6/26/19 PRESS ALERT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More information:
Julie Farrar: (518) 779-5062, farrarjcee@gmail.com
Denise DiNoto: (518) 694-6744, denisemdinoto@gmail.com
Kathryn Carroll: (631) 521-3018, kathryn@kecarroll.com
WHO: ADAPT
WHAT: ADAPT Demands Health Dept. Stop Implementation of Deadly Cuts to Disabled
WHERE: Empire State Plaza, Concourse
WHEN: Wednesday, June 26, 2019
ADAPT Demands Health Dept. Stop Implementation of Deadly Cuts to Disabled
The Health Department is preparing to implement changes to the Medicaid reimbursement methodology for fiscal intermediaries, which enable the Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program m (CDPAP). CDPAP not only provides the attendant care services disabled people need to accomplish their tasks of daily living, but gives them choice and control over who performs those tasks by making the disabled person the employer – hiring, training, and managing their own attendants.
The Health Dept. is moving forward on changes despite warnings from the Disability Community that implementing the changes without more information and better reimbursement rates will harm disabled people. “We met with the Division of Long Term Care last week. We got this response about how the “intent” of the Department isn’t to change CDPA, but disabled people understand the connection between fiscal intermediaries (FIs) and CDPA. The Department seems unwilling to see that,” said Julie Farrar, and organizer with Capital Region ADAPT.
“We’ve been advocating to #SaveCDPA since the Governor’s budget first proposed slashing the program and changing reimbursements. Now, we know changes are coming, but the Department is going to harm people by moving forward the way they are planning. Access to the attendant services we need is going to be cut, and – if we’re lucky – we’re going to end up in a nursing facility. More likely, we’re just going o be stuck in bed with no one to help get us up,” said Denise DiNoto, a consumer of CDPA and an employee of a fiscal intermediary.
In explaining the reason for the action today, Angela Harmer, an organizer with Capital Region ADAPT and CDPA consumer, said, “I’m scared. I need CDPA to live my life. I’m very active in the community. Without quality FI services to help me run my program, I don’t know what I would do. I’m out here while I still can be to say they can’t do this to me.”
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