FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2010
CONTACT: Gary Arnold, Access Living
312-640-2199 (voice)
312-640-2102 (tty)
February 10, 2010
CONTACT: Gary Arnold, Access Living
312-640-2199 (voice)
312-640-2102 (tty)
Access Living opposes managed care program announced by State of Illinois
February 10, 2010
Access Living opposes managed care program announced by the State of IllinoisWithout the input and support of people with disabilities, there is no way it can be done well
Chicago - Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago strongly objects to a proposal by the State of Illinois to enroll Medicaid recipients in managed care services. On February 8, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services issued a Request for Proposals seeking two managed care organizations to deliver services to people with disabilities and seniors in a six county area on Medicaid.
Access Living urges Illinois to cancel the Request for Proposals and to delay movement on any managed care plans. Based upon the history of managed care for people with disabilities and the fact that the State of Illinois incorporated marginal input from the disability community on the plans, Access Living is concerned that managed care will lead to a loss of independence and a decline in the availability of critically needed services.
The managed care pilot project includes people with a wide range of disabilities, with diverse needs and diagnosis that require access to specialists. According to Tom Wilson, Access Living’s Personal Assistant and Health Care Reform Program Leader, “Historically, due to restricted provider networks, and because control is taken from the consumer and put into the hands of the primary care physician, who serves as a gate keeper, managed care systems limit access to specialists.”
Also, many people with disabilities have spent a lifetime developing relationships with providers who understand their issues. Managed care threatens those relationships and may put people with disabilities under the care of physicians who have limited experience with specific disabilities.
In addition, the State predicts managed care will save money. By emphasizing cost savings, the state may put pressure on program administrators to keep costs low. This pressure could have a devastating impact on quality of care. One vulnerable area is access to durable medical equipment, essential to the health and quality of life for many people with disabilities, but an area historically targeted for reduction by managed care.
In terms of cost saving, for long-term care, there is no more cost effective model than consumer control. If a consumer hires and manages his or her own care giver, there is a minimum of overhead, there is no middle person, and the money spent goes directly to provide care.
Whether the service is general health care, long-term care or access to durable medical equipment, Access Living’s primary goal is to support the independence of people with disabilities and ensure that people with disabilities have choices regarding services.
“We follow an important creed in the disability community,” said Wilson. “Nothing About Us, Without Us. The fact that State of Illinois did not include the disability community in the development of the Managed Care proposal and the fact that managed care puts a level of red tape between the consumer and the service providers moves Illinois further away from consumer control. We urge the Department of Health Care and Family Services to put a halt to plans to implement managed care and to support
HB 5086.* Without the input and support of people with disabilities, there is no way it can be done well.”
Governed and staffed by a majority of people with disabilities, Access Living is Chicago’s only center for independent living and works toward the full equality, inclusion and empowerment of all people with disabilities. For more information, contact Gary Arnold, Access Living, at 312.640.2199 (voice) or 312.640.2102 (TTY).
###
*HB 5086 -- legislation filed by Representative Linda Chapa that creates a task force of consumers, stakeholders, legislators, advocates, and state agency staff to, among other things, assess Illinois’ readiness to implement a managed care pilot program.
