•  This Week In The News
• President Obama's Deficit Reduction Package

THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS

It has been a very busy week for intellectual and developmental disabilities in New York’s regional newspapers, we’ve included some stories that you might have missed this week. This has been an extraordinary year for our field of work and it seems that a week doesn’t go by without an important news article.

“Autistic and Seeking a Place in an Adult World” first appeared in print on September 18, 2011, on page A1 of the New York Times. It chronicles the life of Justin Canha, a high school student from New Jersey with autism, a love of cartoons and a gift for drawing and his “transition to adulthood” to find employment.

“Journal investigation: Caregivers of mentally disabled keep jobs, even in cases of abuse, neglect” first appeared in print on Sunday, September 18^thin the Poughkeepsie Journal. It describes several cases of abuse and neglect in state-operated programs and the lack of meaningful disciplinary actions and follow-up.

“$5 Million Payment to End Suits Over Death of 13-Year-Old Boy in State Care” first appeared in print on September 22, 2011, on page A25 of the New York Times. It brings to closure the State of New York’s agreement to pay $5 million to settle two civil suits brought by the family of Jonathan Carey, a boy with autism who died in state care, among the larger wrongful-death settlements ever paid by the state.

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S DEFICIT REDUCTION PACKAGE

On Monday, September 19, The President presented his package to reduce the deficit includes $72 billion in cuts to Medicaid and other health programs.  Our national association ANCOR provided more about those proposed cuts below:

• Reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid, with savings of $1.4 billion over 10 years, through proposals to strengthen third-party liability for Medicaid beneficiary claims; require manufacturers that improperly report items for Medicaid drug coverage to fully repay states; track high prescribers and utilizers of prescription drugs in Medicaid; enforce Medicaid drug rebate agreements; increase penalties on drug manufacturers for fraudulent non-compliance with Medicaid drug rebate agreements; require drugs to be properly listed with the FDA to receive Medicaid coverage; and prohibit states from using federal funds as the state share of Medicaid or CHIP, unless specifically authorized by law.
• Increase state flexibility in Medicaid by letting states use a "benchmark" benefits plan for optional populations with income above 133 percent of the federal poverty line. It also would consolidate and streamline redundant error rate programs.
• Accelerate state innovation waivers under the health reform law by making the health reform law's state innovation waivers available starting in 2014—three years earlier than under the current law.
• Limit Medicaid provider taxes. By delaying the effective date until 2015, the proposal gives states time to prepare for the change. This proposal is projected to save $26.3 billion over 10 years.
• Simplify federal Medicaid payment formulas for states. Beginning in 2017, this proposal would replace the currently complicated formulas with a single matching rate specific to each state based on enrollment starting in 2014 that automatically increases if a recession forces enrollment and state costs to rise. The full federal funding for people gaining Medicaid coverage in 2014 through 2016 would be preserved. The proposal is projected to save $14.9 billion over 10 years.

Obama said he would veto any proposal with cuts that did not include tax increases.

The officials also said that the proposal, which will be presented to the debt law's super committee, draws upon the principles that the president had discussed in April. That plan had included a new blended FMAP rate in Medicaid, a bolstered Independent Payment Advisory Board, and “leveraging” Medicare’s purchasing power to reduce drug costs.

In April, the president also expressed support for proposals that encourage higher quality care for dually eligible beneficiaries and called for prohibiting pay-for-delay drug marketing agreements, and called for implementing Medicaid “management” of high prescribers and users of prescription drugs.