|
**************************************************************************
VOR is the only national organization advocating for a full range of
residential and support options for people with mental retardation,
including Medicaid-certified Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally
Retarded (ICFs/MR) and home and community-based care. VOR supports choice.
***************************************************************************
--------------------------------------------
VOR Weekly E-Mail Update
November 17, 2006
--------------------------------------------
================================================================
1. Social Security: Public Warned about E-Mail Scam
2. Former HHS Secretary Thompson Says States Will Take Lead on Health Care
Reform
3. VIRGINIA: State official addresses parents' concerns about CVTC
4. CONNECTICUT: Name Change Divides Activists - Some Want Agency To Drop
`R' Word
================================================================
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Social Security: Public Warned about E-Mail Scam
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Immediate Release
November 7, 2006
News Release SOCIAL SECURITY -- Public Warned about E-mail Scam
Jo Anne Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security, and Patrick O'Carroll,
Jr., Inspector General of Social Security, issued a warning today about a
new email scam that has surfaced recently.
The Agency has received several reports of an email message being
circulated with the subject "Cost-of- Living for 2007update" and purporting
to be from the Social Security Administration. The message provides
information about the 3.3 percent benefit increase for 2007 and contains
the following "NOTE: We now need you to update your personal information.
If this is not completed by November 11, 2006, we will be forced to suspend
your account indefinitely." The reader is then directed to a website
designed to look like Social Security's Internet website.
"I am outraged that someone would target an unsuspecting public in this
manner," said Commissioner Barnhart. "I have asked the Inspector General to
use all the resources at his command to find and prosecute whoever is
perpetrating this fraud."
Once directed to the phony website, the individual is asked to register for
a password and to confirm their identity by providing personal information
such as the individual's Social Security number, bank account information
and credit card information.
Inspector General O'Carroll recommends people always take precautions when
giving out personal information. "You should never provide your Social
Security number or other personal information over the Internet or by
telephone unless you are extremely confident of the source to whom you are
providing the information," O'Carroll said.
To report receipt of this email message or other suspicious activity to
Social Security's Office of Inspector General, please call the OIG Hotline
at 1-800-269-0271. (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call the OIG TTY
number at 1-866-501-2101). A Public Fraud Reporting form is also available
online at OIG's website www.socialsecurity.gov/oig
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Former HHS Secretary Thompson Says States Will Take Lead on Health Care
Reform
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report
October 27, 2006
Coverage & Access
Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, chair of the Deloitte Center for
Health Solutions and a partner at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and
Feld, on Thursday told reporters that states likely will take the lead on
health care reform in the absence of federal action, CQ HealthBeat reports
(www.cq.com/corp/show.do?page=products_cqhealthbeat).
According to Thompson, regardless of whether Democrats take control of
Congress after the midterm elections, federal action on healthcare likely
will not occur until 2008, when he expects the issue to play an important
role in the presidential election. He also said that at least 20 states
likely will follow the lead of Massachusetts and pass laws to require
residents to purchase health insurance.
In addition, Thompson said that he remains hopeful about the enactment of a
federal healthcare information technology law. The House and Senate have
passed separate healthcare IT bills (HR 4157 and S 1418), but lawmakers
have not named conferees to resolve differences in the legislation.
Thompson also promoted the "Medicaid Makeover" proposal that he introduced
in August at the National Governors Association
(http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga) meeting (Hopkins, CQ HealthBeat,
10/26).
The proposal recommends that the responsibility for long-term care of
elderly Medicaid beneficiaries shift from joint state and federal funding
to the federal government and that states focus on acute care for Medicaid
beneficiaries younger than age 65. In addition, the proposal recommends
that Medicaid begin to use electronic health records and other technologies
to improve case management and health information collection (Kaiser Daily
Health Policy Report, 8/3
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=3&DR_ID=38906
).
Thompson said, "I think the Bush administration has done more than any
other to bring Medicaid to the forefront." He added, "Am I satisfied? No,
I'm not." (CQ HealthBeat, 10/26).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. VIRGINIA: State official addresses parents' concerns about CVTC
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Cynthia T. Pegram
Friday, November 3, 2006
MADISON HEIGHTS - Parents got some reassurance from a top state official
Thursday that hospital level services will be considered in the design of a
new Central Virginia Training Center.
But just how those services will be included in a newly constructed CVTC
remains unresolved.
"We have not made a decision about the hospital," said Marilyn Tavenner,
Virginia's secretary of Health and Human Resources, in a meeting with
concerned parents who have children in the state's oldest and largest
mental retardation residential program.
In developing architectural plans for a new, smaller, CVTC only a 10-bed
infirmary has been mentioned. Parents are concerned because CVTC currently
has a 26-bed hospital that provides an array of services and skilled care
that are a significant health resource for all CVTC's 500-plus residents.
Tavenner's office oversees 12 agencies, among them is the Department of
Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, which runs
16 state behavioral health facilities, including CVTC.
"We have to explore all the options," Tavenner said in the hour-long,
low-key meeting that included some CVTC medical and social work staff.
The meeting brought in high-level decision-makers to hear the concerns.
With Tavenner were Steve Harms, HHR deputy secretary, Dr. James Reinhard,
DMHMRSAS commissioner, Jerry Deans, deputy commissioner and Denise
Micheletti, CVTC director. Delegate Shannon Valentine, D-Lynchburg, also
was present.
Atul Gupta of Lynchburg, parent of a 6-year-old daughter at CVTC, said
that any decisions about including a hospital should not rely on
assumptions it loses money.
Gupta, who is on the faculty of Lynchburg College, gave a presentation on
the economic status of the hospital - which is clearly operating in the
black.
Tavenner's visit evolved from a request by Gupta to meet with her in
Richmond. Instead, as more parents became interested in joining in the
meeting, Tavenner opted to tour the CVTC facility, meet some residents and
some of the employees, and then meet with parents.
"I think it's important that we get some answers to these questions that
are of concern to all of us," said Charles Fallis, president of the
parent's group.
Using figures he obtained from Denise Micheletti, CVTC director, Gupta
did calculations based on average nightly stays in the CVTC hospital and
Medicaid reimbursement. Gupta figured the revenue to be about $3.6 million.
He then looked at direct and indirect costs at high and low estimates -
coming up with a high-low range of revenue from about $788,000 to about
$558,200.
"That's half a million dollars profit every year," he said, "And it's a
26-bed facility."
He then re-calculated by reducing the bed size to 15 and then to 10 beds,
which pushed the profit higher.
"So my question to the architect,'' said Gupta, is "If it is economically
feasible, then why do you want to close it out?"
Gupta said there are tangible and intangible benefits to having the
hospital. By his calculations, the costs of not having a hospital and the
services it provides, and having that care done elsewhere would be about
$2.7 million in unfunded costs alone.
Data showed that the hospital average census usually runs between five
and 11 patients.
With that number of patients, said Tavenner, "That means you could either
build or keep a smaller unit than what we currently have today."
She noted that when the hospital census is low, staffing remains the
same. "Nurses and aides are very difficult to find and train. You can't
tell them, 'we don't need you today, go home.'"
However, she told Gupta, "We're trying to look at options in design, and
I hear your point and will certainly take that into consideration."
On hearing that CVTC has to send an aide to Lynchburg General to stay
with a CVTC patient, and about the transportation costs and issues to
medical care outside of CVTC, she said, "You got my attention."
In a discussion about the level of health care now available at CVTC,
Tavenner, whose background includes a degree in nursing, said "The care
here is A-plus."
"Likewise I've seen individuals cared for in the community and cared for
well," Tavenner said.
In the restructuring of the mental retardation system, Tavenner said,
"we're trying to promote both sides - we're replacing facilities that don't
meet life-safety codes that need to be replaced and also offer
institutional opportunities." She said they are also working on raising the
standards of community care for people who choose to live there.
"These are tough, tough issues," she said, "I hear the message."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. CONNECTICUT: Name Change Divides Activists - Some Want Agency To Drop
`R' Word
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Penelope Overton
Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant
Chad Sinanian hates the "R" word.
Under the law, the 39-year-old Danbury man is mentally retarded, but the
political activist winces at the degrading words that others use to define
his intellectual disability.
"This label limits persons with disabilities' efforts to live in society as
equal human beings with dignity," Sinanian said. He said it "makes it
difficult for us to be accepted."
Sinanian wants to strip the "R" word from the title of the state Department
of Mental Retardation, the state agency that serves those with intellectual
disabilities. Sinanian is the treasurer of People First of Connecticut, a
political action group of people with intellectual disabilities that has
been campaigning for a new agency name since 1991.
Now, after years of delays and debate, the state agency is studying whether
it should follow the national trend and call itself something "more
respectful," Commissioner Peter O'Meara said.
A hearing on the name change will be held Thursday in Hartford.
But People First has discovered that, even in an era of political
correctness, the process of renaming a state agency can be costly,
complicated and, in this case, unexpectedly controversial.
The clash comes not from insensitive outsiders who haven't felt the sting
of the "R" word, but from old-guard activists who have spent decades
fighting on behalf of people with disabilities. The campaign is dividing
the disability community, pitting people like Sinanian against advocates
afraid that a new name might lead to fewer services for those with mental
retardation.
Over the past decade, other states have dropped the phrase from their
agency titles in favor of "intellectual disability," "developmental
disability" or, in some cases, simply "disabilities." According to the
National Association of State Directors of Disability Services, Connecticut
is one of only 12 states to use the term "mental retardation" as the title
of the agency that serves this community.
The Connecticut Department of Education no longer uses the words "mental
retardation." The Connecticut Council on Mental Retardation and The
Association of Retarded Citizens of Connecticut have changed their names,
as have the President's Council on Mental Retardation and American
Association of Mental Retardation.
The term remains in use as the official medical diagnosis.
"It's a very hot issue for us," O'Meara said. "We don't want to offend the
people we serve and we don't want to be the last state in the country left
still using the term."
But some worry that a new name might confuse longtime supporters of this
community, including lawmakers in charge of budgets and people who donate
money to support groups and services.
Bob Wood, a New Haven County activist who has traveled to Hartford and
Washington to lobby for his daughter, said lawmakers don't know what words
such as "developmentally disabled" mean.
"Through the years the words `mental retardation' have opened many doors
for our sons and daughters," said Wood. "We need to really think hard about
changing the name."
June Barakat of Naugatuck is not offended by the word "retardation." Her
son is mentally retarded, or, as the dictionary says, "slow to learn." The
problem, she said, is ignorant people.
"When I hear students saying `retard,' I hand them a dictionary and educate
them," Barakat wrote on a weblog discussion hosted by the Connecticut
Council on Developmental Disabilities. "Retardation is a condition. By
changing the name, it won't go away, and neither will ignorance."
For Joseph and Nancy Dennin of Trumbull, the renaming debate boils down to
money. They don't find the word "retardation" offensive, but understand
that some people do.
Joseph Dennin worries that a new name might appear to broaden the class of
people served by the agency, which now assists only those who meet the
medical definition of mental retardation.
Dennin said mentally retarded people such as his 30-year-old son, David,
get too few services from DMR as it is. The waiting lists for housing and
respite care are years long. A new name might encourage groups not served
by DMR - such as people with autism or fetal alcohol syndrome - to go to
court to demand their share of state services.
"I sympathize, but my mission is to protect David," Dennin said. "Any
dollar spent changing the name, fighting off a lawsuit or serving new
groups is one dollar less for the mentally retarded."
Most other states that have renamed their agencies already serve other
groups, Dennin said. Connecticut is one of only five states whose agencies
serve only the mentally retarded.
O'Meara said a new name would not change which groups the department
serves. State statutes restrict eligibility to people with a medical
diagnosis of mental retardation.
To qualify for DMR services, a person must score 69 or lower on an IQ test,
be unable to achieve personal independence without assistance and be
diagnosed before turning 18.
In Connecticut, about 32,000 people fit that definition, according to 2002
data. Of that number, about 40 percent, or about 12,700 people, apply to
DMR for assistance.
O'Meara said the debate over whether to expand DMR eligibility is a
separate issue. The agency is launching a pilot program to serve some
people with autism, but numbers served will be quite small.
A 2002 state-funded study recommended expanding services to people with
developmental disabilities, but the legislature has never pursued it. The
study estimated it would cost about $2.4 million to expand DMR
administration to serve the approximately 24,000 Connecticut residents who
have developmental disabilities without mental retardation. The study
predicted between 20 and 40 percent of that population would seek state
help. At that rate, the annual cost of expanded services could reach $147
million.
Many people working on behalf of individuals with disabilities other than
retardation hope a new name is a step toward inclusion, but they also worry
that it might mislead the public.
Changing the name without changing the agency's mission might further the
public perception that all people with disabilities are served by the
state, said Michele Bidwell of Willington. Bidwell is the mother of
7-year-old twins with fetal alcohol syndrome who don't qualify for any DMR
help, even though they may never be able to live on their own or hold a
job.
"If you give it a new name, the public might think they've done their job,"
Bidwell said. "But there are thousands of kids out there like mine that
people just assume are getting help."
The state will gather public comment through Nov. 15. The agency will use
that information to make a recommendation to the state legislature by Jan.
1. Renaming would require new legislation.
-----------------------------------------
Tamie Hopp
REFERRAL/MEMBERSHIP/CONTRIBUTION FORM
THREE EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT VOR > REFER, CONTRIBUTE OR JOIN
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
TO JOIN OR CONTRIBUTE: $25 per individual, $150 per family organization, or
$200 per provider/professional organization. Extra donations are welcome!
You may pay by credit card or check.
TO REFER SOMEONE TO VOR: Use the form below, including the additional
sections for referrals.
Mail the completed form (if joining or contributing) with payment to:
Voice of the Retarded
5005 Newport Drive, Suite 108
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
847-253-6054 fax (for referrals or credit card payments)
vor@compuserve.com (for referrals or credit card payments)
FOR REFERRALS: ____ The contact information provided is for someone I
think would consider membership with VOR.
FOR REFERRALS: _____ You may use my name in any correspondence with this
individual. My name is ________________________.
____________________________________________
Name
_____________________________________________
Address (if paying by credit card, use billing address). All forms must
include complete address including zip code)
_____________________________________________
City St Zip
_____________________________________________
Phone Fax
_____________________________________________
E-Mail
_________________________________________________
Family/Professional Organization Affiliation (if applicable)
VOR now accepts Master Card and Visa. If paying by credit card, please
provide the following information:
Amount to charge to card:
___$1,000 ___$500 ___$250 ___$150 ___$50 ___$25 $_____ Other amount
_____ Master Card
_____ Visa
Card Number: ___________________________________
Expiration Date: __________________________________
Cardholder's Signature: ___________________________
|
