Mosaic Allied Voices Hail the Legislature

The community embraced the effort and showed up in full force!  Local providers formed a coalition to ban together to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  In celebration of March being Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Month, Eva Longoria spoke about  the potential cuts and their impact on people.  She told stories of her sister, who currently resides in an HCS group home in San Antonio, Texas.  Her passion is the passion of many Texans.  The message was clear. Any cut to community based services will be detrimental to service outcomes.  Community partners spoke of the potential cuts, the affect the cuts will have on the economy, the community, and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Our Texas legislators are close to determining the outcome of services for the future.  The fate of how community based organizations operate and the way services are delivered to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities rest in the hands the legislatures'.   Hopefully, by now you have written a letter, called, faxed, emailed, blogged, or went to testify against such drastic changes.  If not, it is not to late to do so.

It is commonly known that it cost more to support a person in an institution, far more than supports in a community based agency. It appears our legislators, have forgotten about the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. This decision states that the State must offer supports in the community to provide inclusion.  This potential change goes against this decision.

Please contact your local senator or house representative and tell them to to stop the catastrophic cuts.

Three Reasons

The cost to support a person in an institution cost far more than supporting that person in the community.  There are talks that more cuts to community based services are pending.  There are clear reason not to do this.

First, Cutting home and community based services can cost the state more in the long run.  On average, home and community based care costs one-fifth as much per person per year as nursing home care.  In addition, average costs for home and community based services are rising at a slower pace than costs for institutional care. It is important to know that states that spend more on home and community based services see a decrease in Medicaid long-term care spending over time.

Second, Cutting home and community based services are bad for the economy.  I supervise over 80 employees.  The employee are from various background, but one common thread is that each work very hard for the salary they receive.  Bias?  Not at all.  Medicaid brings new money into states in the form of federal matching dollars.  These new dollars create jobs and stimulate economic growth.  Cuts to home and community based services reduce the amount of federal matching dollars that states receive, resulting in lost jobs and reduced business activity. 

Third, Cutting home and community based services increases the burden on informal caregivers, which has implications for U.S. businesses and state economies.  Over the course of a year, it is estimated that more than 50 million people nationwide provide informal care to those who need long-term services.  They are vital sources of support for people needing care and a critical supplement to existing care delivery systems.  Many of these family members loose their own income to care for their loved one.

Support us to communicate this important message to those who cast their vote.  Eliminate any potential cuts to home and community based services.  visit us on the web http://www.mosaicinfo.org/south_central_texas/

What A Wonderful Day!

Today was a wonderful day. Michelle, our community relations manager and I met with the team at Edgewood's vocational program. It was a morning of networking, friend building and planning. More to come.

This is my first time as a blogger. I hope I am able to share our experiences with you.