ACTIONALERT

[Guest guest]

Immediate Action Required

This may be the most important ACTIONALERT that you will receive this

year!!!!!

Background:

Note: This Alert is being written by Mike Bright, Executive Director

of The Arc of Texas at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Today (right now) the House Appropriations Committee is holding a

public hearing on the Committee Substitute to House Bill 2292

(CSHB2292) by Rep. Wohlgemuth. This bill, as originally introduced,

had little to do with the priorities of The Arc. However, in a move

that has caught the entire advocacy community off guard, Rep.

Wohlgemuth has brought to the Committee hearing a Committee

Substitute for HB 2292 that has new language affecting the entire

Texas Medicaid program

CSHB 2292 could end the Medicaid Long Term Care program for people

with disabilities as we know it, including both the ICFMR community

residential program and the Home and Community-based Services (HCS)

and CLASS Medicaid Waiver programs which are so vital to Texans with

mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.

Problems:

CSHB2292 has many provisions that would be to the detriment of Texans

with disabilities. However, two of the worst provisions are:

(1) CSHB2292 would DROP state coverage of all Medicaid OPTIONAL

populations and benefits (ICFMR/HCS/CLASS) and INSTEAD request a

waiver from the federal government that would allow the state to

administer these services with capped enrollment and " cost-per-

benefit " . This mean that in the future the ICFMR/HCS/CLASS programs

could be made available to even fewer people with disabilities and

that the services that might be provided would have to meet some

unknown " cost per benefit " test. This is clearly a " capped

entitlement " strategy to limit needed expendituresfor community

services at a time when 25,000+ people are on Waiver Waiting Lists.

THIS WOULD BE DISASTROUS FOR TEXANS WITH DISABILITIES.

CSHB2292 would also bring about a major reorganization of state

health and human services agencies. Included in this proposal are:

• Separation of the states's mental health and mental

retardation services into two different agencies.

• Combine mental retardation services with a broad range of

other aging and disability services in a new Long Term Care agency

similar to what The Arc stood against four years ago.

• Do away with the Governor appointed Boards that currently

manage the states twelve health and human service agencies. A single

Commissioner of Health and Human Services would determine policy for

all health and human services programs in the state. Family,

consumer, and advocate input into the state's public policy making

process would be severely limited.

• These reorganization proposals have been put forth with

little public input. While the fiscal note on the bill claims a

savings of over $370 million, many are questioning the assumptions

upon which these savings are projected and the validity of the

numbers.

Action needed:

Call members of the House Appropriations Committee today. (See list -

below). If you don't get this message before 5:00 p.m today

(Wednesday), call tomorrow. Ask to speak to the Representative. If

he/she is not available ask to speak to his/her aide that deals with

Appropriations. Identify yourself as a consumer or a parent/family

member/advocate for people with disabilities.

Here's the Message:

Urge the Representative to vote AGAINST the Committee Substitute for

House Bill 2292 by Wohlgemuth because:

• It could destroy the Texas system of Medicaid Services for

people with disabilities and replace it with a system that will

further limit the availability of needed community-based services at

a time when 25,000 are waiting for those services.

• The people of Texas have not had enough input to the proposed

reorganization of state government, the savings projected are

questionable and Texas needs to keep its Governor-appointed system of

agency management to ensure public participation in policy

development.

Make your calls ASAP. If any legislators/staff tell you their

position on CSHB2292, please call Marina at and share

that with us.

We apologize for the short time frame. This is one of those times

when a critical issue comes up without notice. It looks like this

time the political process is intended to limit public input to an

important bill.

The hearing on this bill will continue this afternoon. We understand

that many additional amendments are likely to be attached to this

bill before the hearing is over. We may need to contact you again

tomorrow for additional support in dealing with this very bad bill.

********************************************************************

78th House Appropriations Committee Roster

Clerk: Pena

Phone: 463-1091

FAX: (all members)

Room: EXT E1.032

Chair: Rep. Talmadge Heflin - Tel: 463-0568

Vice-Chair: Rep. Vilma Luna - Tel: 463-0484

Members:

Rep. Leo Berman - Tel: 463-0584

Rep. Dan Branch - Tel: 463-0367

Rep. Betty Brown - Tel: 463-0458

Rep. Fred Brown - Tel: 463-0698

Rep. Myra Crownover - Tel: 463-0582

Rep. - Tel: 463-0734

Rep. Joe Deshotel - Tel: 463-0662

Rep. Dawnna Dukes - Tel: 463-0506

Rep. Craig Eiland - Tel: 463-0502

Rep. Dan Ellis - Tel: 463-0570

Rep. o Gutierrez - Tel: 463-0578

Rep. Peggy Hamric - Tel: 463-0496

Rep. Hope - Tel: 463-0726

Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp - Tel: 463-0684

Rep. Carl Isett - Tel: 463-0676

Rep. Ames - Tel: 463-0686

Rep. Lois W. Kolkhorst - Tel: 463-0600

Rep. Ruth McClendon - Tel: 463-0708

Rep. Menendez - Tel: 463-0634

Rep. ph Pickett - Tel: 463-0596

Rep. Jim Pitts - Tel: 463-0516

Rep. - Tel: 463-0558

Rep. Jim Solis - Tel: 463-0606

Rep. Jack Stick - Tel: 463-0821

Rep. Vicki Truitt - Tel: 463-0690

Rep. Sylvester - Tel: 463-0554

Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth – Tel: 463-0538