Important Advocacy Alert Deadline.

If you or a family member uses the Aged & Disabled Waiver, or may need it in the future, you need to be aware of the proposed changes underway.  
The Public Comment Period  ends ​Monday January 5th.    

Key Concerns for Families:

1. Reduced Caregiver Hours: The biggest worry is the potential cut from 112 hours of paid care to just 40 hours, making 24/7 care virtually impossible for families without significant outside help, which many don't have. 
2. Risk of Institutionalization: Cuts could force families to choose between expensive institutional care (nursing homes) or losing their ability to care for loved ones at home, leading to poorer health outcomes (bedsores, hospitalizations) compared to consistent home care, say families and advocates.
3. Undermining Successful Care: Many families have successfully kept complex-needs individuals out of facilities for years, but the proposed changes penalize this effort by setting arbitrary financial caps based on nursing home costs, notes 3NewsNow, Nebraska Examiner, and KOLN | Nebraska Local News, Weather, Sports | Lincoln, NE.
4. Financial Strain & Career Impact: Families rely on waiver funds to cover significant costs, and losing hours means lost income, forcing parents to work fewer hours or find other jobs, potentially missing critical care needs or facing debt, notes 3NewsNow, News From The States, and The Arc of Nebraska.
5. Lack of Input & Transparency: Families feel the changes were announced with a short comment period (Dec 5-Jan 5), limiting their ability to provide crucial input, say Nebraska Examiner and Facebook users.
6. Impact on Quality of Life: The changes threaten to reduce the quality 

Steps that you can take:
We reached out to Nebraska Senator Danielle Conrad who encourages everyone to continue raising public awareness by:

• Opposing these changes in the official public comment process at DHHS. Keep your comment brief and personal. For example: “I oppose the proposed reduction in waiver hours due to serious safety concerns for my loved one.”  Also include one direct question, such as: “Please explain how these proposed changes comply with Nebraska’s Olmstead Plan and the requirement to serve individuals in the most integrated setting.”
• Contacting Governor Pillen today at governor.nebraska.gov/contact-form or call 402-471-2244
• Sharing your story with the media through calls, press releases, op-eds, or letters to the editor-submission forms here and here ;
• Reaching out to additional state senators to keep this issue front and center;
• Asking Senator Brian Hardin, Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, to consider holding hearings;
• Asking DHHS Director Corsi to convene a town hall with policymakers and families;
• Engaging online to help amplify this cause and build community support.

These and other ideas will help us work together to ensure vulnerable Nebraskans and their families don’t lose access to the care they need and deserve.  This goes far beyond the Down syndrome community as this is an AGED and Disabled waiver and everyone knows someone who is over the age 65.