Welcome to the ides of March

Welcome to the ides of March. The 2007 legislative session is hot and heavy and CDRC is knee deep in it. In this edition, we will be giving you some of the legislation that we are following and let you know what else is happening that effects people with disabilities.

Legislation

In our February Newsletter we told everyone that the DD Coalition introduced two pieces of legislation that are close to CDRC’s heart and we have been working closely with them to help get them passed.

HB 970 – Rosewood Transition Plan

The first piece of legislation is: HB 970 Rosewood Transition Plan. This bill would require the Department of Health Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to come up with a plan to close Rosewood Center by 2010. This Rosewood Transition Plan would transition all of the residents of Rosewood out of Rosewood to the appropriate setting for them with the appropriate services and supports for them. This means if this bill passes, Rosewood will close by June 2010. CONGRATULATIONS to CDRC members Michael Taylor, James Devore, Anna Burkett, Richard Lowery, and Jacquie Speciner who did a fantastic job testifying at the Rosewood Transition Plan bill hearing. Thanks to all 10 CDRC members who came to the hearing and stayed to show support during the very l-o-n-g (three and a half hours) and hot hearing. There was some great media coverage as well (Newspaper and Television). We’ll have it on our web site soon.

HB 325/SB 302 MFI-SRC

The next piece of legislation that CDRC has been working closely with the DD Coalition on is: State Residential Centers – Money Follows the Individual Act (HB325, SB302). This bill would prevent the DHMH from denying a resident of any of the states 4 institutions (Rosewood, Brandenburg, Potomac Center, Holly Center) community based waiver services when the person lives in a State Residential Center (SRC, institution). The Department would be required to tell residents of State Residential Centers about opportunities to participate in waivers. This is similar to CDRC’s bill for residents of Nursing Facilities that passed in 2003 called Money Follows the Individual Accountability act (MFIAA). We feel this bill will help get many people out of institutions. The hearing in the Senate was February 15^th, and the hearing in the House was March 6^th. We feel both hearings went well.

SB 630/HB 796 - Community Choice Program - Excluded Populations

For two years, CDRC has been telling you about DHMH’s intention to make changes to the Medicaid/Medicare program called the Community Choices waiver. CDRC has been telling DHMH and the legislature that we don’t think these changes will be good for some people with disabilities. People with developmental disabilities on the DD waivers and people with Chronic Mental Health disability labels have been “carved-out” already. Some of the people we think should be left out of these changes are people on the Living At Home Waiver (LAHW). The LAHW is a program that has worked well for the people who use the waiver, including several members of CDRC. SB 630/HB 796 is a bill that would make DHMH leave people in the LAHW out of the CommunityChoice waiver. The bill was submitted by our friend Delegate Sue Kullen from Calvert County. CDRC members testified in support of the bill at the Senate hearing on March 8^th and will also testify at the House hearing on March 13^th. We do not know exactly what kind of managed long term care the new Secretary of Health will decide to use but we know he plans to make changes. We will continue to try to preserve one of the best Medicaid programs in the entire state.

Supplemental Budget

Last Friday (March 9^th) the announcement of the Governor’s Supplemental Budget came out. CDRC members will likely be unhappy to find that the Governor has put in $1.5 MILLION to fix Rosewood!! Last year, the Governor put in half a million to fix Rosewood after it was cited with an “Immediate Jeopardy” by the Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ). This means the state is giving Rosewood a total of $2 MILLION to fix the problems at Rosewood rather than close it and FREE OUR PEOPLE.

Meeting with Secretary Colmers

On the last day of February CDRC met with new DHMH Secretary John Colmers. CDRC discussed our concerns with the CommunityChoice waiver, getting people out of Nursing Facilities and Institutions (NFs/SRCs), how the state was going to handle its recent Money Follows grant from the feds and our willingness to work with DHMH on it. The Secretary made no firm commitment to CDRC on these issues but said he will take our concerns into consideration. He also said that he would continue to seek CDRC’s input as he considers all the factors in his decisions.

DD DAY

The last day of February, February 28^th, was also the annual DD Day at the legislature. As usual, DD Day was a great success and had a full house in attendance. Speakers were Department of Disabilities Secretary Cathy Raggio, DHMH Secretary John Colmers, Senator Delores Kelley, and many others. At the end of the day, The Arc of Maryland showed a very inspirational and energizing video of Rosewood survivors who came to tell their stories at the “Freedom Stories” party held in January The video featured a song by the Academy award winning Melissa Etheridge called “Giant” and some great pictures and moving quotes from some of our old and new friends. It actually made some people cry and made others shout for joy! As soon as The Arc gets permission from Melissa Etheridge, the video will be available to you if you would like a copy.

Rally Planned

People On the Go had it’s quarterly meeting March 4^th. At the meeting, the members decided that they want to have a rally to show their support for the Rosewood Transition Plan Bill. People On the Go asked ADAPT and CDRC to be involved in hosting this exciting rally. The rally will be held on Lawyer’s Mall (90 State Circle) in front of the State Capital in Annapolis. The rally will be held on April 2^nd from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM. If anyone is interested in showing support of the Rosewood Transition Plan Bill, please plan to attend.

Next CDRC meeting

We have a very SPECIAL guest speaker scheduled for the March 25^th CDRC meeting. Our guest speaker will be the new Secretary of The Department Of Disabilities, Cathy Raggio. Secretary Raggio will discuss some of her plans as the new Secretary, and take questions from CDRC members. If you have something you’d like to ask the Secretary, this is your chance.