|
Budget, Appropriations, Debt Ceiling
On May 1st, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress that the debt ceiling must be raised by June 1st, or the federal government will run out of money to pay its existing debts. Defaulting on the national debt could have major consequences for the economy, and for the financial security of all Americans.
House Republicans have stated that they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling without making significant cuts to discretionary programs. On April 26th, the House passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act (H.R. 2811) that would raise the debt ceiling, but would also cut federal programs that provides services and supports to many individuals, and working families, including people with disabilities. The bill included work requirements for people receiving Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). President Joe Biden, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) and top Republicans and Democrats are expected to meet on Tuesday to begin discussions of how to raise the debt ceiling.
Plain Language
On June 1st, the federal government will reach something called a “debt ceiling”. This means the U.S. has no more money to spend and cannot pay its bills. If Congress does not vote to raise the debt ceiling (allow the federal government to spend more money) by June 1st, there could be major problems for the economy and people who get services and supports from the federal government.
Republicans in the House of Representatives do not want to raise the debt ceiling without making cuts to programs like Medicaid. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) has proposed $142 billion in cuts, which will affect different programs that provide service and supports to people with disabilities, like having work requirements for Medicaid. This means many people could lose health insurance, including many people with disabilities.
Action Steps
Call and educate your Members of Congress to educate them on the impact of cutting Medicaid and other discretionary programs. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Watch this two-minute video to learn more about the debt ceiling situation.
Lots of resource being developed by experts. Here are a few resources to learn more about the impact of cutting Medicaid and discretionary programs.
Federal Policy Updates for State Advocates
The Coalition on Human Needs is hosting a new meeting called The Federal Connection. The meetings will be twice-monthly Zoom meetings and an email group for state advocates to share federal policy updates. Sign up for the meeting invite and listserv. The Coalition on Human Needs will send recordings and all information shared from meetings after the Zoom meetings.
National Apprenticeship Act Introduced in the House of Representatives
On April 25th, Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), and 34 additional Representatives introduced the bipartisan National Apprenticeship Act (H.R. 2851). The bill amends the original National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 and will create close to “one million new Registered Apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years by investing more than $3.8 billion over five years.” If passed, this legislation will help people with disabilities, and other historically excluded groups, find apprenticeships and gain relevant work experience. The bill is currently in the House Education and Workforce Committee.
Plain Language
On April 25th, Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA-3) and 34 other Democratic and Republican Representatives introduced the National Apprenticeship Act (H.R. 2851). This bill will help people with disabilities find apprenticeships. An apprenticeship is a training program where someone begins to learn a career.
Action Steps
Read this announcement from the House Education and Workforce Committee. Read this Factsheet. Call and educate your Members of Congress on the importance of apprenticeships for people with disabilities. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Announces “Unwinding” Resources
The Public Health Emergency (PHE) related to the COVID-19 pandemic ends on May 11th. Declaring a PHE has allowed the healthcare system to access emergency services and increase funding to ensure that everyone in our country had access to healthcare during the pandemic. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily waived certain Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements and conditions to prevent people with Medicaid and CHIP from losing their health coverage during the pandemic. The easing of these requirements was referred to as the ‘Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Condition.’ The Continuous Enrollment Condition ended on March 31, 2023, and states are now returning to regular operations. States are now “unwinding” these temporary changes and are eligible to remove individuals who are no longer eligible for Medicaid as a result of the waivers. States have 12 months to return to normal eligibility and enrollment operations. States are restarting eligibility renewals and terminations of coverage for individuals who are no longer eligible.
The CMS has released various resources to help states and other stakeholders navigate this transition. On February 24th, CMS posted the anticipated state timelines for initiating unwinding-related renewals on the Unwinding and Returning to Regular Operations after COVID-19. CMS has also developed another series of resources and tools to ensure that people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP know what steps to complete. All of these resources can be found on the recently updated Medicaid.gov/Unwinding.
Plain Language
The public health emergency ends on May 11th. The emergency gave more money and resources to our healthcare system to respond to COVID. The ending of the emergency means that people will need to go through certain steps to keep Medicaid. CMS has developed tools and resources for people to understand what they need to do.
Action Steps
Read the announcement regarding the Public Health Emergency. Read this roadmap on ending the Public Health Emergency from HHS. Read these resources from CMS. More resources at Medicaid.gov/Unwinding.
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Releases Report for Fiscal Year 2022
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has released its annual report detailing their work for Fiscal Year 2022. The report summarizes “the compliance and enforcement activities of the Office for Civil Rights”.
Plain Language
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has released a report on the work that they did during 2022.
Action Steps
Read the report.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Releases Two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking Around Medicaid and Managed Care
On April 27th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS) released two notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs), Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services (Access NPRM) and Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality (Managed Care NPRM). The rules will help eliminate barriers that people with disabilities face while trying to access quality health care through Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The rules will “strengthen access to and quality of care across Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the nation’s largest health coverage programs.”
If the proposed rules are adopted, they would establish national standards for access to health care, regardless of whether health care is provided through managed care plans or directly by states through fee-for-service as well as transparency for Medicaid payment rates to providers, including hourly rates and compensation for certain direct care workers. The rules would also establish other access standards for transparency and accountability and empower beneficiary choice. The rules would require that 80% of Medicaid payments for personal care and home health aides go directly toward compensation instead of on administrative costs.
Plain Language
On April 27th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released two new rules that would make it easier for people with disabilities to get health care if they are on Medicaid or CHIP. These rules will also improve wages for home healthcare workers who are giving care to people through home and community-based services.
Action Steps
Learn more about the rules (links to additional factsheets to the right). Submit comments by July 3, 2023. Read the Rule and Submit Comments for Medicaid Program; Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services. Read the Rule and Submit Comments for Medicaid Program; Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality.
Policy related “How To” materials can be found on our website here. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the resources!
Tuesdays with Liz: Did you know that Liz has a YouTube Channel?
'Tuesdays with Liz' is a weekly video series highlighting current issues in disability policy. It is hosted by Liz Weintraub, a long-time disability advocate, and produced by AUCD.
You can help spread her message by:
- Subscribing to the Tuesdays with Liz YouTube Channel!
- Liking videos on the channel
- Making comments on the channel
 
For more from AUCD, follow @AUCDNews and like AUCD on Facebook
For definitions of terms, please see AUCD's List of Policy Definitions
|
