From the CBS News Political Hotsheet, the Boston Globe, and Reuters:

Leading Democratic senators say the expansion of federal assistance for people with disabilities must be included in the proposal to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

“The way I see it, [this] is a civil rights issue,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “As far as I’m concerned, there is no health reform without the Community Choice Act.”

Two proposed bills tied to the health care reform initiative:

• The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act sponsored by Ted Kennedy, D-Mass, chair of the HELP Committee. The CLASS Act would create a new, nationwide insurance program, financed through payroll deductions with opt-out enrollment.

• The Community Choice Act sponsored by Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a member of the HELP committee. The Community Choice Act would reform Medicaid to give recipients eligible for institutional-level care the choice of receiving in-home or community-based assistance rather than nursing home care.

Harkin said the Community Choice Act is estimated to cost between $2 billion to $4 billion a year.

“That’s a lot of money, but we’re talking about a $1 trillion health reform bill,” he said. “I’m here to tell you, 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 percent is not too much to ask to provide civil rights.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 7:25 am and is filed under civil rights, Community Choice Act, health care, law, NOT2BEMISSED. 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.