Bob Doles address home-schoolers on disability treaty (POLITICO, July 22)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to approve the treaty Tuesday morning, but it’s not clear if it has enough votes to pass the full Senate. The treaty, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, was adopted in 2006 and signed by President Barack Obama in 2009. It’s modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act: The goal is to help guarantee that people with disabilities can access education, jobs, health care and other opportunities afforded to countries’ mainstream populations.
New analysis highlights variations and trends in Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending, including for long-term care services (Kaiser Family Foundation, July 21)
A new Kaiser Family Foundation report breaks down what beneficiaries with traditional Medicare pay for their health care, including insurance premiums, and costs for medical and long-term care services.
Chart book: Social Security Disability Insurance (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, July 21)
Disability Insurance (DI) is an integral part of Social Security. The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the DI program. In December 2013, 8.9 million people received disabled-worker benefits; payments also went to some of their family members: 160,000 spouses and 1.9 million children.
Cerebral Palsy may run in families, study finds (Disability Scoopt, July 18)
Genes may play a bigger role in cerebral palsy than previously thought with researchers finding heightened risk in siblings and other relatives of those with the condition. In a study looking at more than 2 million children born in Norway between 1967 and 2002, researchers found that the likelihood of cerebral palsy appears greater among those most closely related to individuals with the developmental disability.
Feds clarify obligations to kids with Autism (Disability Scoop, July 17)
In what advocates are calling a major win, federal officials are for the first time telling states that Medicaid coverage must include treatments like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for children with autism. Medicaid programs nationwide must offer “medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services” to kids with autism, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states in a bulletin this month.
Helping individuals with mental illness join the workforce (Stateline, July 14)
According to one study, only 1.7 percent of those served by state mental health systems received supported employment services in 2012, even though it has proven to be the most effective way to keep [individuals with mental illness] in steady jobs. Soon that situation may change. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states can apply to use Medicaid funds to train and employ the seriously mentally ill, under the theory that steady employment is a form of treatment.
Statewide expansion of STAR+PLUS on track (InTouch, July/August)
The State has sent introductory letters and an enrollment packet to about 134,000 people affected by the expansion of STAR+PLUS… On September 1, most people covered by Medicaid who are seniors or have a disability will get their basic medical services[], long-term services and supports, and service coordination through a STAR+PLUS managed care health plan.