From DC is Justice in Growing older’s weekly roundup of nationwide information and sources about points impacting older adults. To obtain From DC in your inbox as quickly as its revealed, join our mailing record.
Right here’s what we’re watching in Washington:
Marking the sixtieth Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid
July thirtieth marked the sixtieth anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. Justice in Growing older celebrates this milestone clear-eyed that we should combat to guard and strengthen these applications.
During the last week, Justice in Growing older joined companions throughout the nation in a 60-hour vigil to uplift the tales of people that depend on Medicaid and gathered with thought leaders to resume our shared dedication to fulfilling the promise of Medicare and Medicaid. We’re working to repeal the not too long ago enacted cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, mitigate the harms to older adults, and strengthen our advocacy to make these applications inexpensive and complete for older adults with restricted revenue.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats launched the “Defending Well being Care and Reducing Prices Act.” This laws would repeal the well being care provisions within the price range reconciliation act (H.R. 1), which minimize greater than $1 trillion from Medicaid, Medicare and the Inexpensive Care Act (ACA). It could additionally completely increase the ACA enhanced premium tax credit which can be set to run out in December. With out these enhanced tax credit, older adults ages 50 to 64 will see their ACA premiums skyrocket in 2026.
Be taught extra in our evaluation of the Medicaid and Medicare provisions of the ultimate price range reconciliation act impacting low-income older adults. And be part of us for a webinar on August thirteenth to study actions advocates can take within the close to time period to mitigate the hurt to older adults.
Justice in Growing older Information Amicus Temporary in HCBS Case
This week, Justice in Growing older partnered with civil rights regulation agency Fox & Robertson to file an amicus transient on behalf of Justice in Growing older, the Heart for Medicare Advocacy, the Heart for Public Illustration, Incapacity Regulation United, Incapacity Rights Training and Protection Fund, Nationwide Shopper Voice for High quality Lengthy-Time period Care, and the Nationwide Well being Regulation Program in a federal lawsuit in New Hampshire to make sure that recipients of Medicaid dwelling and community-based companies (HCBS) obtain the care they should dwell safely of their communities.
On this class-action case, HCBS program individuals argue that the state’s maladministration of its HCBS program causes widespread situations of individuals going with out important community-based care, each harming them instantly and inflicting an elevated danger that they are going to be subjected to institutionalization in a nursing facility.
Our transient urges to court docket to uphold longstanding precedent and federal steerage establishing that the danger of pointless isolation of individuals in establishments constitutes discrimination on the premise of incapacity, which could be successfully remedied via nondiscriminatory administration of HCBS applications.
Learn extra in our amicus transient for Fitzmorris v. New Hampshire Division of Well being and Human Providers and go to our web site to study our ongoing litigation to make sure older adults obtain high quality long-term care.
DOJ Points New Steering on Civil Rights Legal guidelines for Federal Funding Recipients
This week, the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) launched new steerage clarifying its interpretation of how federal civil rights legal guidelines apply to all applications or initiatives that obtain federal funds. This steerage follows the administration’s continued assaults on variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and different efforts that purpose to treatment systemic inequities.
Regardless of acknowledging the steerage is non-binding and meant to merely establish what the administration views as “greatest practices,” it labels particular forms of efforts as probably “illegal preferential remedy.” Such efforts embrace culturally competency coaching necessities for workers, gender-inclusive lavatory insurance policies, and extra. In the meantime, the federal civil rights legal guidelines cited by the steerage stay unchanged.
Justice in Growing older will proceed to watch DOJ’s implementation of this steerage and work to make sure older adults are shielded from its probably dangerous impacts.
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