Forwarded Action Alert – Maine Disability Alerts: LD 1984 "An Act To Eliminate Waiting Lists for Home and Community-based Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, Brain Injury and Other Related Conditions"

​Dear Friends of Mainers with Disabilities,
 
Thank you to everyone who's been active on LD 1984, "An Act To Eliminate Waiting Lists for Home and Community-based Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, Brain Injury and Other Related Conditions".
 
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee had a work session on LD 1984, where it voted unanimously to amend the waitlist bill to do the following:

• Provide additional funding to truly clear the Section 29 waitlist by 6/30/2021;
• Provide funding for some offer off of the Section 21 waitlist for some people with very high needs (though it is currently unclear how many people that would be); and
• Temporarily (for four years) raise the annual per-person expenditure cap on Section 29 to $70,000 per year so that, during DHHS's multi-year transition to a new adult system, people getting Section 29 who truly need the more comprehensive services provided under Section 21 will have smaller unmet needs in the interim (for instance, this would provide more access to both home and community support through Section 29).

 
The bill will eventually head to the Special Appropriations Table, where the Appropriations Committee will have decide whether to fund it, and if so for how much.
 
Additionally, the HHS committee will report back to the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee on Tuesday (today) about their funding priorities.
 
If you think that the waitlists should be addressed as a priority in this Legislative Session, then you may consider taking action by reaching out to members of the HHS Committee to show your support for this bill; here are some messages to consider:

1. Thank them for their unanimous vote supporting LD 1984 to address waitlists; and
2. Ask them to please prioritize LD 1984 and the waitlists when they report back to the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee

 
You can contact Members of the HHS Committee via the email addresses below:

• geoffrey.gratwick@legislature.maine.gov
• ned.claxton@legislature.maine.gov
• marianne.moore@legislature.maine.gov
• patricia.hymanson@legislature.maine.gov
• margaret.craven@legislature.maine.gov
• abigail.griffin@legislature.maine.gov
• kathy.javner@legislature.maine.gov
• colleen.madigan@legislature.maine.gov
• michele.meyer@legislature.maine.gov
• beth.oconnor@legislature.maine.gov
• anne.perry@legislature.maine.gov
• holly.stover@legislature.maine.gov
• rachel.talbotross@legislature.maine.gov

 
Thank you for taking action!