United Spinal Association is pleased to have played a part in the passing of the massive $797 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”, HR 1). We believe that Americans with disabilities will benefit greatly from this hard won legislation.

After heated debate and intense lobbying, Congress passed this legislation on February 13, and President Obama signed it on February 17, 2009. To summarize a few provisions that United Spinal and our disability allies achieved in the bill:

$250 Emergency Payment to Veterans with Disabilities, SSI and Social Security Retirement Recipients. People with disabilities receiving Social Security Income (SSI) benefits and eligible veterans residing in the US will receive this one-time emergency payment, as will people receiving Social Security retirement benefits. Eligible veterans include those receiving VA disability compensation payments and non-service-connected pensions (for certain low-income disabled veterans). The payment is tax-exempt and will not count as income for purposes of VA or other federal benefits such as Medicaid. Payments are expected to be issued by early June 2009. Because we are a veterans service organization, this was a high priority for United Spinal Association.

Money to Help Social Security Disability Backlog. United Spinal continues to advocate for resources for the Social Security Administration to reduce the tragic backlog in processing applications for disability benefits. In bad economic times, many seniors and people with disabilities who lose their jobs and cannot find another apply for Social Security benefits. The result is huge surge in benefit applications which — without more money – would exacerbate the backlog. Congress appropriated $500 million to process the huge surge in applications, including funds for electronic medical records, as well as additional funds to replace Social Security’s antiquated National Computer Center. Without a major computer overhaul, Social Security would be unable to accept any more data as early as 2012 – which would be disastrous for people who need retirement or disability benefits.

Medicaid. United Spinal Association actively advocated for the bill’s $87 billion increase in FMAP – the federal government’s matching share of Medicaid costs. When people lose their jobs and health insurance, they often qualify for Medicaid, which puts huge demands on already cash-strapped states. For many people with disabilities, Medicaid is their sole source of health care coverage. All states will receive a 6.2% increase, and states with high unemployment rates will receive a greater federal match. States may not change the rules about who is eligible, but they may change the rules about what their state Medicaid program will cover. The bill also extended a delay in some harmful Medicaid regulations that United Spinal has been fighting.

Health Insurance Premium Subsidy. People who lose their jobs often may continue their health insurance by paying the full premium – which is way more than many unemployed people can afford. This bill provides a 65% subsidy for insurance premiums under COBRA for 9 months for people who became or become unemployed from 9/1/08 through 12/31/09– which will enable many people to retain their health insurance.

Health Information Technology. The bill provides $19 billion to make all health care records electronic by 2014. This initial outlay is expected to save costs in the long run because it will be much more efficient to obtain and share health care records electronically. As these systems are developed, United Spinal Association will work to make sure that people’s privacy rights are protected.

Health Care Comparative Effectiveness. $1.1 billion will go to comparative effectiveness research. There is consensus that it is beneficial to research what treatments and strategies are most effective for various conditions and disseminating this information to health care professionals. On the other hand, many people with disabilities and chronic conditions often need quite individualized treatments and care. United Spinal Association will be vigilant against the possible unintended consequence that only certain treatments and strategies (those that work for a majority of people) will be covered by health insurance or government health programs.

Medical Research: $10 billion will go to the National Institutes of Health for scientific research. In addition $1.35 billion will go to the National Center for Research Resources for construction, renovation, repair and improvement of research facilities and capital research equipment.

Education. United Spinal Association has long supported full federal funding for IDEA – the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. $11.3 billion will go to grants to states for IDEA and $500 million for to pre-school/early intervention under IDEA. In addition, $53.6 billion will go to repair and modernize public schools and colleges and universities, which may include modifications for accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act and for eliminating exposure to mold, asbestos, mildew and lead based paint. Training funds may be used to train general education teacher candidates to more effectively teach students with disabilities.

Employment. United Spinal also supports the $540 million that will go to grants to state Vocational Rehabilitation programs. The bill also provides $500 for job training for adults and $1.2 billion for job training for youth (including but not exclusively for people with disabilities). In addition to extending unemployment insurance payments in general, the bill increases payments by $25 per week and decreases income tax owed on unemployment benefits.

Housing. United Spinal Association has been a long standing advocate for affordable, accessible housing. $4 billion will go to the Public Housing Capital Fund for building repair, modernization and renovation including energy conservation retrofitting – with priority consideration to rehabilitation of vacant units and to capital projects already underway or identified in existing public housing authority five-year capital plans. $2 billion will go to full-year renewals of project-based Section 8 rental assistance contracts –which will help alleviate a longstanding under-funding problem of housing subsidies on which many people with disabilities and very low incomes depend. An additional $250 million will go to HUD for grants and loans to upgrade Section 202 elderly, Section 811 disabled and Section 8 project-based housing to increase energy efficiency. Owners participating in this $250 million grant or loan program must commit to keeping rents affordable for at least an additional 15 years. There is also $2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization program for communities to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed abandoned properties to create more affordable housing.

Independent Living. United Spinal, a member of the National Council on Independent Living, supports the $140 million for Centers for Independent Living to help people with disabilities be as independent as possible and remain in their homes and communities.

United Spinal Association actively advocates for these and other public policies that benefit people with spinal cord injuries and disorders and veterans with disabilities of all kinds. We will continue to be vigilant over these issues and publish additional information.