Last weekend was a busy one – I was in Rochester as a delegate at the MN DFL State Convention.

What I loved

• Peggy Flanagan was endorsed to be our next US Senator. I was there as a delegate in support of Peggy and will do all I can to get her elected! So, go vote in your primary!
• Speaking out in support of a resolution calling for protecting and fully funding home-and-community-based services for people with disabilities. First time I ever spoke from the floor of a convention!
• Talking with other delegates and loved the energy of being with others involved in the political process.

All things considered, it’s worth it to me, to raise my hand, raise my voice, and be involved in the process even though it can be exhausting and require multiple naps for several days after. I love it and hope to be able to go back again!

Here comes the wisdom part

Remember when I spoke on the floor about protecting Medicaid home- and-community-based services and Olmstead for people with disabilities. People even applauded! I felt great that I was with people who supported the disability community! I felt heard – even though there was the side-chatter, people seemed to pay attention around the floor. It is a little hard to hear me in the beginning as we were turning up volume and getting the mic in the right place – the captions are edited so turn them on if needed.

Oh, please! You thought that I was done?!?

And then it was Monday.

You may have noticed news reports about thousands of service providers not being revalidated by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The two services I use for twenty-four hour care, Individualized Home Supports (IHS) with training and nighttime supervision, are considered to be at high-risk for fraud. So, my parents and I have been following this very closely because my being left without care means that I’d have to move home or figure out some other options very quickly. Fortunately, the provider I use was revalidated but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t stressing out about it.

Right now, I’m feeling as if the humans receiving these services are being lost in the shuffle of the federal government screaming “fraud” and withholding federal Medicaid funding, and our state making what I’d call “interesting” choices for combatting fraud along with cuts to disability services this past session.

The fraud prevention measures are making it even more impossible to trust that my staff will be paid, that the provider I use will be able to stay in business, and that I’ll be able to continue living independently in my community.

Remember that time, I cautioned that fraud prevention measures can’t be like bulldozing an entire apartment building because the elevators were broken? Let’s maybe choose not to bulldoze the care people with disabilities need. Don’t force us into institutionalized settings or leave people without the care they need to live in their communities. Most of the providers, caregivers, and clients, are not committing fraud – yet our lives are at risk of falling apart because we’re being treated as if we are.

We need leaders, elected officials, and communities to raise their voices and make sure that people with disabilities are not losing critical care and that we’re not constantly dealing with the uncertainty that has been non-stop since last fall!

Learn more:

• DHS disenrolls 3,400 Medicaid providers while flagging small fraction for further fraud review (MPR News)
• Questions remain over DHS revalidation process still remain (ABC Channel 5)
• Medicaid providers in Minnesota coming across problems revalidating services (Fox 9)
• What do I do if my provider discontinues service? (MN Department of Human Services)