Important Medicaid and Disability Information to Hurricane Katrina Victims
Saturday, September 3, 2005
Dear Leaders from Private, Non-Profit, and Government Organizations
Nationwide:
In the past, I have been in touch with you regularly regarding some of the latest developments on the disability rights enforcement front from within the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Over
time, I have been in direct communication with many of you on an individual basis as we have worked collaboratively to devise and then execute innovative strategies to benefit members of the disability
community. As these relationships continue to flourish, so has our ability collectively to move forward in a united way. Now, in the aftermath of the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in American history, I call upon you to come together once again.
To give you an update on the federal response on the disability front,
since Wednesday, I have been in direct contact with disability leaders in
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas to obtain the latest
information from the ground regarding the well-being of individuals with
disabilities in the affected areas so that we from the federal government
may best determine the specific needs of those individuals. That ultimately led to a regional conference call, convened by the interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities, which took place yesterday afternoon. Chaired by Daniel W. Sutherland, Director of the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security (on behalf of Secretary Michael Chertoff), this call brought together key leaders with top officials from across the federal government who focus particularly on serving people with disabilities. Hosted by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor, the call devoted attention to identifying the most immediate needs of hurricane victims with disabilities in order to obtain a prompt government response by key
federal agencies to those needs.
One of the most immediate outcomes was an effort by Dr. Margaret
Giannini, Director of the Office on Disability in the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, to communicate directly and quickly with Dr. Mark McClellan, Administrator of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare,
regarding the need for Medicaid waivers to be accepted across state lines and to expedite Medicaid claims for individuals with disabilities who were displaced due to the hurricane. As a result, within a matter of hours, Dr. Giannini announced that there will be Medicaid waivers between the states housing hurricane survivors who were already receiving Medicaid to have their Medicaid accepted in their current location. In addition, Medicaid claims of new prospective enrollees will be expedited. If or to whatever extent an official statement is released about Medicaid, I will be sure to forward that information to you.
Meanwhile, Marcie Roth, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, organized leaders from
across the disability community and, with the support of Richard Petty of
the Independent Living Resource Utilization Project (ILRU), assembled a
conference call, which also convened yesterday. It brought together key officials both from within the disability community and within the federal government, to focus particular attention on centralizing information about how disability organizations may provide vital assistance to the relief effort. Consequently, work groups are being set up to focus on (1) obtaining and channeling financial resources to help people with disabilities and (2) identifying specific ways that individuals and organizations or pledging to provide assistance in the affected areas by way of disability-related expertise, technical assistance, etc.
Below, for your reference, are the following items:
Notes from the Interagency Coordinating Council meeting on Friday, September 2, 2005.
Email from Marcie Roth, seeking to centralize information about
ways in which individuals and organizations are ready and available to
assist people with disabilities in the affected areas.
Modified compillation from Mark Johnson, Director of Advocacy at
the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, regarding immediate ways in which to
assist with disability-related relief efforts.
To learn about the work of the Interagency Coordinating Council on
Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities, visit:
http://www.dhs.gov/DisabilityPreparedness.html
In addition, September is National Emergency Preparedness Awareness
Month. Future email will provide further information about how you, your family, and people with disabilities you serve may best be prepared for the event of an emergency (whether natural or man-made).
As always, please forward this email to all those who may benefit from
receiving it. Meanwhile, I will continue to keep you posted on the
latest developments from here in Washington. Thank you for doing
everything you can to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and for doing your part to prepare for future disasters. We are all a part of the solution.
Sincerely,
Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII
Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Attorney
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
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