Bush Medicare Veto Quashed By Congress

Yesterday, Tuesday, US Congress quashed President George W Bush's veto
of a bill to prevent cuts in doctors' payments from Medicare, the
government funded health insurance scheme for seniors and disabled. The
House of Representatives voted 383 to 41, and the Senate voted 70 to
26, in both cases more than enough to override the White House veto,
for which a two thirds majority in each house is required.


The Republicans broke rank, 153 in the House and 21 in the Senate, and
voted with Democrats to stop a planned reduction in Medicare doctors'
payments which would have automatically come into force at the start of
this month because of a formula that ties the payments to spending
targets that were not attained, reported the Washington Post. The
planned reduction would have led to a 10.6 per cent cut in doctors'
fees. Congress voted instead for cuts in reimbursements to the
insurance companies that provide services via Medicare.

Michigan Disability Rights Coalition Board meeting

The next meeting of the MDRC governing board is July 24, 2008 from 4 pm to 6 pm.  The meeting will be held at the MDRC office at 3498 East Lake Lansing Rd., Suite 100, East Lansing, Michigan 48823.  Interested parties may attend.  Please let us know you are coming by calling 1-800-760-4600.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

ADAPT Present as McCain Visits Michigan


ADAPT-Michigan had a presence today at John McCain’s "by invitation only" appearance in Belleville, MI. Though we couldn’t get inside, five of us carried signs and chanted in front of the building and throughout the driveway/parking area. Secret Service booted us from the parking lot, but not before we managed to have an agent get the CCA summary into the hands of one of McCain’s staff people.

Susan and Teddy Fitzmaurice were interviewed by the local Belleville newspaper. Joe Stramondo and Scott Heinzman were interviewed by WWJ 950 AM news radio - the main news radio outlet in metro Detroit. WWJ reporter Pat Sweeting took pictures for their website, www.wwj.com with no guarantees we’d make the site. Jim Dillon ably assisted with sign making and handing out flyers reminding McCain we vote and want him to support CCA.

We were well positioned with signs as McCain’s motorcade left, so we know he saw us.

Not a bad bit of work for less than a day’s notice.

A camera phone picture is attached.

FREE OUR PEOPLE!!

Norman DeLisle, MDRC

"With Liberty and Access for All!"

GrandCentral: 517-589-4081

MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/

LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/

Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Everybody Is 'Cane Fu' Fighting At Senior Centers, So Watch Out

CENTERVILLE, Ohio -- The St. Leonard retirement
village here has a whole new way of thinking about recreation: Bingo
has made way for cane fighting.


"Down on top of the head and up between the groin!"
urges instructor Debra Stewart, of nearby Chung's Academy of Martial
Arts, commanding a dozen gray-haired students swinging canes at
imaginary attackers. "Stomp him! Dig it in there. Do it hard!"

Jim Ghory, an 82-year-old retired toolmaker,
volunteers to take a few demonstration shots at Ms. Stewart, who has a
black belt in tae kwon do, a Korean martial-arts discipline. "You want
[it in] the collarbone or the ribs?" he asks.


Senior centers and retirement communities are looking
for new ways to promote exercise in order to stave off physical
decline. Older people interested in honing their self-defense skills,
meanwhile, are delighted to find that something they already own can be
used as a weapon.


"Oh my gosh, it's a huge hit," says Lena Mast, manager
at Lodges at Naylor Mill, an independent-living complex for seniors in
Salisbury, Md. Ms. Mast began offering cane classes for residents in
April and says "it's now the top thing they look forward to."

Multiple Sclerosis Foundation Offers Support for Patient Needs

from Kathryn Wyeth:

Deadline: TBA

The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation is accepting applications from

individuals with multiple sclerosis across the United States for

the Brighter Tomorrow grant program.

The goal of the grant is to provide individuals with MS with

goods or services (valued at up to $1,000 per recipient) to im-

prove their quality of life by enhancing safety, self-sufficiency,

comfort, or well-being. Recipients of the Multiple Sclerosis

Foundation's Brighter Tomorrow grant have received car repairs,

ramps, wheelchairs, walkers, eyeglasses, computers, appliances,

televisions, furniture, therapeutic equipment, hobby supplies,

retreats, and various home modifications.

To qualify, a person must be 18 years of age or older and diag-

nosed with MS, or the parent of a minor child diagnosed with MS,

and be a permanent U.S. resident. They must not have any other

means of fulfilling the need they express.

Applicants are asked to provide basic personal and financial

information, and to write a brief essay of 100 words or less to

describe how the grant would help them have A Brighter Tomorrow.

Applications for the next program cycle will be accepted as of

July 1, 2008. Applications will be made available at the

foundation's Web site.

RFP Link:

http://fconline.<wbr/>foundationcenter.org/pnd/<wbr/>15014153/msfocus

New AARP Report

Dear
Colleague:

Thought you'd be interested in a report released today by AARP's Public
Policy Institute that finds older Americans have limited access to home and
community-based services under Medicaid.


New AARP Report Finds Older Americans Have Limited Access to

Home and Community-Based Services under Medicaid


WASHINGTON—A new report
by AARP’s Public Policy Institute finds promising signs and mixed results
among state government efforts to balance long-term care (LTC) options under
Medicaid. Unfortunately, according to the report, only four states spent more
than 50 percent of their Medicaid LTC dollars for older people providing home
and community based services (HCBS). The remainder of the states continues to
spend the majority of their Medicaid LTC dollars for older people on
institutional care, such as nursing homes.


The report, A
Balancing Act: State Long-Term Care Reform, is the first to examine
Medicaid spending on long-term care for older people and adults with physical
disabilities, separate from other LTC users such as people with mental
retardation/developmental disabilities (MR/DD).


Nationally, 75 percent
of Medicaid LTC spending for older people and adults with physical
disabilities pays for institutional care in nursing homes. In contrast,
states have done a much better job balancing Medicaid LTC for people with
MR/DD, spending just 39 percent on institutional care. The majority of funds
now supports people in home and community-based settings.

Washington gathering to focus on long-term care reform

The Brookings Institute will hold a briefing on the future of long-term
care reform Friday morning, and the guest list includes some heavy
hitters from inside the Beltway.

Three panels will convene to discuss a variety of topics including
quality and efficiency, new models for financing long-term care, and
the political prospects for long-term care reform. Moderating these
discussions will be Mark McClellan, former administrator of the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Bob Kerry, president of The New
School; and Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional budget office.

Other notable participants at the briefing will be former Speaker of
the House Newt Gingrich, who is one of the event hosts; and Larry
Minnix, president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and
Services for the Aging. He will participate in the panel discussion on
long-term care financing. The briefing begins at 9 a.m. EST in room 902
of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

New rule seeks to stymie bullying in nursing homes and hospitals

Workplace bullying and intimidation run rampant in America's hospitals
and nursing homes, leading to preventable medical errors, increased
cost of care and poor resident satisfaction. The Joint Commission wants
to combat this behavior and has unveiled a plan to reduce disruptive
attitudes in all healthcare settings.

The Commission, an organization dedicated to the improvement of quality
in healthcare, released its 11-point plan to eliminate workplace
intimidation on Wednesday. It will take effect on January 1, 2009, as a
rule for all accreditation programs. The Commission is asking
facilities to develop a system of reporting bad behavior, educate staff
on professional attitudes, implement a method of dealing with unruly
physicians and staff, and encourage dialogue between employees.

A recent report found that up to 50% of all nurses experience bullying
in the workplace and that 90% have witnessed an act of intimidation (McKnight's
4/8/08). While physicians are the primary culprits, the report also
indicates that nurses, too, are often to blame for contributory
attitudes. For a full list of the Joint Commission's rules and
recommendations, visit www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_40.htm.

Community Choice Act and the Presidential Nominees

 Members of the Atlantis Community CIL and Denver ADAPT met with the
Republican presumptive presidential candidate John McCain at a Town Hall Meeting today. Six members of ADAPT, including teenagers from the Summer Youth Program, sat in the front of the auditorium to listen to McCain's policies for his administration. When he took comments from the audience he handed the microphone
to Dawn Russell. She explained the legislation called the Community Choice Act and asked him why he was not signed on. Mr. McCain stated he would not support the legislation. He then offered several poor reasons for his decision and ended by saying we would have to let thevoters decide that one. Having recaptured the microphone, he did state he supported the ADA, but had no interest in hearing that the ADA was entirely different from the CCA.

CCA supports putting control in the hands of the individual instead of Government, it supports states' ability to use limited Medicaid funds for community services which people prefer and which are
more cost effective.

Presumptive Presidential Candidate Barak Obama has signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill already.

ADAPT's Statement on CCA:

For decades, people with disabilities, both old and young, have wanted alternatives to nursing homes and other institutions when they need long term services. Our long term care system has a heavy institutional bias

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Long-term care fraught with uncertainties for elderly baby boomers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The continued decline of the nursing home — once the mainstay care for the frail elderly — and an upsurge in popularity of assisted living will lead to many dramatic changes in long-term care, according to a University of Florida expert and editor of a new book on the subject.
“The American public has expressed a strong distaste for going to a nursing home because it smacks of a hospital-like, institutional way of living and receiving care,” said Stephen Golant, a UF geography professor and expert on elderly housing. “Assisted living has emerged as a highly attractive option for older persons who have experienced some physical or cognitive decline and feel less secure about receiving care in their own home.”
Yet there are few certainties about either the future of assisted living for the elderly or the huge number of baby boomers who stand to be its recipients, Golant said.
“Although baby boomers will constitute a large market, it is unclear what share will have impairments and chronic health problems that make them candidates for assisted living,” he said. “The emergence of an unexpected new medical or rehabilitation breakthrough, such as a cure or the discovery of a disease-controlling drug for Alzheimer’s disease – could result in a substantial decline in the number of elderly Americans who need such care.”

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/