HF 3258

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                             A resolution
  1.2             memorializing the Congress of the United States to 
  1.3             remove Medicaid policy barriers to employment for 
  1.4             people with disabilities. 
  1.5      
  1.6      WHEREAS, seventy-four percent of working-age adults with 
  1.7   severe disabilities are unemployed; and 
  1.8      WHEREAS, many people with disabilities are highly dependent 
  1.9   on local, state, and federal assistance for support and 
  1.10  survival, particularly for necessary health care; and 
  1.11     WHEREAS, a 1995 Lou Harris poll reported that two-thirds of 
  1.12  unemployed people with disabilities are eager to work; and 
  1.13     WHEREAS, advances in technology, the civil rights 
  1.14  protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 
  1.15  current labor shortage are opening up many new employment 
  1.16  opportunities for people with disabilities; and 
  1.17     WHEREAS, current government policies, particularly those 
  1.18  relating to Medicaid, discourage people with disabilities from 
  1.19  working; and 
  1.20     WHEREAS, existing Medicaid work incentives are flawed and 
  1.21  are completely unavailable to people with disabilities who do 
  1.22  not qualify for the SSI 1619(b) program; and 
  1.23     WHEREAS, removing policy barriers to employment would 
  1.24  enable more people with disabilities to reduce their dependence 
  1.25  on Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, subsidized housing, food 
  2.1   stamps, and other state, local, and federal government programs; 
  2.2   and 
  2.3      WHEREAS, becoming employed allows individuals with 
  2.4   disabilities to contribute to society by becoming taxpayers 
  2.5   themselves; and 
  2.6      WHEREAS, employer-based health care and government 
  2.7   programs, such as Medicare, Minnesota Comprehensive Health 
  2.8   Association, and MinnesotaCare, do not typically cover long-term 
  2.9   supports needed by people with disabilities; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  2.10     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  2.11  that it urges the Congress of the United States to adopt 
  2.12  Medicaid buy-in legislation that would allow people with 
  2.13  permanent disabilities to retain Medicaid coverage to address 
  2.14  unmet health needs when they become employed.  
  2.15     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such Medicaid buy-in 
  2.16  legislation should require individuals to take advantage of 
  2.17  employer-based health coverage, if available and affordable, and 
  2.18  should further require individuals to purchase needed Medicaid 
  2.19  coverage on a sliding fee scale, based on their ability to pay.  
  2.20     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  2.21  State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this 
  2.22  memorial and transmit them to the President and the Secretary of 
  2.23  the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the 
  2.24  United States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators 
  2.25  and Representatives in Congress.