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Next Steps in Policy #AUCD2019
It was fantastic to see so many of you in DC last week at the AUCD Conference, and to have others engage virtually! If you had meetings on the Hill, please take the time to do follow up.
Action Steps:
- Please send thank you emails for each of the Hill meetings you participated in. Provide a short reminder of who you are and what topics you covered during the meeting (tell them the date you were there). Send links or attachments of any paper materials you shared during the meeting. Answer any questions that you left with. Ask them for an update on any ask you made. Thank them again for their time and the work they do.
- Amplify your meetings! Post the pictures, tag the offices, and share with others what issues you talked about and encourage them to share their voice.
- Let us know how your meetings went: What did they say about the issues you raised? What questions are they asking? What were your general impressions?
Autism CARES
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), which was reauthorized by the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support (CARES) Act of 2019, is seeking nominations of individuals to serve as non-federal public members on this committee. The call for nominations will be open from Tuesday, November 19, 2019, through Friday, January 24, 2020.
Action Steps:
- Use this link for detailed information on requirements and how to submit a nomination.
Budget and Appropriations
The House voted Tuesday on a funding stopgap measure to prevent a government shutdown. On Thursday, the Senate cleared the measure (HR 3055) by a vote of 74-20; the President signed the bill on Thursday afternoon. The continuing resolution (CR) comes as lawmakers continue to disagree over new spending bills, with the largest controversies centered around President Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico. This will give lawmakers until Dec. 20 to pass final fiscal 2020 appropriations bills.
Employment
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) held a public briefing, Subminimum Wages: Impacts on the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities, to examine the exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) - Section 14(c) on Friday November 15th, 2019. The public is invited to submit additional comments.
Action Steps:
- Learn more by reading AUCD's comments.
- Submit your comments no later than December 15, 2019, to [email protected]; or by mail to: OCRE/Public Comments, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20425.
Medicaid
AUCD signed on to a letter calling on Congress to restore Medicaid eligibility for individuals from the Compact of Freely Associated States (COFA) living in the U.S. This injustice has prevented COFA citizens in the U.S. from receiving the health care they need.
Action Steps:
The Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services (CMCS) has worked with stakeholders to identify two Core Sets of health care quality measures that can be used to assess the quality of health care provided to children and adults enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. The Core Sets are tools states can use to monitor and improve the quality of health care provided to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries.
For the 2020 update, CMCS will add measures to the Adult Core Set, which includes the National Core Indicators (NCI) Survey. This survey assesses the experience and outcomes of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The addition of these measures will allow CMCS and states to expand the measurement of quality of care for adults in Medicaid in long-term services and supports (LTSS) and behavioral health. There has been a critical measurement gap in the area of LTSS, including home and community-based services, since the Adult Core Set was established. The addition of the NCI survey would start to address this gap area.
Action Step:
- Read the press release here.
Healthcare
Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced the "Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Reauthorization Act" (S. 2897). The bill extends PCORI's authorization for another 10 years - through FY2029 - and reauthorizes all three funding sources of the PCORI Trust Fund. On Tuesday, Congress passed another CR and the PCORI Trust Fund was extended through December 20 without new funding for FY2020. This leaves four weeks to negotiate the 12 annual spending bills, as well as other health-related legislation, including PCORI reauthorization that will likely be attached to the final funding package.
Action Steps:
- Continue to reach out to Senate offices in support of a long-term reauthorization of PCORI with the continuation of its current funding streams. Please find a link to an alert here.
Feedback Survey
Love reading about policy? So do we, but we need your input. Complete this survey to help the AUCD policy team make InBrief the best for our readers.
Action Steps:
Complete the following survey today! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SXXVZSM
AUCD Policy Talk
Just posted! Read our latest blog post: How Montana Tackles Tech. Share the blog post widely to start a conversation about assistive technology in your state.
Action Steps:
- As someone interested in disability policy, we ask you to consider writing and submitting a blog post. Read our blog submission guidelines and further details and submit a story today!
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