Keep Pressuring Congress for 4th COVID-19 Funding Bill Before August Recess

INARF's national partner, ANCOR, shared an action alert regarding its efforts to advocate for COVID-19 funding relief for our industry. INARF encourages you to use ANCOR's email tool to ask your members of Congress to support provisions increasing funding for the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) program as they consider provisions of the House-approved HEROES Act. This one pager provides additional information that may help inform your advocacy efforts. 
​
INARF also encourages you to share this information with staff, individuals, and families as appropriate. If you have questions, contact Katy Stafford-Cunningham at [email protected].

Your Senators are back in Washington DC after being home for two weeks, and negotiations with the House are beginning in earnest around the fourth COVID-19 relief bill that congressional staff have been drafting. Your members of Congress need to hear from you that the Medicaid Home and Community-Based (HCBS) Program cannot be overlooked in these negotiations!

The Ask: Use our email and call tool to ask your members of Congress to support provisions increasing funding for the Medicaid Home and Community-Based (HCBS) Program as they consider provisions of the House-approved HEROES Act.

The Details on the HEROES Act:
The Senate will only be in session until August 10 before it breaks for its summer campaign recess. That leaves only 19 days for it to negotiate a timely deal with the House on a fourth COVID-19 relief bill. Please use that time to say loudly and clearly that the health and well-being of people with intellectual / developmental disabilities (I/DD) and the Direct Support Professionals who help them cannot be overlooked.

The House will be pressuring the Senate to keep portions of the HEROES Act – this is the time to make sure both chambers support provisions that directly increase funding for Medicaid HCBS programs. Those programs cover the majority of I/DD supports in the U.S. Increased COVID-19 funding from Congress for Medicaid-funded HCBS programs can be used by agencies to purchase safety supplies, strengthen wages for Direct Support Professionals, and otherwise keep people with I/DD healthy and safe during the pandemic.

Please take a minute today to ask Congress to strengthen Medicaid-funded I/DD programs during the pandemic.