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Delaware Assistive Technology Initiative

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Vol. 2, No. 2, Mar/Apr 1994

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FINANCING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: Health Care Reform - Getting Involved

Ron Sibert, Funding Specialist, DATI

Our last issue discussed disability-related issues under President Clinton's Health Security Act (HSA). It described some of the Act's strengths and weaknesses from a disability perspective, and how average citizens can help make the plan more effective.

HSA is being hailed by the national disability-related organizations as the most promising of all of the proposed health care reform packages floating about Capitol Hill today. Why? Because despite its shortcomings, it is still the only plan that guarantees health care benefit coverage regardless of health status or disability. Additional consumer input is still needed to fine-tune the HSA, but there is now another more basic concern. The Clinton plan is not the only one on the table, and the others are much less sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities. Opponents of the HSA's single payer plan in the Senate and House are busily gathering support for less costly, but much less comprehensive plans.

As the cost and coverage battles rage in Congress, many different proposals are being developed. Each proposal has unique features, but to some extent, they all involve one (or some combination) of three basic approaches: Single Payer, Managed Competition, and Insurance Reform. Differences in these three approaches center around the level of government control, who pays for benefits, and the quality of coverage. The following "quick and dirty" overview is based on the findings of health policy researchers in the Washington office of United Cerebral Palsy Associations Inc. (UCPA).

The DATI, along with several State agency representatives, recently participated in a two-part national teleconference on Health Care Reform. Urgent concerns were raised about limited access to health care by people with disabilities under certain proposed plans. One such plan, the Cooper bill, was sponsored by one of the 18 senators who voted against the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). People with disabilities were asked to write to their senators and congresspersons because true health care reform requires consumer input.

The DATI has joined with the Delaware Health Care Commission to convene a Health Care Reform Summit near the end of February. Representatives of several disability-oriented consumer organizations throughout the State will receive updates on disability-related health care reform issues from both local and federal viewpoints. The organizations are likely to soon begin consumer outreach and advocacy training activities to share information and instruction about how to make a difference. There is still time left to act before any final decisions are made in Washington. Every person will experience disability at some point in their lives; this is not just someone else's concern. Do yourself a favor...take the opportunity be heard ....get involved.

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