INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING AS COVID-19 HAS EXACERBATED HEALTH AND FINANCIAL DISPARITIES.
HOW BUILD BACK BETTER WILL HELP PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
BY LAUREN AGORATUS, M.A.
A recent op-ed, "The cost of staying alive is driving us into poverty," highlighted our present difficulties, and is particularly applicable to the disability community. The op-ed notes that Americans can't afford the healthcare they need.
The cost of all medical services – hospitalization, surgery, medical supplies, durable medical equipment, and doctor visits/specialists – continues to rise. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, medical debt has risen to $140 billion. Medical debt is the single largest cause of bankruptcies. Up to 2/3 of families who file for bankruptcy attribute medical debt as the cause.1 This is especially true in states that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA (Affordable Care Act).
Building on the success of Medicare and Medicaid, and expanding these programs, can help. This would mean expanding eligibility to the uninsured. One proposal would be to expand current Medicare benefits. Increasing Medicaid services, and also adding broader Medicaid coverage in the states that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA, would also help.
The White House plan, "Build Back Better," has a section on healthcare which will positively impact people with disabilities. These proposals include:
- Reducing insurance premiums: This would save each family member approximately $50/month.
- Adding benefits to Medicare: This would include coverage for vision, hearing, and dental care.
- Closing the Medicaid gap: This would include states that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA.
- Expanding Medicaid HCBS: Home and Community Based Services keep individuals with disabilities in their homes with community-based supports, and out of institutions. This is probably the most important topic for self-advocates and their families.
- Direct Service Providers: Improving pay and jobs would increase the workforce supporting people with disabilities as there is currently a national shortage of home care workers.
Families and self-advocates can examine these issues, see which are most important to them, and advocate for those policy improvements. Measures to decrease healthcare burden, reduce poverty, and improve community inclusion will benefit individuals with disabilities and their families. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
plex young adult and serves as the Coordinator for Family Voices-NJ and as the regional coordinator in her state's Family-to-Family Health Information Center, both housed at the SPAN P
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NJ ONLINE OP-ED www.nj.com/opinion/2021/07/the-cost-of-staying-alive-is-driving-us-into-povertyopinion.html |
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JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Network information on medical debt https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2782187 |
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BUILD BACK BETTER(click on “lower health care costs”) www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better |