AUCDigest
June 16, 2006 • Volume 6, Number 62
Current and past editions of AUCD Legislative News In Brief are posted through the AUCD Website. These weekly one to two-page updates are intended to keep association members informed about federal legislative and regulatory issues affecting people with disabilities, their families and the network of AUCD programs and centers.
Recent Policy Issues and Events
HHS Issues Citizenship Guidelines for Medicaid Eligibility. HHS issued guidelines for states to implement a new requirement, effective July 1, that persons applying for Medicaid document their citizenship. The new documentation requirement is mandated by Section 6036 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) and is intended to ensure that Medicaid beneficiaries are citizens without imposing undue burdens on them or the states.
HUD Awards 3,100 Housing Agencies Nationwide $2.2 Billion to Improve Public Housing Developments. On June 5, 2006, $2,239,041,166 in funding was awarded through HUD's Capital Fund program, which is distributed annually to public housing agencies (PHAs) to help them develop, finance, and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. The funding can also be used to improve management operations within the agency. Individuals with disabilities can make sure that these newly released capital funds are used to ensure that Housing Authorities in their area have the requisite number of fully accessible units.
- Federal Agency for Housing Accused of Institutional Bias. The National Council for Independent Living (NCIL) criticized the HUD's draft of the 2006-2011 Strategic Plan as supporting segregation of persons with disabilities and chided the agency for not acting upon its 2005 report outlining discrimination of persons with disabilities. Among various recommendations, NCIL states that the HUD should define institutionalized residents as "homeless" and identify ways to develop access to community-based housing options for them. Other discrepancies pointed out by the NCIL include lack of enforcement of the Federal Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; lack of inclusion and participation by people with disabilities; and insufficient support for key programs.
- Bush Administration Seeks to Cut Section 811. The Bush administration's proposed FY 2007 budget for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the second year in a row seeks drastic cuts to the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program (Section 811). The proposal would cut funding for the program from $238 million to $118 million, a 50 percent reduction. This amount would be sufficient to renew all of the expiring contracts for 811-funded tenant based vouchers and Project Rental Assistance Contracts for Section 811 projects, but it would leave only $15 million in capital funding for new units nationwide and an additional $15 million could be used for new Mainstream vouchers. A budget this size allows the program to produce approximately 1,000 new units per year. The proposed cuts would only leave enough funding for 150 new units. The cuts threaten the effectiveness of new Section 811 "mixed finance" rules published by HUD in September of 2005 make it much easier to combine Section 811 capital advances with federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
CMS Releases 2007 Transition Guidance. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final 2007 Transition Guidance for Medicare Part D sponsors. The new guidance builds on lessons learned during Part D implementation and has a broader scope than the 2006 guidance. The 2007 Transition Guidance establishes a minimum set of standards for Part D Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) sponsor transition policies in 2007, specifying the components of a transition process beyond simply the assurance of a temporary supply of non-formulary drugs or a transition period constituting a particular length of time.
NCD Calls for Tougher Standards for Accessible Airline Self-Service Kiosk Systems. The National Council on Disability (NCD) released an NCD Position Paper on Access to Airline Self- Service Kiosk Systems calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to adopt an updated Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) standard for accessible design applicable to these kiosk systems and that DOT then initiate settlement negotiations with covered air carriers and airports to bring their kiosk systems into full compliance. According to NCD chairperson Lex Frieden, "U.S. air carriers and airports have obligations under federal accessibility laws and regulations to provide cross-disability access to their kiosk systems. Those carriers and airports operating kiosk systems not in conformity with the Americans with Disabilities Act's standard for accessible design, which is also ACAA's standard, are out of compliance."
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