Roth, Moynihan, Jeffords and Kennedy Introduce Legislation to Help Disable Americans Go To Work
Finance Committee Will Hold Hearing on Bipartisan Legislation on Feb 4
WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) today joined with Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Jim Jeffords (R-VT) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and xx members to introduce the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, a bill aimed at helping disabled individuals go to work, and announced that the Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the bill on Thursday, February 4 at 10:00 am in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building and mark up the bill later this spring.
Roth submitted the following statement for the Congressional Record:
"Mr. President, the great Leo Tolstoy once confided in his diary that he would be the unhappiest of men if he could not find a purpose for his life. As we all know, Tolstoy did, indeed, find purpose. As a novelist, philosopher, and social reformer, he brought entertainment, meaning, and direction into the lives of millions -- his influence continuing even into our day and age.
"The need to bring meaning and success into our lives -- the need to have a purpose, to be anxiously engaged in a good cause -- is, as Tolstoy pointed out, one of the most basic in our nature. With this in mind, it is my pleasure to join Senators Moynihan, Jeffords, and Kennedy to introduce legislation that while simple in purpose will be infinite in application and influence. Our objective? To help people with disabilities go to work.
"In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. That law made an important statement about this nation's commitment to independence and opportunity for people with disabilities. Since then, barriers that had made some of even the simplest daily tasks difficult or even impossible have been lifted. Millions of Americans have gone back to work or found their daily chores to be more accessible -- easier to address and accomplish.
"Despite these successes and the progress that has been made in the ensuing eight years, there are still serious obstacles for too many people with disabilities -- obstacles that stand in the way of their realizing the most basic and important opportunity of getting a job.
"With this legislation, we begin to address some of the remaining impediments to employment for people with disabilities. These include the lack of access to health insurance and fundamental job assistance.
"At a hearing held by the Finance Committee last July, witness after witness testified about the importance of health insurance for people with disabilities trying to enter the workforce. Jeff Bangsberg of the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities put it best when he said that "having appropriate, affordable health care is a critical factor in decisions people with disabilities make about working. Many individuals are afraid to work because they can't afford to lose access to continued Medicaid coverage."
"The simple fact, Mr. President, is that people with disabilities are often presented with a Catch-22 between working and losing their Medicaid or Medicare. This is a choice they should not have to make. But even modest earnings can result in a loss of eligibility for Medicaid or Medicare. Without health insurance, medical treatment often becomes prohibitively expensive for individuals with disabilities, and without medical treatment it becomes impossible for many to work.
"My constituents in Delaware have made it clear that lack of access to health insurance is a real and seemingly insurmountable barrier to employment. Larry Henderson, Chair of Delaware's Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, supports our bill "because it does not penalize persons with disabilities for working in that it allows for continued access to health care."
"Our bill is designed to empower States to break this cycle of uncertainty by making it possible for people with disabilities who choose to work to do so without jeopardizing health insurance access.
"We do this by creating two new Medicaid options. The first option builds on a change enacted in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). That law allows States to permit people with disabilities to buy-in to Medicaid who would otherwise be eligible except that they earned too much. The new change would eliminate the income cap on this buy-in option.
"The second Medicaid change would make it possible for States to permit a similar Medicaid buy-in option for individuals with a severe, medically determinable impairment who would otherwise lose eligibility because of medical improvement.
"Let me also note that both Medicaid expansions would be voluntary on the part of each State.
"Under both options, States would be able to set their own cost-sharing requirements for people with disabilities who enroll. States could require individuals buying into the program to pay 100 percent of premium costs in order to participate. The bill also extends Medicare Part A coverage for a ten-year trial period for individuals on SSDI who return to work.
"In addition to these health coverage innovations, the bill also provides a user-friendly, public-private approach to job placement. Because of a new, innovative payment system, vocational rehabilitation agencies will be rewarded for helping people remain on the job, not just getting a job.
"Mr. President, this combination of health care and job assistance will help disabled Americans succeed in the work place. And our society will be enriched by unleashing the creativity and industry of people with disabilities eager to go to work.
"I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation. And it is my intention to hold a hearing on the bill in the Finance Committee next week and mark it up later this spring."
Next Article