One of the hot-button issues for Americans with disabilities is institutional care versus in-home care for people who get Medicaid assistance. Currently, the regulations lean toward putting people in nursing homes, rather than paying for care in their own home.
Disabled or not, which would you prefer? For many people with disabilities it’s a no-brainer: They want some assistance so they can stay in their own homes.
A few weeks ago, a group of disabled activists connected to ADAPT, a group that’s worked on this issue for years, caused a bit of a ruckus outside Sen. John McCain’s office in the Russell Senate Office Building. They wanted to meet with the Republican candidate for president about a bill that would amend the Social Security Act to allow people who are eligible for Medicaid coverage of nursing home costs to spend it instead on home-based or community care.
McCain was not in the office at the time, but more than 20 activists were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly. The candidate’s staff said the activists did not have an appointment to speak with him. The activists, many of who are wheelchair users, are frustrated that the bill, supported by Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, has been stuck in committee since last year.
And stuck is exactly how people with disabilities feel — stuck that they can’t choose where it’s best for them to live, and stuck because so little attention has been given to the issue by the mainstream media.
There’s a bit of irony in the fact that it was McCain’s office the activists stormed, considering the nation recently learned that the senator collected close to a $60,000 “disability pension” from the Navy.
According to the Los Angeles Times, his staff explained that “McCain was retired as disabled because of his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW.” So, does that make John McCain officially a person with a disability?
It’s doubtful he’d ever identify himself as such, though being seen as a disabled veteran has seemed to work for him at times on the campaign trail.
McCain’s official Web site claims he “has been a leading advocate in the Senate for disabled veterans throughout his entire career.” But on issues important to non-veterans, disabled activists say McCain hasn’t been so supportive.
I’m waiting for reporters to get McCain on the record regarding the proposed Medicaid changes, the weakened Americans with Disabilities Act and the plethora of other issues that affect 54 million Americans with disabilities. These issues range from too-high unemployment rates to too few educational opportunities to too-high poverty rates.
We know McCain’s position on the Iraq War, on immigration and on the federal budget. Now it’s time to ask some other questions.
