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Disabilities Advocates Press Health Care Reform in Meeting with White House Staff

On August 27, as a follow-up to the meeting that President Obama had with disability community representatives on July 24, a group of advocates for home and community-based long-term services and supports met with Nancy-Ann DeParle and other senior staff at the White House to discuss the Community First Choice Option.

The disability representatives thanked the President's staff for his strong leadership on enacting comprehensive health reform that will help advance the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act by eliminating disability-based discrimination in health care coverage and barring pre-existing condition exclusions.

The meeting participants had a frank and productive discussion concerning the possible opportunities and barriers of including a Community First Choice Medicaid State option (CFC Option) in the final health reform legislation.  The CFC Option is an idea that emerged from discussions with Senator Harkin's office and Representative Davis's office as a way to make progress on home and community-based services and supports under Medicaid and a way to lay the foundation for later enactment of the Community Choice Act.  It is a proposal that has support from the cross-disability community, including leaders from the NCIL, ADAPT, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), AAPD, the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer Survivor Organizations, Autistic Self Advocacy Network and Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (see attached fact sheet on the CFC option)

The disability representatives thanked the White House Staff for their time and support for expanding choices in long-term services and supports, and all agreed to keep open the lines of communication as health care reform heats up again when Congress returns from the August recess.

Attending the meeting from the White House were Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform; Tina Tchen, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Jeff Crowley, Director of the White House Office on National AIDS Policy and Senior Advisor on Disability Policy within the Domestic Policy Council; Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy; and Keith Fontenot from the Office of Management and Budget.  Mr. Fontenot's responsibilities for OMB include long-term services and supports policy.

Attending the meeting from the disability community were Mike Oxford and Cassie James from ADAPT, Kelly Buckland and Lou Ann Kibbee from the National Council on Independent Living, Marty Ford of The Arc/UCP Disability Policy Collaboration and CCD, Chester Finn of Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, Daniel Fisher of the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer Survivor Organizations, Ari Ne'eman of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Suellen Galbraith of ANCOR, Lee Page of Paralyzed Veterans of America, Andy Imparato of the American Association of People with Disabilities, and Bob Williams, President Clinton's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability and Long-term Care Policy who attended as a private citizen. 


Click here to view the Proposal for a Community First Choice (CFC) MedicaidState Option for Inclusion in Health Care Reform.