February 28, 2007

CARIE Policy Update and Meeting Announcement

Quote of the Month
“Don’t find fault. Find a remedy.” – Henry Ford

Assisted Living
The Philadelphia Inquirer has published a front page, four-part series on the results of their 10 month investigation of assisted living in Pennsylvania. For many years, CARIE has been among numerous advocates in Pennsylvania fighting unsuccessfully for separate licensure status for assisted living facilities. As part of his recent budget proposal, Governor Rendell has identified the need for assisted living to help rebalance Pennsylvania’s long term care system and plans to have legislation introduced on the administration’s behalf this session. Hopefully interest on the part of the administration coupled with the facts presented in these articles will help “find a remedy” to the problems associated with assisted living in Pennsylvania.

Federal Budget
On February 15, President Bush signed the final 2007 Continuing Appropriations Resolution, H.J. Res. 20, over four months into the fiscal year. Please click here to read highlights of the FY 2007 $464 billion budget bill as it relates to older adults.

NCCNHR Name Change
On January 27th, NCCNHR changed its name from the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform to NCCNHR: The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care. NCCNHR will continue its advocacy on behalf of nursing home residents but will now expand its mission to include all consumers of long term care.

VA "Aid and Attendance" Benefit
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) wants wartime veterans and surviving spouses of deceased wartime veterans to access an under-used, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance. Although this is not a new program, many veterans are not aware that they can receive a special monthly supplemental pension to help with un-reimbursed medical expenses when they need personal care assistance. For more information, read the VA News Release.

Pennsylvania State Government News
After 10 years of service, Diane Koken resigned as Pennsylvania’s Insurance Commissioner on February 14 making her the second longest serving Insurance Commissioner in Pennsylvania. Senator Vince Fumo (D., Philadelphia) stepped down temporarily as Democratic Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee due to a federal indictment. Senator Gerry Lavalle (D., Beaver) will serve as “Acting” Minority Chair of the Appropriations Committee. This shift also means that Senator Vincent Hughes (D., Philadelphia) will serve as the Senate Democratic Caucus Secretary.

The Disability Rights Network
Effective February 1, 2007, Pennsylvania Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (PP&A) and the Disabilities Law Project (DLP) merged to form the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (DRN). DRN is a statewide, non–profit, federally–mandated organization whose purpose is to advance and protect the civil rights of all adults and children with physical or mental disabilities.

DRN provides services with a combined staff of more than 50 people working from offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. For additional information, please visit DRN or contact Ilene Shane, Chief Executive Officer, at 800-692-7443 extension 302 or Mark Murphy, Legal Director, at 215-238-8070 extension 209.

Just the Links.....
The following are links to potential resources or documents of interest:

• CMS has issued a new top sheet, “Qualifying for Extra Help and Joining a Medicare Drug Plan” that includes information about income, resource, cost and enrollment information for extra help.
• The Congressional Research Service has issued two reports for Congress: “Older Americans Act: FY2006 Funding, FY2007 Proposals, and FY2008 Budget Request” and Medicare: FY2008 Budget Issues.”
• The Federal Citizen Information Center has released its 2007 Consumer Action Handbook. Free single copies are also available by calling 1-888-878-3256.
• Open Congress is a new resource to help individuals identify and connect with members of Congress as well as find bills and issue areas of interest. Open Congress is a free, non-profit, and non-partisan web resource with a mission to help make Congress more transparent and to encourage civic engagement. Among the special features, you may subscribe to be notified when bills you are interested in are being debated.
• The Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee has issued a new report, “Medicaid Reform Efforts in Other States and Their Applicability to Pennsylvania.” (To access the report, please click on “What’s New?”)
  
•  The Task Force for Quality at the End of Life issued a report with recommendations called “Improving End-of-Life Experiences for Pennsylvanians.”

CARIE News
I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that Deb Sterne will be leaving CARIE this spring. Deb is our CARIE LINE Coordinator and has been an integral part of CARIE for eight years. As those of you who have had the opportunity to work with Deb know, she is a gifted and dedicated professional so it will be very difficult to see her go. CARIE now faces the challenge of recruiting her successor and could use your help in identifying qualified candidates. Please post or share the attached CARIE LINE Coordinator position description. Anything you can do to help us locate another dynamic advocate to join our team will be most appreciated. Looking for a resource or article previously posted in CARIE Connection? Archives of past editions of CARIE Connection are now available in the “News” section of CARIE’s website.

March Meeting
Please click here for a copy of CARIE's Dorothy S. Washburn Legislative Committee’s March 1st meeting agenda. Hope you can join us. As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Kathy