FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:
Anastasia Bacigalupo (310) 740-8701
anastasia@wcil.org
www.wcil.org
#WCILByYourSide

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

DISABILITY ADVOCATES HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TO DEMAND PRESERVATION OF COMMUNITY-BASED MEDICAID SERVICES

Los Angeles, CA (March 20, 2017): On the eve of the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote on the American Health Care Act (ACHA) that if passed will put thousands of Californians with disabilities at high risk to loose vital community-based services, the Westside Center for Independent Living (WCIL) will host a dynamic panel discussion featuring a broad-based coalition of disability rights advocates and attorneys emphasizing the importance of preserving access to community-based Medicaid services, a critical safety net role in financing health care services.

Panel focus is preserving Community First Choice Option (CFCO), an optional Federal funding incentive that provides additional funding for community-based services, vital medical care and other long term services and supports needed by people with disabilities. Panelists will include:

Phyllis Siegel, Disabled Advocate. Ms. Siegel will discuss how the loss of the CFCO funds will result in her In Home Support Services (IHSS) hours will be reduced or eliminated. The IHSS hours she receives allow her to live at home instead of a facility away from her community and circle of support. She is representative of 500,000 IHSS recipients in California who will lose part or all of their IHSS hours.

Arica McGary, Personal Care Attendant. Ms. McGary will explain the impact of reducing or eliminating IHSS hours for other IHSS workers like her. She will either lose hours or lose her position supporting Ms. Siegel all together. She is representative of 400,000 IHSS workers in California who will be negatively impacted by the repeal of the ACA.

Tina Segura, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Legal Center. Ms. Segura works at the Cancer Legal Resource Center. She will share the legal ramifications of the ACHA on people affected by cancer and other disabling diseases.

The current Republican bill will eliminate CFCO by 2020 by introducing block grants and cut to Medicaid funding. The panel will evidence how this will lead to painful limits on treatment that would force states to ration or deny health care to those in nursing homes, with disabilities, and/or near the poverty line.

WHEN:

Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 11:00 AM-12:00PM

WHERE:

Westside Center for Independent Living, 12901 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066

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The Westside Center for Independent Living (WCIL) is a disability community resource center. WCIL provides people with disabilities of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds with the tools needed to overcome the barriers that interfere with their independence in the areas of housing, employment and healthcare. WCIL serves over 2,000 people each year with resources, support, training and information. For more information, please visit: www.wcil.org