[NYAPRS Enews] Coverge of 9/23 My Medicaid Matters DC Rally

[Harvey Rosenthal]

NYAPRS Note: The following comes to us courtesy of Cliff Perez of our
friends at the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley.  

 

Hello everyone who participated in our trip to Washington DC in support
of the My Medicaid Matters rally last week. To all of you, thank you
very much for all of your support. This event would not have been
possible if it were not for the support we received from several local
organizations such as: 

1.   The Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Inc. (ILCHV) 

2.   The Capital District Center for Independence Inc. (CDCI)

3.   Consumer Directed Choices Inc. (CDC), 

4.   New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Inc.
(NYAPRS), 

5.   Self-Advocacy Association of NY (SANYS), 

6.   MS Society Upstate NY Chapter, 

7.   The Empowerment Exchange - Mental Health Empowerment Project, 

8.   YOUTH POWER! Families Together in New York State,

9.   New York State Independent Living Council (NYSILC)

10.                New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL)

 

Including more financial assistance we received from a few concerned
individuals. 

 

The rally lasted over two hours with a lineup of great speakers
including many Medicaid recipients, and our own local Disability
Advocate Jason Planck, representatives from national organizations, home
care workers and several members of Congress that all spoke passionately
to the importance of Medicaid.  

 

A summary of the event and pictures have been posted on ADAPT's website:
http://www.adapt.org/freeourpeople/mmm/report05.php. 

 

You can also find our Center (ILCHV) on facebook. One of our MSW
Interns, who has never participated in any rally or political event,
does not have a disability, is not very familiar with Medicaid but is
very interested in ensuring that people have access to the services they
need, is working on an article, her perspectives on the rally and the
issue. As soon as she completes her article, we will post it on our
website along with pictures taken by another of our MSW Interns so, keep
looking for it on our websites: www.ilchv.org or www.ilusa.com ... 

-----------------

 

Disability-Rights Advocates Protest Obama's Proposed Medicaid Cuts

By Debbie Siegelbaum The Hill September 21, 2011

 

Hundreds of disability-rights advocates congregated on the West Lawn of
the Capitol on Wednesday to protest billions of dollars in proposed cuts
to Medicaid.

"States are cutting Medicaid, and federal cuts on top of state cuts
would be ... catastrophic," said protester Jessica Sadowsky of Maryland.

 

President Obama proposed a major debt-reduction plan earlier this week
designed to cut more than $3 trillion over the next decade. An estimated
$580 billion would be saved through cuts to entitlement programs.

Medicaid, a healthcare program for the poor that is administered by
states, was singled out for a $73 billion decrease. Medicare could be
hit even harder, with a proposed $248 billion cut.

Protesters of the plan, many themselves with disabilities, demanded that
Congress maintain funding for those in need.

"I'd just like to see absolutely no cuts. You're taking from the poor,
the disabled and seniors - how much more can they take?" asked Carol
Jones, from Georgia. "I think that they have to look in another
direction; maybe cut some of their unnecessary spending."

"All Medicare matters. ... These people can't afford that," she added,
motioning to her fellow protesters. "They're living minimally now; any
more cuts would really be astronomical for them."

More than 90 national advocacy groups - including AARP and the American
Association of People with Disabilities - sponsored the rally, one of
several to be conducted across the country. Many protesters and advocacy
groups planned to visit lawmakers' offices after the event to further
communicate their message.

For Arlington, Va., resident Caroline Levy, whose five-year-old son Adam
suffers from cognitive and physical disabilities, Medicaid is a
necessary government expenditure.

"My motto about Medicaid is that fair isn't when everybody gets the same
thing," she said. "Fair is when everybody gets what they need."

 

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicaid/182981-disability-rights-a
dvocates-protest-obamas-proposed-medicaid-cuts

------------------

 

Rally on Capitol Hill: 'Medicaid Matters'
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/163554/rally-capitol-hill-medicaid-matter
s> 

George Zornick <http://www.thenation.com/authors/george-zornick>  on
September 21, 2011 - 4:41pm ET

 

Today on Capitol Hill, Senators Bernie Sanders and Tom Harkin, along
with Representative Dennis Kucinich and other legislators, addressed a
rally aimed at persuading Congress and President Obama to protect
Medicaid in the upcoming deficit and budget deals.

 

The deficit reduction package touted by President Obama this week would
cut more than $72 billion from Medicaid, and the super-committee and
Republicans in the House might choose to go much further. The rally had
a particular emphasis on the effect of cuts on people with disablities,
8 million of whom rely
<http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/21/3927216/people-with-disabilities-to-ho
ld.html>  on Medicaid. It was led by the disability rights group ADAPT
and had more than ninety cosponsors, ranging from the AARP and Families
USA to the SEIU.

 

Nation DC intern Cal Colgan was there and filmed this video: 

http://www.thenation.com/blog/163554/rally-capitol-hill-medicaid-matters


 

Medicaid operates on such slim margins that cuts of almost any magnitude
hurt recipients. "The Medicaid cuts in the president's proposal shift
the burden to states and ultimately onto the shoulders of seniors,
people with disabilities and low-income families who depend on the
program as their lifeline," Ronald F. Pollack, executive director of
Families USA, told
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/us/politics/wielding-the-ax-on-medica
id-and-medicare-without-wounding-the-patient.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper>
the New York Times today.

 

More information on local rallies for the same cause can be found here
<http://www.adapt.org/main.medicaid_rally.local_rallies> . 

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