Shaheen, Hassan urge inclusion of home and community-based services funding for seniors and people with disabilities in future COVID-19 legislation
WASHINGTON – With seniors and people with disabilities accounting for a disproportionate percentage of all COVID-19 deaths, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) sent a letter with a group of Senators urging Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to include key provisions related to Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) in any future COVID-19 relief package. The Senators emphasize the need for expanded access to HCBS as a necessary tool in keeping safe those who are most at-risk for contracting the virus.
“As our country has aged, HCBS has become a key method for making it possible for older adults to age at home in the community. HCBS has also made it possible for people with disabilities to live close to their families and friends, be active members of their communities and live lives as full citizens,” wrote the Senators. “Almost five months into the pandemic, home and community based services are critically unstable. Many of the agencies providing HCBS are at risk of closing because of lack of funds. If services are discontinued, seniors and people with disabilities will be left with a false choice: remain at home without the care they need to live, but safe from the virus, or live in a congregate setting to receive the services necessary to live, but live in fear of contracting COVID-19. No individual should be forced to make this decision.”
In their letter, the Senators recommend investing in Medicaid HCBS and including key provisions from the House-passed HEROES Act in upcoming legislation – namely, those providing states with Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increases to ensure they can support expanded HCBS. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are almost 800,000 people across the country on wait-lists to receive home-based care and services through Medicaid.
The letter, led by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), was also signed by U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Angus King (I-ME) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).