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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

Ice Cream for Dinner: Support for Freedom of Choice and the Disability Integration Act

By Raquel Bernstein, NCIL Summer Policy Intern

As children, we dreamt about some day in the future, having ice cream for dinner or being able to play video games all night. Sadly, under current laws, having ice cream for dinner does not seem to be a realistic option. The law currently says that the government must use tax dollars to pay for institutions such as nursing homes – but is not required by law to pay for home or community-based services or care. At institutions, you are constantly monitored, therefore your freedom is kind of forgotten and ice cream for dinner is no longer an option due to every detail in your life being controlled. Under the current legislation, many people rely on institutionalization to receive the services they need, such as bathing and dressing. The Disability Integration Act (H.R. 2472 and S. 910) would require insurance companies to pay for these services in the community.

Ice CreamWhat would the Disability Integration Act do?

  • The insurance companies would be required to pay for personal care services throughout the day and could not refuse services or discriminate based on what a person needs.
  • Insurance companies would have to come up with a plan on how to pay for personal care services.
  • Governmental agencies and insurance companies would be required to inform people with disabilities about their options to receive services outside of institutionalization.
  • Because so many people with disabilities would be freed from institutionalization, the government would need to increase affordable and accessible options for living throughout the community.
  • The government would have a cheaper option than institutionalization because they could pay for fewer hours of home health care per day due to people living on their own.

As you can see, this act would allow people to have ice cream for dinner (although your doctor might not recommend it!). Services such as bathing, feeding, and dressing would be under the person’s control, not an institution’s.

How can you help pass the Disability Integration Act? Visit www.disabilityintegrationact.org to learn more, then call, write, and hound your Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor and help pass the DIA!

Comments

  1. Debora Davidson says

    I just now received an email from the leaders of four national groups serving people with disabilities (including NCIL) saying that to vote for this legislation is to support a $57 million reduction in funds for programs serving people with disabilities. They urge contacting our reps to tell them to vote no on the bills you are saying to support. Be careful- there may not be any dinner at all if all of this funding is cut.

  2. Deborah F Titus says

    Good morning of August 26, 2017, thank you for e-posting the policy implementation behind the new or introduced bill for the disability rights called Disability Integration Act and its purpose! This is the first time I have heard of it when browsing the NCIL website and I’ll keep this in the back of my mind as the bill is “sailing” through the legislation “sea”. I would like to inform NCIL “unofficially” that the newly-established group, District of Columbia Disability and Entrepreneurship Stakeholders is having monthly meeting to help with planning, implementing and integrating some business-related courses into the District of Columbia Public School curricula serving the District of Columbia area secondary students with disabilities. The point of contact, Ms. Katherine Mereand-Sinha who is the Program Manager of Tech & Innovation for the District of Columbia Government-Department of Small & Local Business Development helps spearhead along with the CEO/Founder 2Gether-International – Senor Diego Mariscal. If anyone in NCIL is interested to attend the monthly meeting on information-gathering purpose and/or thought input, contact Senor Diego at (202) 705-6842 (m) or District of Columbia Public Library representative – Mr. Patrick James Timony @ [email protected]. Thanks to all for what you have done in the thirty-five years in the making!