It is now urgent for the Division of Insurance (DOI) and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to act to protect CCA’s members. In recent weeks, we wrote to and met with the Attorney General’s Office urging its team to proactively protect the interests of CCA’s members as rumors circulated about an acquisition of CCA. Now that we have heard that no acquisition of CCA is imminent, that its financial position may be unsound, and that its members are at increasing risk, we believe the DOI must pursue, by and through the AGO, a temporary receivership of CCA pursuant to Chapter 176G, Section 20 and Chapter 175, Section 180B of the Massachusetts General Laws.  

With news that Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), a health plan serving thousands with the most significant health care needs, faces major financial hurdles, the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) has called on the state to place CCA into temporary receivership. DPC, a leading statewide disability rights and advocacy organization, believes a temporary receivership is urgently needed to ensure that CCA’s unique person-centered, member-directed model of care remains available to the disability community, now and in the future.

Every legislative session, we pick a handful of priorities to advocate for in the budget and legislative process, based on what we hear is important to our community and where we know we can make an impact. 

This bill prohibits the use of physical pain to change the behavior of a person with a physical, intellectual, or developmental disability. It also prohibits programs treating persons with disabilities from denying them reasonable sleep, food, shelter, bathroom access, and other human needs.

Hearing aids not only help people hear better, but they decrease isolation, a proven issue in prevention of dementia. Prescription hearing aids can cost around $10,000. Most health insurance does not cover any portion of the cost. If they do cover any portion, it is only a couple thousand dollars at most. Over the counter hearing aids cost between $300 -$500 from major drugstore chains, and are not covered by insurance at all.

These bills are all working towards the same goal: to allow spouses to be authorized to serve as paid caregivers in the MassHealth program for the provision of certain home-based care and services. Other relatives are already permitted to serve as paid caregivers. 

Wheelchairs and scooters are often prone to defects and sudden failure. It is common for consumers to be left stranded or isolated in their homes for weeks, or even months, awaiting repairs. By strengthening warranty protections for Massachusetts residents with disabilities and accountability for wheelchair providers, we can level the playing field for consumers, shorten repair wait times, save taxpayer money, and ensure that we are all treated with dignity and respect.

AHVP provides rental assistance for low-income adults with disabilities age 60 and under. This bill would make AHVP easier to use, administer, and issue. It would do this by separating AHVP’s regulations from those used for Public Housing, making it more similar to other state issued voucher programs.

People with disabilities are more than twice as likely to be homeless than their nondisabled peers. The Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) provides mobile housing vouchers to low-income individuals with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 60.

The Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides vital access services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. Increased funding can create recruitment, training and mentorship opportunities for ASL interpreters and CART transcriptionists, addressing the severe shortage of these professionals in Massachusetts.