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HRC: Improves Productivity and Lives of the Disabled Expands Medicare & Medicaid—No Insurance Losses |
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Compiled By GayToday
Washington, D.C.-- The House overwhelmingly voted to expand Medicare and
Medicaid so people living with disabilities can return to work without
losing their health insurance coverage.
The move will drastically improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living with disabilities – including HIV/AIDS – and improve our nation's productivity by letting talented Americans offer their skills to the marketplace, says the Human Rights Campaign. "We have finally ended the dispiriting 'catch 22' that has forced people to choose between their self-esteem or their self-preservation," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "There are thousands of Americans who can again pursue their dreams and offer society their full range of talents and skills as working, tax paying citizens. This is not a only a huge victory for the disabled, it is a victory for America." The House approved the bill on Tuesday evening by a vote of 412 to 9. Under the current system, disabled people who elect to return to work often have their Medicaid and Medicare benefits discontinued. Without these benefits, the disabled cannot get the health care or medicine they need to continue working.
"The legislation will also save money in the long run because fewer people will have to rely on public assistance and more people will become or remain active, tax paying members of their communities." In June, the Senate passed a companion bill by a vote of 99-0. The cost of the House and Senate bills is roughly $750 million in the first five years, and approximately $1 billion in the next five years, for a total of $1.8 billion from 2000 to 2009. |
