Testimony Before the New York State Senate Finance Committee

Dear Senator Kruger and members of the Senate Finance Committee:

My name is Anita Cameron, and I am a Systems Advocate with the Center for Disability Rights, a Rochester-based Center for Independent Living with offices in Geneva, Corning, and Albany. I would like to thank you for allowing me to speak today regarding Governor Paterson's Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP).

I am before you today not only in my capacity as System's Advocate with the Center for Disability Rights, but as a person who has friends and colleagues who will be personally affected by the proposed cuts with devastating results.

As you know, the proposed cut to Medicaid is $287 million, which includes $24.5 million from home health care, and $27.5 from personal care. Combined with the loss of federal matching funds, the total amount of cuts to home care and personal care will total $131 million!

I have friends and colleagues who will be at imminent risk of institutional placement because the cuts will mean that they will not be able to receive the necessary hours of service for them to remain at home. Some of them work, and won't be able to keep their jobs if they lose their hours of home and personal care services and are institutionalized. Not only will it cost the state more to institutionalize people, as has been demonstrated, the state will further lose revenue from the loss of tax and other revenues from these New Yorkers.

This unnecessary institutionalization is in direct contravention of the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, which states that "unnecessary institutionalization is discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act". Instead of forcing people into institutional settings as a result of the proposed cuts, our state should be working expeditiously to create and implement an Olmstead plan to transition New Yorkers trapped in institutions back into their communities.

Another concern is that part of DRP includes $11.4 million in cuts to the state's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit. A cut of as little as ten dollars will have devastating effects for people on SSI. I have a friend who has told me that a loss of even $10.00 means that he won't be able to pay his rent. For another friend this means that she can't pay the co-pay on her medications. Another friend won't be able to pay bus fare to go to the doctor, school, or church, leaving him trapped in his home. For another friend, that means that she won't be able to buy the few groceries that she can on her limited income. Add to this that for the first time in 34 years, the federal government will not add a cost of living increase, and you can only imagine what that means!

The last thing that I want to speak of is the other proposed cuts by the Senate Minority that are particularly disastrous for people with disabilities and seniors. The proposal is to eliminate all Medicaid optional services offered in New York. Optional services are those services that are not required by the federal governments, such as prescription drug coverage and home and community based personal services. People with disabilities and seniors will not be able to get their medications, or receive personal services which will result in a worsening of disabling conditions and illnesses, hospitalizations, and institutionalization in nursing facilities.

I know that we can do better than this. Cuts will happen, that is true, but there must be a common-sense way that this can be done, rather than gutting the very programs that would save our state money. There must be a mustering of political will to do the right thing by the most vulnerable New Yorkers.