people with disabilities

Support Funding for Independent Living Centers

We are thrilled that Representative Hanabusa (HI) sent a Dear Colleague letter to the entire House of Representatives. She asked them to join her in supporting an increase in funding for Independent Living Centers. Once signatures are received, Rep. Hanabusa will submit a letter to Chairman Cole (OK) and Ranking Member DeLauro (CT) of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS-Ed) to request increased funding for the Independent Living Program and donating some ergonomic desk and chairs in FY 2019. So far, Representatives Norton (DC) and Sablan (CNMI) have signed on.

We need to get as many supporters as possible by Wednesday, March 14, 2018!

Read the Dear Colleague letter from Representative Hanabusa and the text for the request to Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro.

Take Action!

The Independent Living Program is a vital, cost-effective program that has been underfunded for years. We need your help to get as many other Representatives as possible to sign-on! Contact your Representative TODAY and urge them to sign on to Representative Hanabusa’s Independent Living Appropriations request. Make sure your Rep. knows how vital the Independent Living Program is to you, and how much the CILs in their state do for their disabled constituents!

All Representatives can be reached by the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). You can find your Representative’s direct DC and local office numbers as well as other contact information at Contacting Congress. You can also use Resistbot to turn texts into faxes, mail, or hand-delivered letters.

H/T National Council on Independent Living

Act Now for Student Loan Protection

Did you know that you can receive relief on student loans if you have a disability?

Have you had an issue with your school loans? We want to hear from you!

We wrote a memo in support of the New York Student Loan Protection bill.

For people with disabilities, education is a way out of higher rates of poverty and higher rates of unemployment compared to people without disabilities.

When some people acquire an illness or disability or stop their studies due to their disability, they can receive relief on their student loans through Temporary or Permanent Disability Discharge.

However, many lenders or servicers don’t explain this option, even when they are aware of the reasons for stopping payment.

Article VII Budget Legislation, TED Part W, Subpart A would create a student loan ombudsman and require licensing of student loan servicing companies. California, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington, and Washington DC have already passed similar bills.

Please call your State Senator and urge them to support the provisions, as part of the budget agreement.

Fight the Dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The week of March 4th, New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage, a project of CIDNY, submitted comments to the US Department of Labor expressing strong concerns with a proposed rule expanding Association Health Plans.

We believe that the proposed changes would negatively impact access to quality, affordable care for consumers, disrupt the individual and small business marketplace, and further strain the limited resources of state regulators. The loosely affiliated small businesses joined together as AHPs would be exempt from many of the consumer protections created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These include insurance standards such as Essential Health Benefits, premium rating rules, and risk pooling. As was seen in the past with AHPs, fraud, abuse, and plan solvency present potential concerns, especially as oversight and regulatory authority remains in question.

We are particularly concerned that Association Health Plans will use various practices to discriminate on the basis of health status. This will segment the market, making the ACA-compliant market, that the people we serve now enjoy, into a high-risk pool that will become unaffordable to them.

Learn more about the impact of Association Health Plans here.

Tell Lawmakers to Invest in Access to Home

Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes

Free Our People!

Inaccessible housing is one of the biggest barriers for people who want to live in the community.

Unfortunately, the home modification program, Access To Home, is severely underfunded at only $1 million. This has left many parts of the state unserved, and has resulted in years long waiting lists. The Senate and Assembly need to hear from the disability community that they must address the need for home modifications!

As the State invests in programs such as Open Doors and the Olmstead Housing subsidy, which help people leave institutions or prevent unwanted and unnecessary institutionalization, it needs to provide funding for home modifications.

CIDNY is urging the legislature to include $10 million in funding for Access To Home. It helps homeowners and renters get the home modifications they need to live in the community. The Senate and Assembly are finalizing their one house budget responses, which are due out next week. We need everyone to make 4 calls today to help ensure we get this necessary funding included!

ACTION: Make the following 4 phone calls today to help ensure we have funding for Access To Home!

Call Senate Housing Chair, Senator Betty Little at 518-455-2811
Call Senate Majority Leader, Senator John J. Flanagan at 518-455-2071
Call Assembly Housing Chair, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz at 518-455-5214
Call Assembly Speaker, Assemblyman Carl Heastie at 518-455-3791

Say: “I am disabled / a family member of someone with a disability and I need help making my home more accessible. There is no available funding to get this help, and without it, I can’t leave my house/leave a nursing facility. Please help me stay in my home by including $10 million for Access To Home in your one house budget response so it is available in my area and to people across New York State.”

H/T New York Association on Independent Living