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ACTION ALERT: Support Coronavirus Relief for Individuals with Disabilities

April 23, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the lives of individuals with brain injury and action is needed now! People living with brain injuries face a high risk of complications if exposed to the virus, and social distancing creates even greater challenges when it comes to access to health care, long-term services and supports, special education, housing, transportation, and technology.

Congress has passed several packages to provide relief to the American people and economy. As lawmakers work on the next COVID-19 relief bill, they must prioritize the needs of all persons with disabilities and their families.

Please contact your senators and representatives and tell them to include important provisions for members of our community.

We have created a draft for you to use as an email or phone script when contacting your elected officials.

Dear [Elected Official],

As a constituent, I urge you to include the following provisions in the next COVID-19 relief bill:

  • Home and Community-based Services (HCBS): Pass the Coronavirus Relief for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act of 2020 (H.R. 6305; S. 3544) including its HCBS grants to support Direct Support Professional (DSP), Personal Care Attendant, and Home Health workforce. Ensure that DSPs, personal care attendants, and other direct care workers have access to personal protective equipment (PPE). Increase the federal match and continue to couple it with a maintenance of effort provision so that state Medicaid programs and people with disabilities who rely on them have proper support.
  • Disability Rights: Address disability discrimination in the rationing of life-saving medical treatment. Require government agencies to track data concerning people with disabilities and COVID-19, including testing, number of cases, number of hospitalizations, number of deaths, death rates, other outcomes, displacement into institutional settings, and release from institutional settings as a result of the pandemic.
  • Supports and Systems for Families: Provide funding to ensure that children and adults with disabilities and their family caregivers have the information, support, tools, resources, and protections they need, particularly when usual sources of care are unavailable. These needs can be met with additional support via existing programs.

Thank you for ensuring that the rights of individuals with brain injury are upheld and that all persons with disabilities are counted. Click here to find your elected officials.

 

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