On Friday, Governor Palin spoke in Pittsburgh about children with cognitive disabilities. This was her long-awaited "serious policy speech" about matters that touch her personally. As a caregiver myself, I wish her and her family the best. I'm sure Governor Palin will be an excellent parent, role model, and advocate for her son and for others.
Her speech included a few good ideas. She favors full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Senator Obama has long been on record supporting this, too. Opposition from fiscal conservatives has been the main obstacle here. I guess Senator McCain's promised spending freeze will include at least one exception.
Now that I've dispensed with the niceties, I can say that her speech illustrates the huge gap between the two parties, and why Governor Palin's preferred policies do not serve children (or adults) with chronic illnesses and disabilities very well.
The defects in Governor Palin's worldview are especially glaring when it comes to health care. I performed a global search through her published text. Here are some words that never appear: health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, disability, SSI, Social Security.
Especially when we consider what will happen to kids with disabilities when they become adults, these omissions are jaw-dropping. Yet I can see why she didn't get into it. She offer nothing in these areas to address families' very serious needs.
For starters, the McCain-Palin health plan permits insurers to continue the current practice of discriminating against consumers with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Governor Palin reports that her son Trig is in good health. He is lucky to have parents who can afford the costly services he might need. Many of his counterparts have complex physical and mental health needs, or require complex rehabilitative, physical, and occupational therapies. They are the classic people with "preexisting conditions" that insurers want to avoid.
The McCain-Palin plan would tax employer-paid health coverage, replacing the current approach with a $5,000 family tax credit. It seeks to move families into cheaper and barer high-deductible insurance plans. Unfortunately, $5000 doesn't come close to covering healthcare costs, even for families that do not include children or adults living with costly conditions. McCain staffers have proposed working with the states to cover high-cost patients. Yet they provide minimal details and do not propose to allocate the money required to accomplish the task.
Moreover, the McCain plan would erode the current employer-paid system of health insurance that, despite shortcomings, significantly protects people with costly health problems. Most children with disabilities are now insured through their parent's employer. Employer-paid plans also cover most adults living with chronic illnesses or disability. The McCain plan seeks to shift millions of Americans from employer-paid coverage into the non-group market, where insurers typically charge higher premiums, restrict coverage, or deny coverage to individuals who confront costly conditions.
There is more. Last year, President Bush vetoed a bipartisan compromise that would have expanded state children's health insurance programs (SCHIP) to 3.3 million kids, including many with disabilities. Senator McCain called this veto "the right call."
Less visibly, Republicans have promoted Medicaid cuts that have special impact on the disability community. President Bush's 2008 budget proposed to cut Medicaid funding of school-based medical and social services and community-based rehabilitation. The Bush administration has moved to tighten Medicaid asset verification requirements, and to limit the home equity families could transfer to a disabled child who received Medicaid.
Consider the contrast with Senator Obama's health plan. It would provide affordable health coverage to every citizen, regardless of ability to pay or preexisting condition. It would bar insurers from rejecting consumers or charging higher premiums on the basis of disability or health condition. It would also allow young adults to retain coverage on family health insurance until age 25. These are critical matters to the disability community.
Republicans -- Senator McCain in particular, rhetorically support the disability community, but fail to back up to this rhetoric on key issues that require public resources. The Community Choice Act (CCA) would require Medicaid to provide individuals with the same personal assistance services in their family home that they would be eligible to receive in an institutional setting, Democrats support CCA. Senator McCain opposes it. One could write the same sentence about increases in early childhood education, enhanced Family and Medical Leave for caregivers, and other matters.
Governor Palin asserts without specifics that Barack Obama would raise taxes on the special needs trusts parents establish to help a child with disabilities once they themselves are gone. As far as I can make sense of this, it's a bogus issue to all but a small minority of affluent caregivers.
Ironically, a major motivation for special needs trusts is to address draconian Medicaid asset tests and other rules Republicans favor. It was, after all, Republican HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt who stated: "Medicaid must not become an inheritance protection plan."
Speaking of Medicaid, the Wall Street Journal recently reported:
John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan "budget neutral," as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate.
Whom do you think are most affected by these cuts?
By eerie concidence, the McCain tax plan would add $1.3 trillion more than Senator Obama's to the federal debt by 2018. Most of this arises from further tax cuts to families whose annual incomes exceed $250,000.
Especially in these hard times, restraining tax giveaways to the wealthy embodies an ethic of mutual responsibility America sorely needs. Governor Palin speaks eloquently about children with disabilities. Yet her crude attacks on Barack Obama as "socialist" show that she misses the larger point. We must do more to help families caring for child with disabilities. We must to do more to help others who face other challenges: joblessness, mortgage foreclosure, or the loss of health insurance coverage.
Governor Palin's narrow governing vision does not promote the inclusive society every American deserves. So I wish her and her family well, but I cast my vote for Barack Obama and Joseph Biden.
My husband and I are Disability Advocates and Adoptive Parents of Special Needs Children, Catholic and Evangelica
morning !!!
We have so, so many friends in the adoption, disability
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”
For one shining moment, we actually believed America would be in safe hands no matter which party prevailed in the election! THEN she and Sen. McCain began their Hate-Speec
Furthermor
My husband, a Life-Long Disability Advocate with extensive legal advocacy and legislativ
Oh, you say, that could never happen! Well, you are wrong, it has and it can again! Not only have I spent half my life defending my choice to convert to Catholicis
as Executive Director of Access Internatio
We live in VERY DANGEROUS TIMES!!! By the grace of God, we have a Last Chance to redeem our nation from the brink of further internatio
As for LIFE ISSUES: how can I as a Catholic or my husband as a Christian Evangelica
The so-called “right to life” advocates oppose comprehens
And what about our escalating infant mortality rates in the US? Per a report in the Washington Post on October 15th, the United States “this
most powerful and wealthiest country in the history of the world today ranks 29th among all nations. 29th! In 2000, we ranked 27th. In 1960, 12th.” Even more glaring, according to the CDC, African–Am
And then we have another 4,000 plus American lives (not to mention our allies’ losses, Iraqi losses and innocent civilians) lost in Iraq alone because of Lies by Bush-Chene
Recent statistics from Disabled Veterans of America (2.9 million veterans are disabled; about 181,000 from the Iraq and Afghanista
As Disability Advocates, we must agree with Justin Dart, one of the fathers of the Americans With Disabiliti
Please decide today to join us in supporting Sen. Barack Obama for President, Sen. Joe Biden for Vice-Presi
The time has come for Americans to join in making their decisions of conscience
In 1996, confronted by Republican Party calling for "retreat from Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln democracy,
We want to echo Justin’s words as we endorse the Obama-Bide
“Our lives, our children's lives, the quality of the lives of billions in future generation
And
"get into politics as if your life depended on it. It does."
Thank you for listening! Please will all the rest of the “small donors” for Obama step forward here to state their cases as well! Perhaps that way the GOP Hitlist will end up so long they won’t be able to target everyone.
Very TRULY yours,
Lawrence & Patti Murphy
ATTN: National Media ---PLEASE cover the REAL Special Needs Issues!!!
53 MILLION AMERICANS WITH DISABILITI
NATIONAL SIGNIFICAN
BREAKING NEWS ----
DISABILITY ADVOCATES RESPOND TO PALIN'S DISABILITY PLAN
As advocates for, and parents of, children with disabiliti
However, falsely attacking Senator Barack Obama's policies and unfairly suggesting that they will hurt families who have children with disabiliti
And Obama has a strong record of support for policies and programs that support families who have children with disabiliti
He has also championed legislatio
Whether it's his work to pass a bill providing mental health parity in the state of Illinois or his advocacy on behalf of veterans with disabiliti
This commitment to improving the lives of people with disabiliti
http://www
(a plan thatdevote
establishe
http://my.
held a national conference call with members of Congress and disability advocates:
http://oba
and recorded a video message outlining his plans for the community:
http://www
to ensure that all Americans with disabiliti
He took these steps precisely because empowering Americans with disabiliti
Polly Arango, Co-Founder
Hon. Loranne Ausley, Florida House of Representa
Marca Bristo, Executive Director, Access Living
Ollie Cantos
David F. Chermol, Former Special Assistant United States Attorney for SSA
Tony Coelho, Former Majority Whip, U.S. House of Representa
David Ferleger, Disability Rights Attorney
Bob Kafka
Paul K. Longmore, Professor of History and Director of the Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University
John G. Pari, Jr., Executive Director for Strategic Initiative
Harold Pollack, Faculty Chair, Center for Health Administra
Jeff Rosen, General Counsel
Marcie Roth, Executive Director, National Coalition for Disability Rights
Sue Swenson
Katherine D. Seelman, Ph.D., former U.S. Director, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilita
Lucy C. Spruill
Dr. Ann Turnbull, Co-Directo
Dr. Rud Turnbull, Co-Directo
Jonathan Young
American Associatio
and Justice For All ---founded by Justin Dart
http://www
1. www.disabo
2. The Arc of the US has just establishe
www.Disabi
It features an array of news stories, including coverage of education, health, law, life and money issues directly facing the developmen
Disability
Special Education Advocacy Sites
3. www.wright
4. http://www
5. FROM THE MONDAY MORNING MEMO ----- ARC OF THE US:
My name is Joe Meadours and I am Executive Director of People First in California . I also serve on the Board of Directors of The Arc of the United States . In just over one week, the greatest and most important election in a generation will be held. I want to challenge each American to go out and vote this year on Tuesday November 4th. If you are not registered to vote, you should check the deadline for voter registrati
There are 7.2 million people with intellectu
We have a stake in this year’s election outcome and we need to empower ourselves by listening to the candidates and having the tools we need to exercise our right to vote. Guide to the Voting Rights of People with Mental Disabiliti
Republican and Democratic Party Platforms from the Disability Policy Collaborat