We need a new system before cutting out the old

Both the federal government and individual states are putting on pressure to cut Medicaid benefits to persons with disabilities.

There are some services required by persons with disabilities that are only covered by Medicaid and are too expensive for the average person to afford without assistance.  The way disability policy works in this country and in most states is that persons with disabilities (or the parents of children with disabilities) need to impoverish themselves in order to qualify for these services.  The only other alternative is to work for the sole purpose of paying for these services and living in poverty anyway.  Even then, there is no guarantee that these individuals and families could afford these services without assistance.

After forcing these people to live in poverty in order to have critical services, the government now wants to cut these services.  While that is probably legal (barely), it can hardly be considered moral.  Persons with disabilities have no cushion to fall back upon, since that is not allowed, and so-called work incentives have such limits that they are not the success that was anticipated.  At the very least, a new system should be in place before pulling the plug on the old one.

If anything points out the failure of disability policy in this country, this is it.  No other minority is forced to live in poverty in order to survive.  Add to that living in constant fear that what is needed for survival will be taken away, it’s no wonder work incentives have little power to motivate. 

What we need is a policy that treats persons with disabilities like valued human beings.  Rather than forcing them to live in poverty and then trying to motivate them to get off the system we forced them into, we should avoid putting them in the system. 

There is probably not much we can do about moving persons currently on disability, who have been living in poverty without any cushion, into a new system.  However, we can avoid putting more people into this system that does not work and cannot work. 

The system we have now has no more validity.  It was designed for a different time in history.  There is nothing that can fix it.  Certainly not taking away services without putting in place a system that works for our time. 

The question is whether or not governments have what it takes to build a new, workable system.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude