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Community Choice Act in Health Care Reform!
  1. Signatures
    213 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. The President of the United States (+ 2 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The President of the United States
      • The U.S. Senate
      • The U.S. House of Representatives
  2. Created By
    Dora Raymaker
    Portland, OR
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
Why This Is Important

[all text of this petition came directly from The Center for Disability Rights]

This morning, ADAPT met with Nancy-Ann DeParle, the Obama administration's healthcare czar (Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform).  Despite featuring the Community Choice Act (CCA) prominently in the presidential campaign, President Obama's administration, including Ms. DeParle, has again demonstrated that they are unwilling to take leadership and capitalize on the promise of healthcare reform to pass CCA.  ADAPT has been part of prior meetings with the Obama administration which also failed to yield any commitment to call for CCA to be part of healthcare reform.   In response to the Obama administration's refusal to demonstrate leadership, ADAPT activists have chained and handcuffed themselves to the Whitehouse fence.  They are refusing to leave until President Obama fulfils his campaign commitment to support passage of the CCA.  ADAPT is demanding that President Obama create the change that Americans with Disabilities need: the Community Choice Act!   It's important that our leaders in Washington DC hear from you!  Send a letter to the Whitehouse, your Senators and Representative in Congress right now.

Recent Signatures

Healthcare reform must include Community Choice!

Dear Representative

As an American who strongly supports inclusion of the Community Choice Act in any plan for healthcare reform, I am greatly disappointed by the lack of leadership from the Obama administration on this issue.  Ending the institutional bias in the systems that provide Long Term Services and Supports is certainly change that we can all believe in. 

Antiquated federal policy requires states to pay for institutional placement, but leaves community based services as optional.  Even though seniors and people with disabilities would prefer to live in the community with services and supports, they are often forced into institutional placement because states have chosen not to offer a community-based alternative that meets their needs or have cut these programs. 

Simply put, the Community Choice Act gives persons who would be eligible for institutional placement the choice to receive assistance in the community.  It creates a "floor" for the provision of long term services and supports, so that there is at least a base level of service available throughout the country.

This issue affects virtually every family in America.  Many are supporting a senior who wants to remain in their own home.  Others have an adult family member with a disability who is seeking to be independent, and some are caring for a child with a disability.  All are struggling with a system that fails to provide the supports they need.

I am asking you and other leaders in Washington to include the Community Choice Act in health care reform.  It’s time to pass the Community Choice Act (S 683/ HR 1670).  This is the change we need. 

[Your name]