The Senate has unveiled its health care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, that will cut $8 billion from the Medicaid budget (“Senate GOP unveils health overhaul,” June 23).
Thirty percent of the country’s disabled population depends on Medicaid for services that keep them living in the community. It’s ironic that such a devastating bill be proposed on the 18th anniversary of the Olmstead Act (a Supreme Court decision ruling people with disabilities should live in the least restrictive environment as possible).
The alternative to Medicaid paying for long-term support services for home care is for people to enter nursing homes or institutions which cost the state three times as much money as it does to keep people in their own homes. Institutionalization was not the intent of the Supreme Court.
In addition, this bill will result in significant increases to health care costs and people with preexisting conditions will lose their protections. Massachusetts has an outstanding record for providing home-care services for people with disabilities.
Stavros has been able to help 3,500 people in the Valley remain in their own homes and neighborhoods because of our personal care assistants program. The Better Care Reconciliation Act will force these people out of their homes, tear apart families, and throw independent living for this population back 30 years.
Please contact your senators and ask them to vote against this bill.
Joseph Tringali
Amherst
The writer is the director of services at the Stavros Center for Independent Living in Amherst.