Given the announced postponement of the Senate vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) will utilize every day of this week to share credible data and analysis from various sources detailing the impact of the BCRA on children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that Senators should consider when casting their votes.
A report issued today by the Center for Epidemiological Research for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CERIIDD) shows that 76% of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities in Ohio would NOT be protected from caps or cuts to Medicaid, despite claims that "children with significant disabilities" are exempt from the legislation.
"We have heard claims that the current legislation would protect children with significant disabilities," said Mark Davis, President of CERIIDD. "But CERIIDD's data clearly shows that in Ohio, the majority of children with a developmental and intellectual disability who are on Medicaid would have no safeguards, and that is extremely concerning."
The CERIIDD report also shares telling statistics related to the prevalence of intellectual and developmental disabilities in DC media as it covers the BCRA. This figure is based on a query of articles related to "Obamacare" from January to June 2017:
"We have been gratified to see a few articles in the Washington Post and other national outlets finally turn their attention to the startling and irreparable impact the Senate's healthcare bill would have on people with IDD and their families," said Barbara Merrill, CEO of ANCOR. "But overall, the paucity of coverage specifically on intellectual disabilities has been extraordinarily disappointing."
"The pace at which the House and now the Senate have forced their healthcare bills forward, absent hearings and input from stakeholders who will be directly affected, has limited debate and the sharing of data like in CERIIDD's new study, in a dangerous way. We are grateful for additional time to save Medicaid and to preserve the services which serve as lifelines for hundreds of thousands of Americans."
