A man lays in a hospital bed as an out of focus doctor in the foreground holds a chart

Coalition of Civil Rights Groups and Legal Scholars Release Report on Intersectional Medical Discrimination During COVID-19

/in , , , /by The Arc

Washington, D.C. – Today, a coalition of civil rights groups and legal scholars announce the release of a new report: “Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients.” Crisis standards of care are used to decide who should receive priority for treatment when there are not enough resources to serve everyone. The report explores and addresses how crisis standards of care may perpetuate medical discrimination against people with disabilities, older adults, higher weight people, as well as Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, in hospital care. Many face pervasive negative biases and inaccurate assumptions about their value, quality of life, capacity to communicate and make decisions, and likelihood of survival. During this pandemic, these biases can have deadly consequences when hospitals must make decisions about which critically ill patients should receive treatment.

The report provides an explanation of crisis standards of care policies implemented by states and hospital systems and how they may discriminate against marginalized individuals and communities, the principles that should apply to prevent discrimination, the relevant civil rights legal framework, and recommended strategies to ensure that crisis standards do not discriminate during the pandemic or in the future. The report highlights the deaths of Michael Hickson—a Black father of five with multiple disabilities—and Sarah McSweeney—a white woman with significant disabilities—who were denied life-sustaining treatment by physicians who expressed clear biases regarding the value of their lives.

“This pandemic has highlighted existing health inequities and deeply entrenched medical biases that threaten the lives of marginalized individuals and communities,” said Peter Berns, CEO of the Arc. “The Arc has worked hard to advocate for individuals with disabilities during this pandemic and we hope that this report will educate a variety of stakeholders on how to prevent bias and stereotypes from seeping into the medical decision-making process.”

“This Report contextualizes our current historical moment and offers clear directives to ensure that race and disability remain at the forefront of short-term responses and long-term reforms,” said Professor Jasmine Harris with the University of California, Davis School of Law and a member of The Arc’s Board of Directors and Legal Advocacy Committee. “The current pandemic brought to the fore longstanding systemic inequities in healthcare, employment, and socio-political participation. Underlying health conditions—such as respiratory impairments like asthma, high blood pressure, and obesity—leave People of Color, disabled people, and BIPOC with disabilities particularly at risk for contagion and complications, including death. Yet these ‘underlying health conditions’ are not inherently personal, rather, they reflect institutional choices about access to healthcare, housing, food and environmental hazards—that, in turn, increase the risk for People of Color, disabled people, and BIPOC.”

“The history of medicine has long discarded the lives of disabled Black, Indigenous and other People of Color, and disabled BIPOC who live at the intersection of other marginalized identities,” said Professor Natalie Chin with the City University of New York School of Law and a member of The Arc’s Legal Advocacy Committee. “This Report provides medical professionals with a strategic roadmap to confront bias and ultimately improve healthcare outcomes so that we can firmly say, ‘Yes, all bodies are valued.’”

The authors of the report include the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Arc of the United States, the Center for Public Representation, Justice in Aging, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the National Disability Rights Network, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Professor Jasmine Harris of the University of California, Davis School of Law, and Professor Natalie Chin of the City University of New York School of Law.

Many of the advocates who authored this report have been involved in filing a number of complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights challenging medical discrimination by states and hospitals, including discriminatory crisis standard of care plans, no-visitor policies, and inaccessible COVID-19 testing sites. Through this work, advocates have reached resolutions with a number of states and hospitals that make significant progress toward preventing medical discrimination during COVID-19. However, as outlined in this report, much work remains to be done to ensure every individual, regardless of their identity, receives equal access to care during this pandemic and in the future.

 

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In Final Days of Trump Administration and in Middle of Pandemic, Federal Officials Approve Cuts to Medicaid in Tennessee

/in , , , , /by The Arc

Washington, D.C. – As the Trump Administration wraps up its tenure, officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized an agreement with the state of Tennessee that will cut funding for the Medicaid program in that state, known as TennCare.

“This decision will harm people with disabilities, low-income families, and older adults in Tennessee, and sets a dangerous precedent across the country.

“It will cut federal money coming in, and fundamentally change the Medicaid program and Federal funding guarantee to the detriment of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. There will be less federal oversight and accountability for beneficiary protections, and its implementation will have devastating consequences on access to prescription drugs. And to take this action while a dangerous pandemic rages across the country – stretching our health care system, impacting state resources, and harming the economy – is simply unconscionable.

“We are very skeptical about the state’s claim that some of the savings in this restructuring scheme might be used to eliminate the waiting list for services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Right now in Tennessee, there are already challenges with providers because the low reimbursement rates for many services make it difficult to hire and retain qualified workers. Elimination of the waiting list is only relevant if people are getting what they need, when they need it, and cutting funding won’t help. The concept that less money will lead to more innovation and more people getting services is a fallacy.

“The incoming Administration must address the inequities that this block grant will create and ensure that this harmful policy is not replicated in other states.. People with disabilities should not have to endure these cuts now in this public health crisis, or in the future,” said Peter Berns, CEO, The Arc.

The Arc advocates for and serves people wit­­h intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), including Down syndrome, autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of over 600 chapters across the country promoting and protecting the human rights of people with IDD and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to diagnosis.

Editor’s Note: The Arc is not an acronym; always refer to us as The Arc, not The ARC and never ARC. The Arc should be considered as a title or a phrase.

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Amidst Nationwide COVID-19 Surge, Health and Civil Rights Groups Secure Federal Approval of Revised Crisis Standards of Care Guidelines in Texas

/in , , , , /by The Arc

Washington, D.C.: Today, amidst an unparalleled rampant spread of COVID-19 infection throughout the country and the looming specter of care rationing as hospitals become overwhelmed, civil rights groups, working closely with two Texas regional health groups and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the approval of revised crisis standard of care guidelines. Disability and aging advocates—Disability Rights Texas, the Center for Public Representation, The Arc of the United States, and Justice in Aging—worked collaboratively with the North Texas Mass Critical Care Guideline Task Force (NTMCCGTF) and Southwest Texas RAC (STRAC) to ensure their guidelines comply with federal disability rights laws and do not discriminate against people with disabilities and older adults, even when public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitate the rationing of scarce medical resources.

Texas currently has no statewide crisis standards of care policy. The revised guidelines announced today provide the foundation and models for statewide guidelines that could be adopted by the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Hospital Association. They would apply to all of the other regional advisory councils in Texas, amidst surging hospitalizations and rapidly declining ICU capacity that put the lives of people with disabilities and older adults at grave risk. Like earlier resolutions of crisis standards in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Utah, the guidelines provide concrete, clinical alternatives to discriminatory provisions common in many states’ rationing plans. The following are key changes in the revised policies to avoid discrimination against people with disabilities and older adults:

  • No Exclusions or Deprioritizing Based on Resource Intensity or Diagnosis: An individual can no longer be excluded from, or deprioritized for, medical treatment based on the fact that they might require more time or resources to recover or because of a person’s diagnosis or functional impairment. Rather than making assumptions about a patient’s ability to respond to treatment based solely on stereotypes, medical personnel must perform an individualized assessment of each patient based on the best objective current medical evidence.
  • Resource Decisions Based Only on Short-Term Survivability: Determinations about treatment can only be based on short-term survivability. Since long-term predictions of the outcome of treatment is fraught with speculation, mistaken stereotypes, and assumptions about the quality of life and lifespan of older adults and people with disabilities, they are explicitly prohibited.
  • Reasonable Modifications Required: Hospitals must make reasonable accommodations to the support needs and communication styles of persons with disabilities, and reasonable modifications to the Modified Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (MSOFA)— or other tools that may be used to prioritize access to medical treatment—to correct against the impact prior conditions may have on the assessment of organ failure scoring. Other reasonable modifications, including modifications to no-visitor policies, may also be required to provide equal access to treatment.
  • Reallocation of Personal Ventilators Prohibited: Medical personnel may not reallocate the personal ventilator of a patient who uses a ventilator in their daily life to another patient whom the personnel deem more likely to benefit from the ventilator in receiving treatment.
  • Blanket Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Policies Prohibited: Hospitals must provide information on the full scope of available treatment alternatives, including the continued provision of life-sustaining treatment, and may not impose blanket DNR policies. Physicians may not require patients to complete advance directives in order to continue to receive services from the hospital.

“The lives of persons with disabilities are not disposable and we deserve medical treatment just as much as anyone else even in a pandemic,” said Laura Halvorson, a client of Disability Rights Texas with muscular dystrophy and respiratory failure. “I use a personal ventilator 24 hours per day. Recently, I was hospitalized and worried that my ventilator would be taken away from me and given to another patient. These new guidelines will prevent this from happening and make me less worried about going to the hospital.”

“COVID-19 cases are rising in Texas and nationwide at unprecedented levels and the threat of care rationing is real and already happening in some hospitals. This resolution makes major progress toward ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to the care and tools necessary to fight COVID-19 infection,” said Peter Berns, Chief Executive Officer, The Arc. “We will keep fighting for revisions to policies that could mean the difference between life and death for people with disabilities.”

“Persons with disabilities and all persons needing hospital care in the Dallas and San Antonio regions of Texas can now be assured that their right to equal access to life-saving treatment is guaranteed. We now need to do the same for all Texans,” said Steven Schwartz, Legal Director for the Center for Public Representation.

“This collaboration between local health officials, the federal Office for Civil Rights and leading advocates is a great example of government officials listening and responding to the needs and concerns of impacted communities,” said Regan Bailey, Litigation Director at Justice in Aging. “As a result, people needing hospital care in Dallas and San Antonio will not be denied life-saving care because of guidelines that discriminate based on age or disability.”

In addition to working with OCR and other entities to revise crisis standard of care policies nationwide, The Arc, the Center for Public Representation, and Justice in Aging have created resources for stakeholders regarding preventing disability and age discrimination in crisis standards of care.

For more information about today’s resolution, contact:

Kristin Wright, The Arc of the United States

wright@thearcwebdev.wpengine.com or 202-617-3271

Regan Bailey, Justice in Aging

rbailey@justiceinaging.org or 202-683-1990

Steven Schwartz, Center for Public Representation

sschwartz@cpr-ma.org or 617-285-4666

Black and white photograph of justice scales sitting on a desk in a courtroom

Corey Johnson Must Not Be Executed

/in , , , , /by Pam Katz

The Arc and other advocacy groups are urging President Trump to intervene immediately and stop the unconstitutional execution of a man with intellectual disability scheduled to take place in a matter of days. Corey Johnson’s execution, scheduled for January 14, would violate the Constitution and federal law.

Mr. Johnson is a person with intellectual disability. Three nationally recognized experts in intellectual disability have evaluated Mr. Johnson and agree on this diagnosis, but yet, no court has ever heard the evidence to review whether Johnson’s disability bars him from execution. Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson’s trial and post-conviction attorneys failed to conduct a thorough investigation of various avenues of mitigating evidence and did not locate critical information concerning his intellectual disability.

“We support Corey Johnson’s clemency petition, asking the Administration to commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole,” said Peter Berns, CEO, The Arc. “For decades, The Arc has advocated for capital defendants with intellectual disability leading to critical Supreme Court precedent prohibiting their execution. It would be a devastating miscarriage of justice for Mr. Johnson to be executed in clear violation of the Constitution.”

Mr. Johnson was raised in poverty and experienced a chaotic, abusive, and tremendously unstable childhood. He had lived in more than ten different homes by the time he was 12 years old and attended nearly a dozen different schools during that same period. Mr. Johnson failed at every level of school.

Mr. Johnson had similar struggles socially. He never learned how to interact with others, to read social situations, to communicate effectively, or to problem-solve. His peers recounted his limited vocabulary and difficulty following instructions. He did not learn the range of skills necessary to live independently as an adult. Expert reports based on interviews with peers, family members, teachers, and other acquaintances throughout Mr. Johnson’s life describe him as “highly gullible and naïve” and lacking the ability to understand the consequences of his actions. As a child, he was frequently teased and largely passive; he followed the lead of others and engaged in the activities those around him pursued.

Mr. Johnson regularly succumbed to peer pressure to engage in risky behaviors and was frequently victimized and easily manipulated by family members and peers. Mr. Johnson’s challenges continued with him into adulthood.

Nearly 20 years ago, in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution of people with intellectual disability is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In Hall v. Florida (2014), the Court rejected an arbitrary cutoff for IQ scores in making the intellectual disability determination and emphasized the importance of courts consulting clinical standards in their analysis. The Court’s decisions in Moore v. Texas (2017, 2019) strengthened this precedent by emphasizing the need to rely on well-established clinical standards—rather than stereotypes—in making intellectual disability determinations in death penalty cases.

The Arc has deep sympathy for the family and friends of the victims in this case, and supports appropriate punishment of all responsible parties. The Arc does not seek to eliminate punishment of Mr. Johnson or others with disabilities but, rather, to ensure that justice is served and the rights of all parties are protected. The Arc is committed to seeking lawful outcomes for people with intellectual disability and will continue working to ensure that the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on this issue are abided by in jurisdictions across the country.

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Celebrating the Life of the Honorable Richard Thornburgh

/in /by Pam Katz
A headshot of an older man with glasses, wearing a suit and red tie. He smiles with his mouth closed.

Today, The Arc celebrates the life of Former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Attorney General Richard “Dick” Thornburgh, a champion in the disability rights movement who played a crucial role in the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Mr. Thornburgh died Thursday. He was 88.

Throughout his career, Mr. Thornburgh fought for equal rights for people with disabilities. He was instrumental in forever changing life for people with disabilities in the U.S. and helping to lay important groundwork that we continue to build upon today. The ADA advanced the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in many critical areas including employment, state and local government services, privately operated public accommodations such as hotels, restaurants, stores, museums, transportation, and telecommunications.

We are grateful for Mr. Thornburgh’s persistent advocacy in support of the ADA and bipartisan spirit demonstrated throughout the passage and subsequent implementation of the ADA. He helped so many understand the importance of empowering people with disabilities by removing barriers and through his leadership.

We send our deepest condolences to his wife Ginny Thornburgh, a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities, and the entire Thornburgh family.

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Shut Out Again: COVID-19 Relief Package Again Excludes Needs of People With Disabilities, Families, Service Providers

/in , , , , /by Pam Katz

After months of hardship and danger from the COVID-19 pandemic, and relentless advocacy by The Arc and advocates across the country, last night Congress passed a COVID-19 relief package without critical funding for people with disabilities to access the services and supports necessary for a life in the community.

As COVID-19 continues to spread nationwide, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are struggling to access the services they need to continue to live in the community, and their families struggle with balancing work and caregiving responsibilities. Congress should have allocated desperately needed funds to support home and community-based services but they fell short.  They also failed to provide funding for personal protective equipment (PPE) and resources for the workforce that has supported people with disabilities tirelessly throughout this pandemic.

Congress did authorize a second round of smaller stimulus payments, but once again left out many people with disabilities – those who are defined by the IRS to be “adult dependents.” This group was inexplicably cast aside despite bipartisan support for including them.

Congress extended tax credits available for business to cover paid leave, but eliminated rules about when business must provide leave and did not extend the tax credits to cover all caregivers as the pandemic continues. Congress also failed to provide a solution to a COVID-related overpayment issue with Social Security benefits. The needs of people with disabilities, their families, and the workforce that supports them were excluded to honor an arbitrary bottom line.

“It’s unconscionable that Congress ignored the dire needs of people with disabilities, their support staff, and families as this pandemic rages across the country. For months, our leaders have known the consequences of their inaction. People with disabilities are getting infected at higher rates. Support staff are putting their lives on the line day and day out with the protection they need. And families are struggling with it all. Yet in the waning days of 2020, they have shut us out in the cold in COVID-19 relief legislation,” said Peter Berns, CEO, The Arc.

Home and community-based services, or HCBS, make life in the community possible for millions of people with disabilities who often need help with things like eating, dressing, personal hygiene, and managing health care or finances. As COVID-19 spread in congregate settings out of the community, like nursing homes and institutions, HCBS became even more important for health, safety, and independence. Without this critical federal emergency funding, as state budgets continue to take hits due to the pandemic, the HCBS systems will be hit hard.

Through The Arc, almost 150,000 calls and emails have flooded Congress in recent months to demand action for funding for these services, along with the PPE needed by staff to safely deliver these services to people with disabilities. Chapters of The Arc across the country have been scrambling throughout the pandemic to access PPE and other medical supplies. They are in need of resources to cover these costs as well as the funding to pay their direct support professionals fairly for the vital work they do.

“This is not hyperbole – this is life and death for people with disabilities and their support systems. Before, during, and someday after the pandemic, a life in the community is vital for people with disabilities. Congress turned its back on desperately needed funds to support these services, protect the staff doing the work, and pay them for the risks they are taking in this public health crisis,” said Berns.

silhouette of a hand casting a paper ballot into a box

The Arc’s Statement on the 2020 Election

/in , , , , /by Pam Katz

The Arc released the following statement about the 2020 Presidential election:

“This was an historic election given the challenges our nation faces, and voters turned out in record numbers to make their choice about our future. While people with disabilities still face far too many barriers to accessing the right to vote, including physical obstacles and state laws that prohibit some people with disabilities from voting, millions persevered amidst health and safety concerns to exercise their right.  Their votes counted, as did the votes of their family members, friends and supporters.  

“While the election is over, our nonpartisan advocacy continues at the local and state levels, in the halls of Congress, at the Supreme Court, and will continue in 2021 with the Biden Administration.

“We are still in the COVID-19 crisis. This virus has disproportionately impacted people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and direct support professionals.

“People with disabilities have died from COVID-19. They have faced discriminatory medical policies and practices. Lives have been interrupted, inclusion in the community has been snatched away. Their family members, who were already taking on the majority of caregiving responsibilities, have taken on even more, in many instances disrupting their own lives. And the dedicated direct support professionals have dealt with challenges in protecting health and safety without the necessary protective equipment.

“These impacts are still with us today and will be until our country gets this virus under control and policies in place that meet the needs of people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers. We also must continue to address the many injustices that people with disabilities experience on a day-to-day basis.

“In just a few days, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that threatens to undo all the progress we made with the Affordable Care Act. Access to consistent and reliable healthcare is critical for individuals with disabilities, and the law created much-needed reforms to health insurance, addresses systemic discrimination, and expands coverage.

“We must address the high unemployment rates of people with disabilities and the economic insecurity too many families and individuals face. We have to support families as they struggle with caregiving responsibilities by implementing inclusive paid leave.

“There still is a lot of work to do and, just as The Arc has done throughout our 70-year history, we will not rest until the humanity and needs of people with disabilities are respected,” said Peter Berns, CEO, The Arc.

close up of medical form with stethoscope

The Affordable Care Act: What’s at Risk?

/in , , , , /by Pam Katz

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made significant progress in expanding access to health care for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). Access to consistent and reliable healthcare is critical for individuals with IDD, and the ACA created much-needed reforms to health insurance, addressed systemic discrimination, and expanded coverage. Yet it will all be at risk on November 10 when the U.S. Supreme Court hears a case seeking to overturn the law. Leading up to the ACA’s day in court, here is a primer on what the ACA does for people with IDD, and what’s at stake if the law goes away.

The ACA:

  • Helps people get health insurance
  • Requires that plans can’t exclude you or charge you more based on preexisting conditions
  • Bans benefits caps (annual and lifetime caps)
  • Requires all plans to cover “essential benefits”
  • Provides financial assistance for low-income people to access healthcare 

Loss of Health Coverage: Without the ACA, millions of adults and children may lose their health coverage, or it may become unaffordable. Millions of families may be left with limited and expensive options, with inadequate coverage. 

Pre-existing Conditions: We are concerned about the possible loss of protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, including people with IDD. Millions of Americans have “pre-existing” medical conditions that could disqualify them from buying a health insurance policy if the ACA is dismantled. A “pre-existing condition” is any health problem a person has before new health coverage starts. It includes a broad range of common conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, or seizure disorders, including all types of disabilities. 

Without the protections of the ACA, any “pre-existing condition” could mean a person or family buying insurance would pay much more for a policy, if they could get one at all. Before the ACA, an insurer could outright deny people coverage for a specific pre-existing condition, charge them more, cancel a policy after the fact for utilizing needed health care, or deny health insurance coverage overall. Without the ACA, employers could drop coverage for any or all of the conditions they are now required to cover. The Trump Administration publicly committed to “protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions” but there are no specifics on how this would be accomplished.  

COVID Connection: Some of the millions of Americans infected by COVID-19 will have long-term health conditions that are “pre-existing conditions.” This new reality could make it challenging to find health insurance.  And millions of Americans are now also without jobs and without employer-provided health insurance, so the need for affordable care is even greater.

Lifetime and Annual Limits: Before the ACA, lifetime and annual caps were permitted. Even with insurance, this meant enormous out-of-pocket costs or losing your insurance if medical bills cost more than the capped amount. Individuals and families face going without needed treatment or bankruptcy when the caps are exceeded.

Essential Benefits: Before the ACA’s passage, many plans did not cover important services, like maternity care or mental health treatment. The ACA requires all plans to cover 10 “essential health benefits,” including rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices that are vital to people with IDD.

Preventive Care: If we lose the ACA, we also lose preventive care with no out-of-pocket cost. This means adults and children would no longer be able to access important services including immunizations, preventive screenings, well baby and well child visits without cost-sharing. Fewer people may get preventive exams to catch medical issues before they became serious or life-threatening (and more difficult and expensive to treat).

Expanded Coverage for Children until age 26: Prior to the ACA, many health plans removed adult children from their parents’ coverage, regardless of whether they were a student or lived at home with their parents. Under the ACA, plans that offer coverage for children must cover them until they turn 26. It’s been an important coverage expansion for millions of young adult children who have been able to stay on their family health insurance plan.

Affordability Provisions and Loss of Federal Subsidies: The ACA allowed states to extend their Medicaid programs to childless adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level. This change has provided coverage to millions of people, including individuals with IDD and other disabilities who were not otherwise eligible for Medicaid. If we lose the ACA, States would be forced to cover the 90% of the cost of the Medicaid expansion that the federal government currently pays, which may be all but impossible in the current economic situation. We may also lose refundable tax credits and cost-sharing assistance that helps reduce the burden on lower-income individuals and families.

Long Term Supports and Services: Several provisions of the ACA were designed to assist states to rebalance their long termsupports systems and invest in the community instead of costly and outdated institutions. States who expanded these options could face a devastating blow if the ACA is struck down. For example, with Community First Choice or 1915(k), 392,7000 individuals in 8 states (California, Connecticut, Maryland, Montana, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington) would lose services totaling $8.7 billion per year. With respect to the State Plan Home and Community-Based Services Option or 1915(i), 81,000 individuals in 10 states and DC (California, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Texas) would lose services totaling $641 million per year.  This change would hurt people with IDD and curtail their opportunity for a full life in their community.

Protecting Civil Rights in Health Care: The ACA also includes the fundamentally important Section 1557 nondiscrimination provision, that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability (and other protected categories) in health programs and activities.

Impacts on the Health Care System: Overall, a court decision that strikes down the ACA (or important parts of it) could have a broad, harmful impact on the health care system, especially during a pandemic when resources and staff are already strained. It would also increase uncompensated-care costs for hospitals. Health care systems and hospitals that serve disproportionately high numbers of low-income people will be the most at risk, and could be forced to cut services.

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Comcast NBCUniversal and The Arc Team up to Support Local Disability Agencies and Digital Literacy for People With Disabilities

/in , /by Pam Katz

The Arc of the United States and Comcast NBCUniversal today announced a three-year renewal of their national partnership to expand digital technology opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Comcast NBCUniversal is providing $400,000 to The Arc’s Tech Coaching Centers, which operate their national digital literacy program, as well as chapters that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are immensely grateful for Comcast NBCUniversal’s continued support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, and the work we do to protect their human rights and support their participation in society,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc. “Many of our chapters have been hit incredibly hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are truly fortunate to have such a longstanding and steadfast partner in Comcast NBCUniversal in our work to support our chapters and expand access to digital technology that will open up doors online and offline for people with disabilities.”

The Arc’s national network of more than 600 chapters provide vital resources and services to individuals with IDD and their families to promote greater independence and opportunity in the community. With the support of Comcast NBCUniversal, The Arc will continue the important work of connecting its clients with digital skills to enhance their paths to independence through digital literacy training and financial support. Since 2017, more than 1,800 clients have received basic digital skills training at 16 sites around the country. Additionally, for the next year, Comcast will help fund general operating costs for some chapters of The Arc that face financial challenges as a result of the pandemic.

“Through the Tech Coaching Centers and our long-standing partnership with The Arc, we’ve witnessed so many examples of individuals gaining employment, learning digital skills, navigating the internet, and more,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP & Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation. “We believe it is vital to continue supporting these efforts to help create economic mobility for people with disabilities.”

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses:  Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky.  Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses.  It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand.  NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts.  Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services.  It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services.  Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights.  Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

The United States Capitol Building

The Arc Supports National Coronavirus Commission Act to Assess Response to Pandemic for People With Disabilities

/in , , /by Pam Katz

Today, Members of the U.S. House and Senate introduced the bipartisan National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2020. The proposed legislation seeks to create an independent, non-partisan commission to assess the nation’s preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission would also make recommendations to improve readiness in the future. The Commission has a specific charge to review the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities.

The Arc supports the bipartisan bill and believes establishing a National Coronavirus Commission is important to ensure that as a country we fully understand the extraordinarily detrimental impacts the pandemic has had on millions of people with disabilities across the country. The pandemic continues to disproportionately harm them. Recognizing where the country’s response has fallen short and committing to doing better in the future is key to truly moving forward in a way that is intentional and inclusive of people with disabilities.

“We are pleased to support this important bi-partisan effort to ensure that we have a full accounting of the National response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically thank Senators Menendez and Collins for ensuring that the Commission is charged with reviewing the health and economic impacts of the pandemic on people with disabilities, a population that is far too often overlooked in the face of crises, this information will be vitally important,” said Nicole Jorwic, Senior Director of Public Policy at The Arc.

We are hopeful the bill will move swiftly through Congress as people with disabilities work to rebuild their lives.