In yesterday’s post, we noted that the Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney had thus far not responded to a questionnaire from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) about how his policies would impact people with disabilities were he elected to serve in November. However, his choice of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to be his Vice President may tell the AAPD and other advocates for these individuals everything they need to know.
As Michelle Diament of Disability Scoop reminded readers yesterday in her article, “Romney Pick Shifts Election Focus to Disability Issues,” people from more than 90 organizations that support individuals with disabilities rallied on the steps of the Capitol last September in response to proposed cuts to the Medicaid program. The reductions were part of the GOP’s budget proposal, “The Path to Prosperity,” and Ryan, who also chairs the House Budget Committee, is credited as the chief architect.
The AAPD spokeswoman Lara Schwartz does not specifically denounce Ryan or the GOP in her comments to Diament, but makes her organization’s feelings on the subject of Medicaid cuts very clear:
‘Any deficit reduction plan that finds money on the backs of people who use Medicaid for their lives is unacceptable,’ said [Schwartz] […] noting that the eight million Americans with disabilities who receive Medicaid services are ‘already living at the margins.’
When Ryan introduced the fiscal year 2013 version of “The Path to Prosperity” earlier this year, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities issued this press release (PDF), that called the plan “Dangerous for People with Disabilities.” A similar statement was issued by the Association of University Centers for Disabilities executive director, George Jesien, Ph.D., who said that without revenue increases, the Ryan proposal to reduce the deficit “fails to protect people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.”
The Medicare position statement found on Congressman Ryan’s website speaks primarily to the need to fix “what’s broken in Medicare, without breaking what’s working.” Ryan says this can be accomplished by moving away from a fee-for-service model of reimbursement and increasing competition in the marketplace through the establishment of a Medicare Exchange.
While people with disabilities are not specifically addressed anywhere in the 1,800-word position statement, Congressman Ryan was asked about how the $810 billion reduction in Medicaid spending would impact these individuals during an appearance on the Bloomberg Television program, Political Capital. Go to the 4:10 mark of the video, below, where host Al Hunt starts talking about entitlements. Ryan lays out how his block grant program will give U.S. states greater freedom to serve the needs of their populations.
When Hunt asked specifically about people with disabilities and families of children with disabilities, Ryan said, “their spending will continue to rise and every year.” A few moments later, Hunt asked Ryan if he would reconsider the Medicaid cuts if they proved harmful to people with disabilities, to which Ryan replied, “Yes, but I don’t believe that that’s the case,” citing waivers made available through the BadgerCare program in his home state of Wisconsin as evidence of an effective program.
Ryan’s website also provides a full transcript of the Political Capital interview, and other instances where the vice presidential candidate addresses how his policies would impact people with disabilities can be found by plugging the phrase, “people with disabilities” into the site’s search function. No matter what choice you make at the polls in November, it’s important to understand how these decisions will make life matter for you and your family.
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Image by monkeyz_uncle, used under its Creative Commons license.