (R-NM) have introduced “The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008” (H.R. 6320). The bill would amend the Communications Act to ensure that new Internet-enabled telephone and television services are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities and closes existing gaps in telecommunications laws.
The bill is co-sponsored by Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA), Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Barney Frank (D-MA).
Jenifer Simpson, of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), said "Once again, as he did in the 1980s and 1990s, Representative Markey is safeguarding an accessible communications future for people with disabilities. We are delighted that he, Representative Wilson, and the co-sponsors put value on accessibility in digital communications. We applaud all of them for their extraordinary leadership - and we look now to the Senate to address the same issue of accessible communications technologies.”
Added Rosaline Crawford, of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), “Digital and Internet technologies are very exciting. They make it possible for TVs and other video devices – of virtually any size – to receive, transmit, and display TV programs and videoclips with captions. Captions make TV programs and videoclips accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. As more and more TV programs embrace the Internet, people who are deaf or hard of hearing must not be left behind. Captioning TV programs and videoclips shown on the Internet is needed for the same reasons it is needed when shown on TV.”
Mark Richert, of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), stated, "With this measure, people with vision loss will finally have access to everything from text messaging their friends, watching their favorite TV shows, and receiving critical emergency alerts. Video description and accessible user interfaces on television devices are essential in providing information about events on screen for people who are blind or visually impaired." Video description is verbal depiction of key visual elements inserted into natural pauses in television dialogue and is activated by the viewer.
Karen Peltz Strauss, of Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD), said, “H.R. 6320 is a giant step forward toward bringing the Communication Act’s requirements for accessible telephone and television services into this century. The various provisions of this legislation – which focus on new and innovative ways to communicate and receive information – build on existing federal policies to ensure that people with disabilities can take full advantage of the Internet advancements enjoyed by everyone else.”
The bill includes the following specific measures:
Communications Access
Requires access to phone-type equipment and services used over the Internet.
Add improved accountability and enforcement measures for accessibility, including a clearinghouse and reporting obligations by providers and manufacturers.
Requires telephone products used with the Internet to be hearing aid compatible.
Allows use of Lifeline and Link-up universal service funds (USF) for broadband services.
Allocates up to $10 million/year from USF for equipment used by people who are deaf-blind.
Clarifies the scope of relay services to include calls between and among people with disabilities and require Internet-based service providers to contribute to the Interstate Relay Fund.
Video Programming Access
Requires decoder circuitry in all video programming devices.
Extends the closed captioning obligations to television-type video programming distributed over the Internet: covers programming that would otherwise be covered by the FCC’s captioning rules, not user-generated content.
Requires easy access to closed captions via remote control, on-screen menus.
Requires easy access by blind people to television controls and program selection menus.
Restores video description rules and requires access to televised emergency programming for people who are blind or have low vision.
Bus Access to be Severed in Manchester! Tell Officials to Continue Manchester Intercity and Commuter Bus Service
Posted July 2, 2008
When the new Boston Express Commuter bus service from Londonderry begins in November, plans are too sever Manchester’s intercity and commuter bus service from Boston and points north of the queen city.
Currently, Concord Coach operates 10 routes a day from Concord to Manchester and then on to Boston. Come November, the new Boston Express will by-pass the Manchester terminal which effectively severs bus access to the city from the rest of the state.
The new Boston Express is being heavily subsidized by Federal and State monies with out stipulations that the largest city in the state continue to be served. This will have a devastating effect on individuals with disabilities who depend on the intercity and commuter service and for those who cannot drive.
Park and Ride locations further down the highway do not replace the downtown Manchester terminal or provide access from the north of Manchester to downtown. If you have a disability, live in Manchester and depend on public transportation, the elimination of the intercity/commuter routes means you’re effectively trapped; if you live outside the city, you can’t get in! Your access to and from the Queen City will no longer exist!
This will be an enormous setback for transportation access for people with disabilities in New Hampshire. We cannot afford this loss in service when there is so little bus service in the state to begin with. Contact your public officials and tell them your outrage at these route cuts. If you live in Manchester tell them how you will be essentially trapped in the city. If you live outside the city, tell them how this will affect you for work, accessing health care, visiting family or friends, attending sporting events, concerts, museums, festivals, expositions, and other businesses and services. If you or someone you know rides the bus or if you think you might use it in the future, this decision will affect you.
Start your message by stating:
Continue Manchester intercity and commuter bus service.
Add your personal story and relevant Issues to consider below.
Contact information for public officials is also below.
Thanks for your support and let us know if you receive a response.
Issues to consider:
• If intercity/commuter bus service is discontinued to downtown Manchester, riders from Concord and other cities from the north will no longer have a connection to the state’s largest city.
• New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) reissued the Request for Proposals (RFP, used to issue contracts) for I-93 bus service because a private operator complained that the initial RFP did not take into account any existing bus service operating from north of Exit 5 (North of Londonderry) and the impacts associated with it.
Now that that same company that complained about the initial RFP was selected as the operator and awarded the state contract, they are looking at the bottom line financial issues and not the secondary impacts to the citizens of the state that need that Downtown Manchester connection.
The state should require the operator to provide service because of those impacts and consider the needs of all citizens needing the downtown Manchester connection. The I-93 widening mitigation plan for bus service should take a look at all the needs that operate through the I-93 corridor, including Manchester, and make sure the citizens of the state are being served and not look at only the operator’s perspective.
• The state invested Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds to purchase four buses for commuter service between Concord, downtown Manchester and Londonderry to Boston. The operator should be required to provide the service these funds were provided for which included Manchester service.
• At a time when public transportation rider-ship is up due to soaring high gas prices, it makes no sense to be cutting off access to the largest city in the state. The economic impact could be significant.
• Intercity/Commuter bus service to Downtown Manchester is a vital link serving commuters, the general public and the disability community from the North. This service provides connection with Manchester Transit Authority bus service to get people to jobs, social activities and events. A meaningful connection must be required of the operator by the State when looking at the widening mitigation plan for I-93.
Public Officials to Contact:
Governor John Lynch
Office of the Governor
State House
25 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603)271-2121
http://www4.egov.nh.gov/governor/goveforms/comments.asp
George N. Campbell, Jr.
Commissioner
NH Department of Transportation
7 Hazen Drive
PO BOX 483
Concord, NH 03302-0483
(603) 271-3734
gcampbellcommissioner@dot.state.nh.us
Executive Councilor Raymond J. Wieczorek
1060 Ray Street
Manchester, NH 03104-1620
Home Office: 603-624-1655
Office: 603-271-3632
rwieczorek@nh.gov
Senator Sylvia Larsen
President of the Senate
Statehouse
107 N. Main St., Room 302
Concord, N.H. 03301
(603) 271-2111
sylvia.larsen@leg.state.nh.us
Representative Terie Norelli
Speaker of the House
Third Floor, State House
107 North Main Street
Concord N.H 03301
(603) 271-3661
terie.norelli@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Robert Letourneau
Chairman Senate Transportation Committee
Legislative Office Building, Room 101-B
Concord, N.H. 03301
(603) 271-2118
robert.letourneau@leg.state.nh.us
Representative Jim Ryan
Chairman House Transportation Committee
11 Cricket Hill Way
Franklin NH 03235-2060
(603) 934-2703
jryan@metrocast.net
Senator Theodore Gatsas
20 Market St
PO Box 6655
Manchester, NH 03104-6052
(H) (603)623-0220
(O) (603)271-8567
Ted.Gatsas@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Betsi DeVries
14 Old Orchard Way
Manchester, NH 03103
(H) (603)647-0117
(O) (603)271-2104
betsi.devries@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Lou D’Allesandro
332 St. James Avenue
Manchester, NH 03102-4950
(H) (603)669-3494
(O) (603)271-2600
dalas@leg.state.nh.us
Mayor, Frank C. Guinta
City of Manchester
One City Hall Plaza
Manchester, NH 03101
Phone: (603) 624-6500
http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/MayorandAldermen/MayorsOffice/ContacttheMayor/tabid/878/Default.aspx
Mayor James Bouley
City of Concord
124 East Side Drive
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
224-0614
jpbouley@comcast.net
ADA Amendments Act Passes House. Your Help is Urgently Needed in the Senate!
Posted 6/27/2008
Congratulations, Advocates! On Wednesday, June 24, the US House of Representatives approved the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, HR 3195, formerly known as the ADA Restoration Act, by a vote of 402-17! View the House-passed bill (PDF). The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration and your
Senators need to hear from you.
Ask Senators Gregg and Sununu to pass the ADA Amendments Act,
HR 3195, before July 4th, marking independence for all! Thank them for their continued support of people with disabilities in New Hampshire.
You can reach your Senators through the Capitol Switchboard at
1-(800) 828-0498 or by e-mail at:
Senator Gregg
http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Senator Sununu
http://sununu.senate.gov/webform.html
During House consideration of the ADA Amendments Act, Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) thanked Independent Living leaders Ed Roberts and Judy Heumann, among others who paved the way for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The chief sponsor of the bill, the House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) dedicated the bill to Justin Dart, Father of the ADA. Recounting the importance of restoring the ADA, Hoyer said the current situation is now bizarre. “An individual may be considered too disabled by an employer to get a job, but not disabled enough by the courts to be protected by the ADA from discrimination.”
Lawmakers said Wednesday that people with epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and other disabilities had been improperly denied protection because their conditions could be controlled by medication or were in remission. In a Texas case, for example, a federal judge said a worker with epilepsy could not be considered disabled because he was taking medications that reduced the frequency of seizures.
In deciding whether a person is disabled, the bill says, courts should generally not consider the effects of “mitigating measures” like prescription drugs, hearing aids and artificial limbs. Moreover, it adds, “an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.” Read background information about the ADAAA.
ADA Amendments National Call-in Day!
Posted 6/23/2008
Tell Congress to Pass the ADA Amendments Act before July 4th!
On Wednesday, June 18th, two House committees - the Education and Labor Committee and the Judiciary Committee – approved the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, H.R. 3195, formerly known as the ADA Restoration Act. View the new the Committee approved “marked up,” bill language. The bill will now go to the full House for consideration and your Representative needs to hear from you.
On Tuesday, June 24th, you can join disability advocates from across the country to support this legislation. We need your help to make sure the bill becomes law. You can reach Representatives Hodes and Shea-Porter through the Capitol Switchboard at 1-(800) 828-0498 or (202) 224-3121.
When you reach the switchboard operator ask them to connect you to your representative’s office.
Rep. Carol Shea Porter, District 1
Rep. Paul Hodes, District 2
Thank your representative for their support of the ADA Restoration Act in the past and ask them to pass H.R. 3195, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 with No Changes, No Amendments!
Thanks for your support!!!
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GSIL Recieves Part B Funding for Transportation, Home Modification and Service Coordination from the SILC
In an Alert sent last month we asked you to contact members of the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) to support GSIL’s funding for transportation, home modifications, and service coordination though a federal independent living grant called “Part B”.
We are happy to announce we received funding for Part B services through the SILC for this fiscal year. Although funding was awarded with about a 6% reduction from last year’s level; GSIL is committed to providing the same level and quality of service to the best of our ability and capacity.
Please take the time to thank SILC members for supporting Independent Living and GSIL’s Part B services. Let them know how important transportation, home modifications, and service coordination are to you. Tell them the need for these services continues to increase and you hope there is an opportunity to increase funding at the federal and state levels in the future. Contact information is below.
Thanks for your help.
SILC MEMBERSHIP
Dorine Pelletier Chair
PO Box 310 Executive Committee
Greenville NH 03048-0310 SRC Representative
(W) 547-3311 ext 216
dorine.pelletier@crotchedmountain.org
(Non-voting member except to break a tie)
Kenneth Mailloux 1st Vice Chair
P.O. Box 174 Executive Committee
Salisbury NH 03268-5108 Chair Administration Cmte
(H) 648-2410 Advocacy Task Force
kenmailloux@yahoo.com
Erin Hall 2nd Vice Chair
Brain Injury Association Administration Committee
Of New Hampshire
109 N. State Street
Concord, NH 03301
(W) 603-225-8400
erin@bianh.org
Kathy Bates Secretary
42 Cornfield Road Executive Committee
Somersworth, NH 03878 Chair- Advocacy TF
(H) 841-5700
wngsandwheels@comcast.net
Wendi Aultman Membership Committee
ServiceLink Resource Center DHHS Representative
Program Manager
129 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301-3857
(W) 271-4640
waultman@dhhs.state.nh.us
Joan Case TBD
144 Walker Hill Road
Weare, NH 03281
603-529-7190 (TTY)
wjwekcase@comcast.net
Sandra Drew Administration Committee
22 Lane Drive Advocacy Task Force
Allenstown, NH 03275
603-485-3607
nanadrew@comcast.net
Glenys Crane-Emerson Advocacy Committee
Northeast Deaf and Hard of Hearing
125 Airport Road
Concord, NH 03301
(w) 224-1850 ext. 207 (voice)
(w) 224-0691 (TTY)
programspec@ndhhs.org
James Fox, Esq. Administration Committee
Disabilities Rights Center (DRC) Advocacy Task Force
18 Low Avenue
Concord, NH 03301
(W) 603- 228-0432
jamesf@drcnh.org
Rosemary Garretson Administration Committee
7 Moose Club Park Road
Goffstown, NH 03045
(H) 603-622-3107
rgscats@comcast.net
Karen Geary Membership Committee
Governor’s Commission on (Temporary Chair)
Disability (GCD) Member At Large
57 Regional Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(W) 603-271-4174
Karen.geary@nh.gov
Sara Hollinrake Membership Committee
Lifeshare Inc.
1200 Elm Street
Manchester, NH 03101
(w) 625-8825 ext 240
s.Hollinrake@lifeshareinc.org
Debora Krider Administration Committee
Granite State Independent
Living (GSIL)
21 Chenell Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(W) 603-410-6508
debbie.Krider@gsil.org
Norma Lemire Membership Committee
Granite State Independent
Living (GSIL)
21 Chenell Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(W) 603-228-9680
norma.Lemire@gsil.org
Daniel Louney Administration Committee
18 Windsong Circle
Bedford NH 03110-4644
(H) 472-5879
dmlouney@comcast.net
Tom Owens Membership Committee
Betty’s Dream
75 Longmeadow Lane
Portsmouth NH 03801-3157
(H) 431-8337
thomasowensjr1@comcast.net
Cindy Perkins Advocacy Task Force
89 Main St
Pittsfield NH 03263-3703
(H) 435-7552
uppekha@gmail.com
Denise Sampson Membership Committee
49 Spit Brook Road
Apt. 144
Nashua, NH 03060
(H) 603-247-1114
freewheeler54@verizon.net
dsampson@nhspinal.org
Susan Wolf-Downes
Northeast Deaf and Hard
Of Hearing Services Administration Committee
125 Airport Rd
Concord NH 03301-8550
1-800-492-0407 (VOICE)
1-866-634-4764 (TTYY)
Pager: swdownes@tmo.blackberry.net (use in emergency cancellations/notices)
swolf-downes@ndhhs.org
Denise Yerardi Advocacy Committee
Transition Planning and Family Services Specialist
Crotched Mountain
1 Verney Drive
Greenfield, NH 03047
(W) 603-547-3311 ext. 237
(F) 603-547-3953
denise.yeradi@crotchedmountain.org
Rose Prescott, Ex-Officio Membership Committee
SBVI – SSIL
21 S Fruit St, Ste 20
Concord NH 03301-2428
(W) 271-3537
rprescott@ed.state.nh.us
Joan Holleran, Ex-Officio DSU Representative
Dept of Ed – Voc Rehab
Div Adult Learning & Rehabilitation
21 S Fruit St, Ste 20
Concord NH 03301-2428
1-800-299-1647
(W) 603-271-3530
jholleran@ed.state.nh.us
Janet Bamberg Consultant
VP/CFO
Moore Center Services
195 McGregor Street
Manchester, NH 03102
(W) 603-206-2849
Janet.bamberg@moorecenter.org
Paula Ninivaggi Staff
Program Liaison
NH Statewide Independent Living Council
57 Regional Drive
Concord, NH 03301-8550
1-800-852-3405
(W) 603-271-0476
(fax) 603-271-2837
Paula.ninivaggi@nh.gov
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HB 1447 Signed into Law
HB 1447 - Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities (MEAD) legislation was signed into law last week by Governor Lynch.
The law makes three main changes to MEAD:
• Restores the ability for individuals to keep and live off their savings that they have accumulated while on MEAD, should they need to stop working and continue Medicaid coverage
• Allows self-employed individuals to earn less than federal minimum wage.
• Codifies that individuals who are eligible for home and community-based care waiver services can receive medical services through the MEAD program if they choose.
Congratulations to everyone who attended and testified at the hearings, and made calls and sent e-mails to elected officials. Your persistence paid off.
Please take the time to thank the sponsors of the bill for their support. Also, please thank Michelle Winchester, Carol Stamatakis, Clyde Terry, and Sue Fox who worked behind the scenes to shepherd the bill through the legislature. Contact information is below.
Sponsors
Thomas Donovan - mrtedd2008@yahoo.com
Arthur Jillette - agj@theworld.com
Martha Fuller Clark - martha.fullerclark@leg.state.nh.us
Larry Emerton - larry.emerton@leg.state.nh.us
Ruth Bleyler - ruth.bleyler@leg.state.nh.us
Margaret Hassan - maggie.hassan@leg.state.nh.us
Carla Skinder - cskinder@vrh.org
Special Thanks
Michelle Winchester, Franklin Pierce Law Center – mwinchester@piercelaw.edu
Carol Stamatakis, Developmental Disability Council - Carol.M.Stamatakis@ddc.nh.gov
Clyde Terry, GSIL – clyde.terry@gsil.org
Sue Fox, UNH IOD - swfox@cisunix.unh.edu
MEDICARE Durable Medical Equipment Coverage at Risk
This alert come from our friends at the National Council on Independent Living.
Posted 5/21/2008
Radical change is occurring in Medicare that will directly affect you! This complimentary webinar will help you learn about the New Competitive Bidding Program and how it will impact people who use durable medical equipment. Join us to learn how you’ll have to navigate the new service delivery model for your Medicare equipment and services, and what advocates can do to stop these damaging changes.
Complimentary Consumer Online Webinar
Competitive Bidding Program
Tuesday May 20th, 2008. 2:00 EST
Then, get involved by participating in the Competitive Bidding Call-in Day to your congressman; share your concerns about access to durable medical equipment and request their help to separate complex rehabilitation from Competitive Bidding and stop the damage before Competitive Bidding spreads across the country. Please follow this link for detailed Call-in Day instructions. If you have questions, please contact Elizabeth Leef, at Elizabeth@ncil.org.
Nationwide Legislative Call-in Day
Thursday, May 22nd
Congressional Switchboard 202-224-3121
Accessible Parking Bill Next Tuesday
Posted 4/21/2008
Your Testimony Needed!
Contact Senate Commerce Committee Members!
With the second largest snow fall on recorded in NH this past winter, people who use accessible parking know all to well how difficult it is to get out and around in the winter wonderland. Snow piled in accessible parking spaces is more than inconvenient. It prevents individuals from going to work, making doctors appointments, going to school, and running important errands.
HB 1532 - relative to snow and obstruction removal from parking spaces designated for disabled persons.
This bill makes it a violation to permit snow, mud, debris, or large objects to accumulate or obstruct parking places and access aisles designated for disabled persons.
Date: 4/29/08
Time: 10:45 AM
Location: LOB 102
Committee: Senate Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection
What you can do.
1.) Contact the committee members especially if they are your legislator and ask them to support HB 1532 next Tuesday. Please lets us know what they say when you contact them. Contact information is below.
2.) Write testimony why this legislation is important to you or your family members. Tell them your experience how this issue has impacted your lives. If you cannot attend the hearing and testify, send me your testimony and I will submit it for you.
3.) Attend the hearing and sign in support of the legislation. Let me know if you can attend so we can have an idea of who will be there.
4.) Forward this message to your networks and friends who may be interested!
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Support HCR 10 - Accessible Parking Awareness Days
Posted 4/28/2008
Contact the Senate Transportation Committee
HCR 10 is a House Concurrent Resolution urging communities with populations over 15,000 people to conduct handicap parking awareness days.
The resolution strongly urges communities to conduct at least 2 handicap parking awareness days each year by providing information through newspaper, radio, television and whatever other means the community uses to communicate with the public.
HCR 10 is scheduled for a pubic hearing this Wednesday. Please contact the committee members and ask them to support the resolution. Public education on how to use, and not use, accessible parking is a great way to promote inclusive communities. Please let us know if you get a response from the Senator’s. Their contact information is below.
Thanks for your help!
Date: 4/30/08
Time: 11:15 AM
Location: LOB 301
Committee Senate Transportation
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MEAD Hearing Next Tuesday!
Your Help Needed! Contact Your Senator!
The Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities bill, HB 1447, has passed the House and is scheduled for a Senate hearing next Tuesday. We are half way there and again need to show our support to demonstrate to the legislature how important this program is for people with disabilities when they work.
Bill: HB 1447
Committee: Senate Health and Human Services Committee
Date: 4/8/2008
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: RM 100, State House
What you can do.
1.) Contact the committee members especially if they are your Senator and ask them to support HB 1447 next Tuesdays as it provides critical work incentives for people with disabilities. Contact information is below with the towns they represent.
2.) Write testimony why this legislation is important to you or your family members. If you cannot attend the hearing and testify, send me your testimony and I will submit it for you. Talking points below.
3.) Attend the hearing and sign in support of the legislation. It is important that we make a strong impression. Let me know if you can attend so we can have an idea of who will be there.
4.) Forward this message to your networks and friends who may be interested!
HB 1447
Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities (MEAD)
In 2001, the New Hampshire Legislature unanimously supported the passage of work incentive legislation, the Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities (MEAD) program, in an effort to break the poverty cycle for persons with disabilities and support their return to work. MEAD enables participants to maximize their employment potential and financial independence and prevent poverty and dependence on cash assistance programs, while still maintaining needed Medicaid health care coverage. HB 1447 encourages and supports employment of people with disabilities by restoring and clarifying the following:
Restores a critical work incentive to the program. This provision allows people who participate in MEAD to keep and live off their savings they accumulate during the program, if they stop working and still need Medicaid. Individuals would not be eligible for State or Federal cash assistance programs until their MEAD savings are spent down. Allowing people to keep and live off their savings is good public policy as it creates less reliance on public assistance programs saving the state money. This provision was in the original rules of the program and was changed in 2005 over the objection of the JLCAR committee.
Clarifying eligibility. This provision clarifies that individuals who use services under the Home and Community Based-Care (HCBC-DD-ABD- ECI) waivers may participate in the MEAD program if they choose. This was the intention and practice of the original program but has been misinterpreted in recent years.
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Important Hearing HB 717
HB 717 - a bill relative to Community Planning Boards has a hearing scheduled tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, in the LOB Rm 101, in front of the Senate Public and Municipal Affairs Committee. Please show your support the bill by either attending the hearing or contacting committee members. Information about the bill and contact information is below.
HB 717: AN ACT Allowing Municipalities to Establish Local Community Services and Care Planning Boards.
Municipal and County Government Committee
HB 717 is enabling legislation which authorizes municipalities to establish community services and care planning boards (CSCPB) for the purpose of assessing a community’s needs related to its residents who are aging and/or living with disabilities and planning for how to meet those needs. It allows municipalities - as an option - to establish a CSCPB if they feel they could use a tool like this to help them strengthen their community’s social and civic well-being. It provides the mechanism to create such a board for those towns that choose to include this critical type of planning in their government structure.
The need for such a board at the community level is precipitated by demographic shifts that are impacting the fabric of NH communities. NH has closed its only institution for persons with developmental disabilities, supports all people with mental illness to live in the community as much as possible, and is facing unprecedented growth in its population over the age of 65. As a result, NH communities are facing many structural and policy challenges that will need to be addressed in the near future.
Service systems are operationally unable to resolve all of the chronic issues facing persons who are aging and disabled in the community in sustainable and affordable ways without partnering with local communities. We cannot afford to rely on government supported programs to meet all our community needs as the population ages.
The basis for a CSCPB is that if communities are more welcoming, supportive, and accessible for all residents, long-term care services and supports can be provided to a greater number of residents in a more cost effective way. A CSCPB does not eliminate the need for a formal service delivery system; instead it enhances community supports, ultimately making use of state and federal service system dollars far more efficient.
The boards’ charge is to assess the social needs of its communities and report those findings to town officials and the voters. The bill does not require communities to develop or fund any programs and does not provide funding for any programs or projects that may be identified by the CSCPB as necessary for their communities. However, as a recognized instrumentality of a local government, these boards could apply for grant funds to help support some of the initiatives they identify.
This is a creative step to assisting communities to preserve their character, their civic connections and their most important resources – their townspeople.
This bill was developed through the collaborative work of a group with representation from the University of New Hampshire: Institute on Disability, Institute of Health Policy and Practice, and Cooperative Extension; the Municipal Association; the NH Council on Developmental Disabilities; the Department of Health and Human Services; NH AARP; the Public Health Association; and Easter Seals of NH. It has wide support across a wide spectrum of NH citizens.
Technical assistance is available to communities through the UNH Cooperative Extension, Institute on Disability, and Institute on Health Policy and Practice and the NH Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Contact Division III Finance Committee Members Today! APTD Work Session Scheduled Tomorrow at 10:30 A.M.
Please take the time to contact Division III Finance Committee members today regarding HB 1549 – the Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled Program.
MEAD Talking Points
Posted January 23, 2008
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Program
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Cost to Individual
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MEAD
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Tiered Premiums
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Home and Community-Based Care Waiver
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Cost of Care Contribution (taken from individual’s income after deduction of basic needs costs)
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Important MEAD Hearing! Mark Your Calendar.
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