Dear Editor,
On Thursday, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee passed a bill (Senate Substitute for House Bill 2155) out of committee that would amend the Developmental Disability Reform Act of 1996 (DDRA). The intent of the bill is to eliminate the Community Developmental Disability Organizations’ (CDDO) statutory role in eligibility determination and also eliminate its role in performing the functional assessments for people with intellectual disabilities.
The bill would also allow managed care companies to provide case management, thus creating an environment where managed care companies would control all aspects of a person’s life. Thus, there would be no one to advocate on the person’s behalf since the managed care companies’ goal is to decrease costs and services. This bill would effectively weaken the ability of local CDDOs to effectively meet their legislative and regulatory mandates to maintain a well-managed local system of services, which is respectful of the needs of persons served and respectful of the local providers of services.
We have been told on numerous occasions by the administration and the Secretary of Aging and Disability Services that they had no intent to dismantle the DDRA or change case management. We believe that this bill has been crafted by big out-of-state insurance companies to gain more control over a system that is already efficient and effective. The current cohesive system is all that stands in the way of the greatest possible conflict of interest, i.e. a national managed care movement which swallows the Medicaid budgets of the states, and makes millions and millions of dollars by shrinking services, narrowing eligibility, and reducing or disrupting provider reimbursements. This does have a negative effect upon those who are least able to take care of themselves. If this bill passes, persons with intellectual disabilities will lose vitally needed services and jobs will have to be eliminated. This is something that southeast Kansas does not need!
We need your help. We ask that you write to or call your legislators and tell them you oppose Senate Substitute for House Bill 2155.
Sincerely,
Tim Cunningham,
executive director,
Tri-Valley Developmental Services
Letter to the editor — March 25, 2013
