[nfbmi-talk] Fw: ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO SUBMIT COMMENTS TO CMS FOR TIME SENSITIVE ACTION ALERT

[joe harcz Comcast]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pare, John" <JPare at nfb.org>
To: "Bruce Darling" <bdarling at cdrnys.org>; <mbrunson at acb.org>; "Lewis, Anil" 
<ALewis at nfb.org>; <ebridges at acb.org>; "'Miriam Vieni'" 
<miriamvieni at optonline.net>; <pratikp at gmail.com>; <joeharcz at comcast.net>; 
<meghans at wdom.org>
Cc: <rahneek at yahoo.com>; "'Bob Kafka'" <bob.adapt at sbcglobal.net>; "Kelly 
Buckland" <kelly at ncil.org>; "'Austin Walker'" <austin at ncil.org>; "'Dara 
Baldwin'" <dara at ncil.org>
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2011 11:03 AM
Subject: RE: ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO SUBMIT COMMENTS TO CMS FOR TIME SENSITIVE 
ACTION ALERT


Bruce:
Thanks for the information.
John


John G. Paré Jr.
Executive Director for Strategic Initiatives
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND


-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Darling [mailto:bdarling at cdrnys.org]
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2011 11:01 AM
To: Pare, John; 'mbrunson at acb.org'; Lewis, Anil; 'ebridges at acb.org'; 'Miriam 
Vieni'; 'pratikp at gmail.com'; 'joeharcz at comcast.net'; 'meghans at wdom.org'
Cc: 'rahneek at yahoo.com'; 'Bob Kafka'; Kelly Buckland; 'Austin Walker'; 'Dara 
Baldwin'
Subject: ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO SUBMIT COMMENTS TO CMS FOR TIME SENSITIVE 
ACTION ALERT

The website the feds use for public comment is not screen reader compatible 
and you may also be "timed-out" if you take more than 20 minutes to complete 
the form.  I called the CMS Director's office and was forwarded to the 
website's helpdesk.  The staffer agreed to provide this reasonable 
accomodation and agreed to look into the screen reader access issue.  So if 
you use a screen reader or are concerned that you will be timed out, there 
is an alternative way for you to submit comments.

Send your comments by email to: regulations.gov_helpdesk at bah.com Provide 
your first name, last name, city country, state, zip code, category (either 
individual or consumer organization), and the text of your comments.
The help desk staff person will fill in the form online and send you an 
email with the tracking number for your comments and an update on the access 
issue.
I hope folks who use screen readers will submit comments this way to 
demonstrate the need for access to the website.

Thanks Miriam for bringing this to ADAPT's attention!

In solidarity,
Bruce Darling

Access is a civil right!


**

URGENT TIME SENSITIVE ACTION ALERT: LAST DAY TO RESPOND IS MONDAY, October 
31st

CMS has recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the 
upcoming eligibility changes to Medicaid as result of the Affordable Care 
Act (ACA), but the proposed regulations will have significant NEGATIVE 
impact on some individuals with disabilities if implemented as proposed. 
CMS will only change the proposed rules if they receive a significant amount 
of feedback addressing the issue.

PLEASE RESPOND ASAP!

It takes less than five minutes!

BACKGROUND:

In the proposed regulations, people who apply to Medicaid for health care 
coverage will see a significant change in the eligibility process.  Unless 
we take action, states will be required to assess eligibility based on a 
measure of income called Modified Adjusted Gross Income or MAGI. The 
proposed regulations state that some--but not all--people with disabilities 
will be exempt from this new financial eligibility. People with disabilities 
who will be exempt include those who:
- receive SSI,
- are pregnant,
- are over the age of 65,
- receive Medicare (Part A or Part B).

Everyone outside of these groups of individuals will be assessed for 
eligibility using the MAGI methodology. Anyone with modified adjusted gross 
income less than 133% of the federal poverty level for their family size 
(approximately $14,600 annually for an individual) will be enrolled in a 
LIMITED package of healthcare eligibility called a "benchmark" plan. The 
benchmark plan will not contain access to many of the long-term services and 
supports often needed by individuals with disabilities to live and work in 
the community. Individuals who are eligible for the benchmark plan will not 
be eligible for additional services traditionally offered through waiver 
programs (such as respite care, expanded personal attendant services and 
supported employment). Further, any individuals who are enrolled in the 
benchmark plan will no longer have the choice to enroll in other optional 
Medicaid programs - such as a Medicaid Buy In program (healthcare coverage 
for workers with disabilities).

The main concerns with the proposed regulations are that:
1) Some people with disabilities will be worse off following ACA 
implementation because they will no longer be able to access long-term care 
services needed to live and work in the community;
2) Once someone is placed in a benchmark plan, there is not a process in 
place to ensure that if needs are not met due to disability or new onset of 
disability, that the individual will be able to access long-term care 
services needed to live and work in the community; and
3) Some people with disabilities will be under-insured in 2014 because they 
will not have access to long-term services and supports needed to live and 
work in the community.


TAKE ACTION

Go to: http://ly.adapt.org/J

Comment: You can develop your own comments or copy and paste the text below 
into the "Type Comment" box and (if you choose) personalize your comments. 
Even if you don't have time to personalize your comments, PLEASE SUBMIT THE 
TEXT BELOW!


Comment:

Individuals with disabilities who are currently receiving services to live 
independently in the community and who need access to long-term care should 
not be adversely impacted by ACA implementation.   People with disabilities 
should be exempt from the Modified Adjusted Gross Income methodology and be 
able to make an INFORMED CHOICE about enrolling in the healthcare package 
that best meets their needs - whether that is the benchmark plan or a 
traditional Medicaid program.

Individuals with disabilities should be eligible for long-term care services 
based on need and should be eligible to receive the services in the most 
integrated setting.  Individuals with disabilities who are found eligible 
for Medicaid should not be placed in the benchmark plan if their functional 
level of need makes them eligible for services that are not available 
through that plan.  Individuals incorrectly placed in a benchmark plan - or 
those who experience the onset of disability following an initial 
determination - with a need for long-term services and supports should be 
able to move to a different category of eligibility so that they can access 
those additional services.

CMS needs to allow individuals with disabilities to work with community 
organizations to expedite eligibility for individuals who require a higher 
level of care than provided by benchmark plans.

Please modify the rules to assure that people with disabilities will not be 
worse off following ACA implementation because they will no longer be able 
to access long-term care services needed to live and work in the community.


***

THANK YOU FOR TAKING ACTION!!!