Policy Makers Increasingly View Long Term Care as Crucial to Health Care Reform

The importance of long term care is gaining awareness as members of Congress and health care experts move forward with health care reform plans. Long-time health care champion Senator Kennedy (D-MA) is adamant that a reform bill must include long term care and is pushing for the inclusion of the CLASS Act (S. 697 and H.R.1721), a bill he introduced which would create an optional long term care fund to aid people in paying for long term supports and services. Other groups are pushing for incentives to make long term care insurance more affordable while some have voiced concern that the expansion of government sponsored programs will be too costly. Read more!

Senator Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Davis (D-IL) Introduce Community Choice Act

Introduced last week, the measure's (H.R.1670 and S.683) purpose is to allow people with disabilities, who need an institutional level of care, the choice of receiving their Medicaid supports and services in their own communities, rather than an institution. Read more!

Section 811 Reform Legislation Reintroduced in House

Representatives Murphy (D-CT) and Biggert (R-IL) Re-Introduced on Monday Section 811 Reform Legislation. The Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act (H.R. 1675) would modernize the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program and create a Project-Rental Assistance Demonstration program to expand the supply of permanent supportive housing for low-income persons with disabilities. The Section 811 program is the only Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) permanent supportive housing program exclusively serving persons with disabilities. The new Section 811 legislation (H.R. 1675) was re-introduced with the same language as the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 (H.R. 5772), which passed in the House unanimously in September 2008. For more information, see the ANCOR Fact Sheet on this bill and information on ANCOR's Housing Web page on H.R. 5772. Read more!

CLASS Act Reintroduced in the Senate

Senator Kennedy (D-MA), Representatives Pallone (D-NJ) and Dingell (D-MI) Introduced this week the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. The measure (S. 697), would provide a cash benefit that would help adults with severe functional impairments obtain the services and supports they need to live and work independently in their communities. One of the main purposes of the ANCOR-supported bill is to reduce the number of individuals forced to live in poverty just so they can qualify for Medicaid. For more information, see the CLASS Act Fact Sheet. Text of the bill is not yet available. Read more!