Weekly Updates - November 15, 2010

November 15, 2010

Disability Policy Consortium  Weekly Update

Dear Ken,

This week seemed to be a light week for news and events when I started.  However, it filled up after I poked around my email a bit.

If you live in the Worcester area and have early Wednesday evening free, please join DPC Board member John Chappell and me at  5:30, Banx Room of the Worcester Public Library for a discussion of the DPC and local advocacy issues.   We will unveil a new Guerrilla Tactics kit at this meeting.

Girard Plant forwarded Families USA summaries of home and community based services that are posted on their web site.  Al Norman, Mass Home Care shared results from two cases that expand and protect community based services for people on Medicare.

Elsewhere you'll find opportunities to attend movies, a conference on Aging and Mental Health and focus groups on Mass Rehabilitation Commission.  Something for everyone.

Disability Policy Consortium
wfallan@dpcma.org| 617-542-3522

On the Calendar:

The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) has brought together a Marketing Strategy Team from across MRC to develop a strategic marketing plan that will ensure that complete and accurate information is reaching all stakeholders about the services that the agency offers. The group has been actively working over the past few months and they are now in a place where they  would like to set up some focus groups that will inform this process.

The group is in the process of recruiting focus group volunteers from the community, including people with disabilities and their family members. 

The focus groups will be for approximately 1.5 hours on three different dates and locations:
1. December 13th from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. at the Institute for Community Inclusion (20 Park Plaza, Boston, MA).

2. December 15th from 2:00-3:30 p.m. at the Worcester Public Library Banx Room (3 Salem Square
Worcester, MA 01608)

3.  December 20th from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. at The Forbes Library Community Room (20 West St, Northampton, Massachusetts)

Please encourage volunteers who would like to become focus group participants to email me directly for any of the dates at Maura.mone@umassmed.edu. Also, please send any requests for reasonable accommodations to Maura. Please note that we will not be providing transportation to and from the focus groups but we will be developing a survey to gather input from people not able to make it to one of these dates/locations.

We appreciate any willingness to meet and share information with us.  Thank you.

 Maura Mone, M.A.

On the Calendar: MAOA

Massachusetts Association of Older Americans, Inc. and Massachusetts Department of Mental Health

Addressing Aging and Mental Health

 in a Multi-Cultural Society

 December 15, 2010

For additional information contact Advocacy@maoamass.org or visit our website www.MAOAmass.org

On the Calendar: VSA Arts Presents

Please Join Us for an Inspiring Film and Discussion of the award winning Shooting Beauty at the NonProfit Center's Community Room. This film brings photographers with disabilities to the big screen.

Shooting Beauty

Wednesday, November 17, 2010
4:30pm - 7:30pm

Popcorn and apple cider will be served!

The Q & A session with Courtney Bent and Tony Knight will be ASL interpreted. The film is Open Captioned and Audio Described.

The Community Room, 1st Floor
at The NonProfit Center
89 South Street, Boston, MA 02111

The photographers in SHOOTING BEAUTY have varying degrees of disabilities.

Please RSVP at bsk@vsamass.org no later than Tuesday, November 16th.

On the Calendar: Ms. Wheelchair Mass

If you are a woman who is:

A Massachusetts resident

Between the ages of 21 - 60

Marital status is not a factor

Using a wheelchair for 100% of your active daily mobility

You could be crowned as the new

Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2011 on March 27, 2011!

The winner will compete at Nationals for the title of Ms. Wheelchair America 2012!

This application and  $100.00 Entry Fee are due by February 15th, 2011, a discounted early fee of $75 is  available for applications and entry fees received before January 15th 2011. Please make your checks or money orders payable to:  "The Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation" and send the completed application, photo and Entry Fee to: Ms Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation, PO Box 168, Raynham, MA 02767-0168. Contestants are encouraged to solicit sponsorship to cover this fee. Scholarships are available if this cost is prohibitive. Fee includes lunch for contestant and companion and giftbag. .  For more information on the pageant please contact Autumn Grant at (774) 501- 1185 or email mswheelchairmass06@yahoo.com check out www.mswheelchairmass.org or our Facebook page Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation      

News from the Net: Families USA

Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act includes several provisions designed to expand access to home- and community-based services for people who need long-term care and improve long-term care security for everyone. Families USA has recently developed several new resources that highlight these provisions.

New Opportunities for States to Invest in Home- and Community-Based Services is a series of state-specific fact sheets that explore the new options available through the Affordable Care Act that states can use to expand home- and community-based services in Medicaid and how this expansion would benefit each state. This series, developed with support from the SCAN Foundation, is designed to give you the facts you need to help you advocate that your state adopt the new options and provide home- and community-based services. We are in the process of completing all of the state fact sheets, so if you don't see your state posted yet-please check back soon!

Help for Those Who Need Long-Term Care describes how the Affordable Care Act will help more people stay in their homes or the community (rather than moving to an institution) and why this help is needed.

Five Good Reasons Why States Shouldn't Cut Home- and Community-Based Services in Medicaid discusses how during these tough economic times for states, arguing for expansion of Medicaid home- and community-based services won't be enough-it will be necessary to fight cuts as well. This fact sheet will help you to develop a solid argument against cuts to these vital programs in your state.

Additionally, on October 7, we held a Health Action conference call covering expanded access to home- and community-based services in Medicaid. A recording of that call, as well as a link to the PowerPoint covered on the call, is available here: http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/tools-for-advocates/conference-calls-2010.html.

Some of the programs to expand home- and community-based care are optional state Medicaid programs, and you'll need to advocate for your state to take up those programs. These new resources are designed to help you advance home- and community-based care expansions in your state.

Thanks for your great work!

Best,

Jessica Larochelle
Field Director
Families USA

News from the Net:

Medicare Decisions:

 
From Mass Home Care
 
Two recent Medicare court cases, one in Pennsylvania, one in Vermont, may significantly change what Medicare can pay for in the home, and in a nursing facility. The thrust of both cases is that Medicare is not just a program for people whose condition is improving---but it can be used for people who are stable to prevent further deterioration in their condition. This is important, because in the past, Medicare would stop paying for a person's home health care or nursing facility care if they were considered 'stable.' This would leave seniors having to pay out of their own pocket for care, or just stop receiving the care---which would lead to deterioration of their condition.
    
    These two court cases have the potential to open up Medicare payments to maintain a person's level of functioning.
    
  Here are Mass Home Care's summaries of these two court cases.