February 2018

House Passes Radical Change to ADA Enforcement

Click here to view this email online. | Please add NAELA to your contacts.
NAELA Advocacy Update
February 26, 2018

House Passes Radical Change to ADA Enforcement

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Education and Reform Act (H.R. 620) which undercuts current enforcement of the ADA. Under the ADA, individuals with disabilities can go to court to enforce their rights and to press for timely removal of the barrier that impedes access. H.R. 620 instead creates a “notice and cure” period before an individual can bring suit. Under H.R. 620, the company need only make “substantial progress” after 120 days and never actually complete the project. No Senate companion exists and a number of Senators have already spoken out strongly against the legislation. View the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities resource page on H.R. 620.

Budget Deal Includes Permanent Return to Ahlborn and Other Health Measures

Congress passed a major deal on February 9 to raise the budget caps for future spending by $300 billion over the next two years. The legislation also contained a mix of health provisions, some good, some bad. One item NAELA advocated for this Congress was to end the legislative overturning of Arkansas Dept. of Health and Human Servs. v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006). That case prevented states from recovering Medicaid costs from a beneficiary's full personal injury settlement. The legislation permanently returns Ahlborn as law of the land.

CMS Approves Second Waiver with Work Requirements

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a waiver in Indiana to impose work requirements on the Medicaid expansion population. Arkansas is expected to be the next state to get its waiver approved. Want to learn more about 1115 waivers? Watch our webinar, States Restricting Medicaid Eligibility Through Waivers.

Support to End Unnecessary Institutionalization Grows

The Disability Integration Act, which guarantees access to home and community-based services as a civil right, has garnered 81 co-sponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate. NAELA also continues to lobby on a bipartisan bill to renew and expand Money Follows the Person (MFP). MFP provides grants to states to pay for transition services from an institutional setting back to the community that Medicaid cannot normally cover by law. The bill also expands access to the program by reducing the length-of-stay requirement in an institution from 90 to 60 days.

Advocacy Update Live! March 20 at 3pm ET

Learn more about NAELA’s latest public policy initiatives at our upcoming webinar, From Waiver Litigation to Disability Rights: NAELA Advocacy in 2018, on March 20th at 3pm ET.

Please share any of this information with your clients and networks!

Post to Facebook/Twitter/Google+ too!

Thank you for your support.
facebook
twitter
linkedin
addthis
NAELA Foundation

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

1577 Spring Hill Road, Suite 310, Vienna, VA 22182

Our Website | Contact Us

 

Edit your subscription | Unsubscribe
Informz
Don't forget to renew your NAELA membership for the 2024 year.

Renew today