From USA Today:

Groups representing people with Down syndrome say Sarah Palin could help boost efforts to help people with disabilities live more independently.

Among the priorities they cited were additional funding for physical therapy after birth, long-term financial incentives to help people with Down syndrome pay housing and medical bills into adulthood, and strengthening the No Child Left Behind law.

They also called for lifting the $2,000 cap on assets for Medicaid eligibility requirements, because the cap encourages people with disabilities to make less money in order to qualify for federal benefits.

Madeleine Will, vice president of public policy for the National Down Syndrome Society, said advocates also want Congress to make changes such as:

• Requiring doctors to provide more detailed information about Down syndrome to parents who receive prenatal and postnatal diagnoses, including life expectancy data and contacts of local support groups. The idea has support from lawmakers on both sides of the abortion issue.

• Allowing families to save money in tax-exempt accounts that can be used to pay for expenses associated with education, medical treatment and employment training.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 7th, 2008 at 7:33 pm and is filed under Campaign 2008, Down syndrome, IDEA, Medicaid/Medicare, NOT2BEMISSED, No Child Left Behind, abortion, advocacy, asset management, benefits, employment/jobs, families, funding, housing, independent living, intellectual/developmental disabilities, parents, politics, prenatal diagnosis, social security, special education, standardized testing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.