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Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2000 1:23 PM
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Subject: Arc: Managed Care, the Developmental Disabilities Act, & Family
Support Act



                         Justice For All

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 Arc: Managed Care, the Developmental Disabilities Act, & Family Support
Act

The Arc Governmental Affairs ([log in to unmask]) writes:

January 27, 2000

Managed Care, the Developmental Disabilities Act, and the Family Support
Act - Three of Many Front Burner Issues in Congress

Advocates Must Act Now as Congress Begins its Work

There were several issues important to people with mental retardation
still pending when the first session of the 106th Congress came to a
close.  These include managed care reform and the reauthorization of the
Developmental Disabilities Act and Family Support Act programs. These
issues will be on the front burner when Congress returns to work
beginning
on January 24.  Advocates must be prepared to respond to Action Alerts
from the Governmental Affairs Office and Members of Congress as they,
hopefully, effectively complete their work.

MANAGED CARE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS

Summary: Both the House and Senate passed managed care reform bills in
the
first session of the 106th Congress. Hopefully, a bipartisan conference
committee, appointed just before the winter recess, will continue to
work
out the differences between these two bills very soon.  As of the date
of
this Alert, it has been 85 days since the Republican leadership in the
House finally announced its conferees and there has still been no
meeting
between the Republican and Democrat members of the Conference Committee.
The major fear of health care reform advocates is that the Republican
conferees will push through their version of a bill that will then
either
fail on the House floor or most definitely be vetoed by the President.
The
goal of health care reform advocates is a fair final bill that provides
consumers with a broad range of protections and that does not include
"poison pills" like Medical Savings Accounts.

The House bill, H.R. 2723, the Bipartisan Consensus Managed Care Act, is
a
good bill that overcame the opposition of the Republican leadership and
passed by a vote of 275-151, with 68 Republicans supporting it.  The
version of H.R. 2723 that passed the House includes a number of
important
reforms - reforms that will move managed care in the right direction.
However, there is one big problem with the House bill and that is that
another bill - with bad "poison pill" provisions like Medical Savings
Accounts and Association Health Plans - was added to it in the end.  The
Senate bill, S. 1344, put forward by the Republican leadership is a very
weak bill with few meaningful protections.

Usually, the next step is for the House and Senate bills to go to a
Conference Committee where the differences between the bills are ironed
out.  Conference should also be an opportunity to drop provisions that
are
seen by many as "poison pills".   Unfortunately, the Republican
leadership
chose to "stack the deck" when it came to the Conference Committee.
All
of the Republican House conferees appointed, except for one, voted
against
the managed care reforms in H.R. 2723.  Amazingly, Reps. Norwood (R-Ga.)
and Ganske (R-Iowa) -- the two Republican leaders on managed care
reform -
were not even appointed to the Conference Committee.  In addition, the
Senate Republican conferees all supported the weak Senate bill.  These
efforts by the Republican leaders -- before the First Session
adjourned --
and current statements being made by them make it crystal clear that the
Republican Congressional leadership is still not on the same wave-length
as the American people who - in poll after poll -- put managed care
reforms as one of their top issues.

Managed Care Conferees

House Conferees

*Supported H.R. 2723

Bliley (R-Va.)
Bilirakis (R-Fla.)*
Shadegg  (R-Ariz.)
Archer (R-Texas)
Thomas (R-Calif.)
Johnson (R-Conn.)
McCrery (R-La.)
Boehner (R-Ohio)
Talent (R-Mo.)
Fletcher (R-Ken.)
Burton (R-Ind.)
Scarborough (R-Fla.)(did not vote)
Goss (R-Fla.)

Dingell (D-Mich.)*
Pallone (D-N.J.)*
Rangel (D-N.Y.)*
Stark (D-Calif.)*
Clay (D-Mo.)*
Andrews (D-N.J.)*
Waxman (D-Calif.)*
Berry (D-Ark.)*

Senate Conferees

*Supported weak Republican bill

Jeffords (R-Vt.)*
Gregg (R-N.H.)*
Frist (R-Tenn.)*
Hutchinson (R-Ark.)*
Nickles (R-Okla.)*
Gramm (R-Texas)*
Enzi (R-Wyo.)*
Kennedy D-Mass.)
Dodd (D-Conn.)
Harkin (D-Iowa)
Mikulski (D-Md.)
Rockefeller (D-W.V.)


This is a critical time to get the following messages to your Members
who
are on the Conference Committee.

Action Needed:

If you have a Member of Congress who is on the Conference Committee
(listed above) or a Republican Member on the target list that follows,
please contact them by phone, fax or email with the following messages:

* The final product that comes out of the Conference Committee must be a
bipartisan effort that the President is willing to sign into law.
Consumers have waited too long already for critically needed
protections.
*  Support the main principles contained in the Bipartisan Consensus
Managed Care Act (H.R. 2723).  H.R. 2723 contains the strong managed
care
protections that are important to children and adults with mental
retardation and related disabilities and their families (give personal
stories).
* Oppose Medical Savings Accounts and Association Health Plans.  MSAs
and
AHPs don't help people with high health care needs, like children and
adults with disabilities and their families.
* Please pass a bill that reflects what consumers and families want and
not just what insurance companies and health plans want.

It is also critical that you:
1. Ask your House Members to go to Speaker of the House Hastert (R-Ill.)
and ask for quick and fair action on a strong bill.

2. Ask your Senate Members to go to Majority Leader Lott (R-Miss.) and
ask
for quick and fair action on a strong bill.  Sen. Nickles (R-Okla.),
Assistant Majority Leader/Senate Majority Whip, is the roadblock to
action.  Sen. Lott needs to be urged to push action on a good consumer
bill no matter how much Sen. Nickles objects.

REMEMBER NONE OF THE REPUBLICAN CONFEREES ARE STRONG SUPPORTERS OF
ADDITIONAL MANAGED CARE PROTECTIONS FOR CONSUMERS.   YOUR MESSAGE TO
THEM
NEEDS TO BE CLEAR AND STRONG. YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT AND YOU OR YOUR
FAMILY
NEEDS THESE PROTECTIONS.

Target list: Some of these targets are conferees, some have shown some
support for stronger legislation, and some are in very tough re-election
races.

Senate Targets

These Republican Senators voted for
at least one strengthening amendment (7/99)

Abraham*
Fitzgerald
McCain* (scope only)
Specter
Snowe* (continuity of care only)

Others
Ashcroft*
Kyl*
Santorum*
Roth*
Grams*
DeWine*

*Up for Election

House Targets

Tier 1
Barr (R-7th GA)
Bilbray (R-49th
Castle (R-At large DE)
Chambliss (R-8th GA)
Cook (R-2nd UT)
Gallegly (R-23rd CA)
Gilman (R-20th NY)
McCollum (R-8th FL)
Sessions (R-5th TX)
Shaw (R-22nd FL)
Sherwood (R-10th PA)
Wilson (R-1st NM)

Tier 2
Fletcher (R-6th KY)
Johnson (R-6th CT)
Kolbe (R-5th AZ)
Ose (R-3rd CA)
Shimkus (R-20th IL)
Whitfield (R-1st KY)


DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES & FAMILY SUPPORT ACTS

Summary:  A bipartisan bill to reauthorize the four components of the
Developmental Disabilities Act (Developmental Disabilities Councils,
Protection and Advocacy Systems, University Affiliated Programs, and
Projects of National Significance), S.1809, was introduced in the Senate
in Oct. 1999 by Sens. Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Ted
Kennedy (D-Mass.). It passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Nov. 8,
1999.   Action in the House of Representatives is still pending. No bill
has been introduced yet.  The Senate bill makes some improvements to
program requirements based on self-determination and self-advocacy;
needs
of aging parents with adult children with disabilities; and the need for
protections for people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and
financial and sexual exploitation.  S. 1809 also would reauthorize the
Family Support Act under a separate title of the bill.  The Family
Support
program provides grants to states to help them start or continue to
support existing Family Support programs.  Family support is an obvious
issue of importance to The Arc and to the states since 43 states applied
for funds in the FY 1999 fiscal funding cycle and only 22  were funded.

Authorization for the DD Act technically expired as of Sept. 30, 1999.
However, both the DD Act and the Family Support Act were funded in the
FY
2000 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill. The
Senate bill (S.1809) has been referred to the House Commerce Committee
(list attached).   The reauthorization bill is expected to pass this
year
- but there is some opposition to it from the Voice of the Retarded.
Therefore, we need your help to show Congress the importance of all of
these programs.

Action:

* Urge your Governors and State legislators to weigh-in in support of
the
current DD programs and the Family Support Program.
* Educate your Representatives - especially those on the Commerce
Committee -- about the positive impact of the DD Act programs in your
state.
* Ask your Representatives - especially those on the Commerce
Committee --
to support the Developmental Disabilities Act and the Family Support Act
when introduced in the House and ask them to urge Committee and House
leaders for swift action and passage.


Please share any information that you get from your Members of Congress
with Kathy McGinley in The Arc Governmental Affairs Office: phone -
202-785-3388, fax - 202-467-4179, e-mail - [log in to unmask]

The Arc Governmental Affairs -
1730 K Street, N.W., Suite 1212,
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 785-3388 / FAX (202) 467-4179 /
TDD (202) 785-3411 / E-Mail [log in to unmask]
http://TheArc.org/ga/Governmental_Affairs.html

--
Fred Fay
Chair, Justice For All
[log in to unmask]
http://www.jfanow.org

Register to Vote Online at http://www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.htm

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