The 2011 2nd Special Session

There is/was a 2011 2nd Special Session!

In November 2011 the revenue forecast was released and again indicated our state revenues (received from sales tax) do not provide enough money to pay for the state’s current budget. Governor Gregoire asked for budget proposals of a 10% cut from all state agencies, which looked brutal for human services programs. On November 21st she released her budget proposal, then also shared an additional proposal that includes revenue options that would “buy-back” some of the more harmful cuts.

70% of the budget is protected from any cuts, either by federal rules or constitutional requirements. Because our state constitution requires a balanced budget, Governor Gregoire called a 30 day special legislative session, which began on November 28th, for legislators to figure out how to come up with an additional $2 billion to balance the budget. Two weeks into the 30 day special session, legislators came up with a partial budget that fixes almost a quarter of the budget hole. Legislators decided to leave early to head home for the holidays, waiting until the regular session in January to deal with the $1.5 billion in cuts that still need to be made. We still have a long way to go!

Don’t Cut Our Lifeline!

The Arc of Washington State sponsored a huge rally during the day and a candlelight vigil for the evening on Monday, November 28th, the first day of the special session. The theme of the rallies was “Don’t Cut Our Lifeline!” and focused on the critical cuts being proposed to Medicaid services. Because there are many people affected by cuts to these services, other advocacy groups joined with us in letting legislators know how vital these services are. A short video of the rally and vigil is posted on our Olympia Insider page; you can watch it at:
http://arcwa.org/takeaction/washingtonstate/olympia_insider/saving_our_lifeline/
We have also posted photos from the day on our Shutterfly page (many thanks to Disability Rights WA for their photos) at http://arcwa.shutterfly.com/365

In the middle of the day, between the rally and the vigil, the House held a public hearing on the Governor’s budget proposal. With so much interest in the proposed budget cuts, the room was filled to capacity and people were in several overflow rooms. The House held one hearing on all parts of the operating budget. The Senate held their hearings on the operating budget later that week and into the next week. Each hearing focused on a particular section of the budget. Long Term Care, Developmental Disabilities and Health Care were in one hearing, making it easier for advocates to have their voices heard in unison regarding the devastating impacts of the potential cuts and the need to look at revenue, not an all cuts budget.

Medicaid services are a lifeline for many.

Medicaid encompasses many services that people with disabilities, those who are elderly and those with very low incomes rely on as their lifeline. Pharmacy coverage is optional for states to provide to Medicaid clients, which our state has chosen to provide, up to this point. The Governor now proposes to require co-pays for each prescription for all adults on Medicaid. This would mean low income adults who have a developmental disability and receive their health care through Medicaid would still be able to go to a doctor for their health problems, but they would have to pay for any prescriptions out of pocket. With no money to pay for prescriptions for seizures, heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and many other common health problems that require daily medications, there is the real probability that people could die from preventable causes.

Medicaid Personal Care (MPC) was reduced last year for adults receiving those services. The current proposal would eliminate ALL MPC for some adults by changing eligibility. The new criteria would be changed to a higher level; some people who need assistance to perform daily activities such as bathing, mobility, personal hygiene, and eating, would no longer qualify for services. This does not mean these individuals no longer have need for help; algorithms in the assessment would just be changed in order to reduce the number of people on the caseload to save money. People unable to perform personal care tasks for themselves would still have to find a way to get and pay for assistance they need to get up, get dressed, use the bathroom, be bathed, eat and get out of their home into the community to go to work, get to a store or any other activity.

Home & Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers could be eliminated for about 300 people; this would also be done by changing eligibility. The elimination of these services would occur in all settings, including for those in state institutions. Governor Gregoire has proposed cutting the waivers by 15% for employment services and another 15% cut by combining the HCBS Basic and Basic Plus waivers, using one predetermined amount with a specific menu of services. Individuals would have more flexibility in choosing which services they want to use it for.

Adult Day Health services are again proposed for complete elimination. With the proposed changes to eligibility, it is unclear what will happen to all the people who chose to move to COPES for those services.

The Individual and Family Services (IFS) program is not a Medicaid program. DSHS has been encouraged by advocates over the last few years to apply for an HCBS waiver for the program, but this has not happened. IFS is a low cost – high impact program that provides families with a little bit of respite, among other things, and because it receives no federal matching funds (it is a state-only funded program) it is proposed for suspension again. It was suspended for ten months during the last budget cuts, but was then restored in the final budget in July 2011. About 1,000 families will now lose their services again. Parent to Parent, a mentor program for parents of a child with a disability, will be suspended also, as it is included in the funding for IFS. Senior Families funding will also go away, as well as a small amount for self advocacy, which helps adults with disabilities have a voice to speak up for their needs and learning how to protect themselves in the community.

Employment and residential services are a part of HCBS waivers for adults. Eliminating clients from the waivers can mean that many who were intentionally put on the waiver program to help gain a federal match for their employment supports would lose them. The individual would lose their job, their employment support staff would lose their job, employment agencies could go out of business; the domino effect would be quite evident. The same is true for residential supports. People with supported living services provided through their waiver could be left homeless, their providers would be out of a job, agencies would go out of business, etc. In addition, the Governor’s budget proposes a 6% rate cut to supported living as well as a 2% cut to service hours. If these cuts went into effect, residential service providers would be making less than minimum wage, yet performing the same amount of work as their counterparts in the RHCs.

Dental services are proposed for elimination again and school-based medical services (therapies) would no longer be paid for under Medicaid; school districts would be responsible to pay for all services. Interpreter services are proposed for elimination again as well.

Consolidation of the RHCs was a big topic in the last session. In the final budget, Francis Haddon Morgan Center was to close by December 31, 2011. All residents have been moved now, either to another RHC or to a community setting. The Governor has proposed in her budget to close Rainier, which houses about 350 people. Rainier is the RHC that has been criticized the most for abuse and neglect of its residents. A sampling of some of the reports can be found in a two page document at http://arcwa.org/resources/2012_Charts_RHC_pages.pdf

To see the budget side-by-side go to www.arcwa.org/takeaction then click on Budget Information.

What can we do now?

You can write Letters to the Editor of your local newspaper. The Arc makes this easy for you to do. Simply go to http://capwiz.com/arcwa/home and click on the “Media Guide” tab. Choose five newspapers to send to, then write your message and click send. Remind people that it is important that legislators look at revenue options, as an all-cuts budget would be deadly. Work with other advocates and make your voice heard.

The 2012 Legislative Session begins on January 9th. January 18th is our first Advocacy Day. It is also the day of the Statewide Legislative Reception. Advocacy Day will be held at 2:00 pm (instead of the usual 10 am start) at The United Churches in Olympia, across from the capitol. After the Advocacy Day meeting, go have dinner and then come and meet with your legislators at 5:30 in the Columbia Room on the first floor of the Legislative Building for the Statewide Legislative Reception. For more information on the day’s events visit http://arcwa.org/takeaction and click on Coming Events.

Stay connected during this critical time:

 Read the Olympia Reporter for in-depth news happening in Olympia at http://arcwa.org/category/insider/C1
 Subscribe to the Olympia Insider YouTube channel for video updates at http://arcwa.org/category/insider/C2
 Sign up for Action Alerts at http://capwiz.com/arcwa/state/main/?state=WA This is The Arc of Washington’s Advocacy web page where you can view Action Alerts, learn the status of bills during session and much more.
 Be sure to follow TheArcofWA on Twitter for quick updates texted to your cell phone. http://twitter.com/arcofwa
 Become a fan of The Arc - Washington State on Facebook for interactive conversations and information.
 “Like” the Don’t Cut Our Lifeline! Facebook page with discussions about all of the cuts proposed to Medicaid, both at state and federal levels.
 Follow blog postings on Remarks from The Arc, read perspectives from various advocates on the issues of concern.
 Get the Advocacy Partnership Project “News to Know” email newsletter. Email a request to join to Diana@arcwa.org.

Questions? Need more information? Email me at Diana@arcwa.org.

Remember, change is being made by those who show up!