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Register for May 24 webinars to help get critical legislation passed that will open the door to greater access to wheelchairs and other mobility equipment for people with disabilities.
More choices equals more independence!
Without the proper mobility equipment, many individuals cannot live with dignity and independence. We may be confined to our homes or forced into nursing homes. We might not be able to get involved in our communities, discover recreational or educational opportunities, attend family and religious gatherings, or seek employment. We lose our voice and, ultimately, our empowerment.
Join United Spinal Association in fighting for wheelchair users to have access to the right mobility equipment, so we can live the lives we choose!
There’s a piece of legislation on the table that will make that happen. But it won’t be passed if we sit on the sidelines. We have to come together and make it happen.
The Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2012 (H.R. 4378) has been introduced in Congress to create a separate benefit category for complex rehab technology to improve access to mobility equipment and increase safeguards.
You can help by get this critical legislation passed by participating in a free webinar that will be presented twice on May 24th at 11:30 AM ET and 4:30 PM ET. The presentation will review the legislation, discuss advocacy steps and tools, and allow for questions and discussion.
Register for webinar at 11:30pm ET.
Register for webinar at 4:30pm ET.
Complex rehab technology is a just a fancy term for the ‘right’ mobility equipment—that is, equipment specifically-tailored to meet the needs of each individual user. This type of technology includes medically necessary individually configured manual and power wheelchair systems, adaptive seating systems, alternative positioning systems, and other mobility devices that require evaluation, fitting, design, adjustment and programming.
The main problem is that many don’t have access to it. Medicare currently does not have unique coverage for the more complex needs of individuals with disabilities and chronic medical conditions that require customized products and services that are medically necessary.
United Spinal believes the creation of a separate benefit category will result in decreased Medicare expenditures by averting hospitalizations due to such conditions as severe pressure sores and blood clots. In the interest of quality healthcare and optimal functionality for individuals with disabilities, a new Medicare benefit category is warranted.
For more information on H.R. 4378 or other mobility issues, please contact Alex Bennewith at abennewith@unitedspinal.org or 202-556-2076, x.7102
For assistance registering or connecting to the webinar, please contact Don Clayback at dclayback@ncart.us or 716-839-9728.
Language for H.R. 4378 was written by a broad coalition of advocates including United Spinal Association, the Clinician Task Force (CTF), the Independence through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid Coalition (ITEM) as well as the National Coalition on Assistive and Rehab Technology, the National Registry of Rehab Technology Suppliers (NRRTS) and the American Association for Homecare.
United Spinal Association’s Public Policy department is hosting the final webinar in a three-part series in preparation for its advocacy event in Washington, DC, June 25-26, called Roll on Capitol Hill, which brings together disability leaders from United Spinal and NSCIA to DC to advocate on behalf of our members.
Title: Looking for Employment and Decent Wages: How is the Government Helping You?
When: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 2:00-3:15 PM EDT
Register Here
This webinar will examine federal government programs aimed at assisting individuals with disabilities to acquire gainful employment in competitive, integrated settings. It will discuss what can be done legislatively to improve upon these programs, such as re-authorizing and updating the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and eliminating outmoded provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act that continue to allow people with disabilities to be paid sub-minimum wages in segregated workshops. Useful information will also be provided to those looking to return to work.
The previous webinars in this series highlighted:
-Proposed cuts to the Medicaid program at the federal level and how they will endanger critical services and supports from coast-to-coast
-Eliminating Medicare restrictions to essential services and equipment.
You can access both of these webinars by visiting the webinar archive section of our membership website.
The Roll on Capitol Hill webinar series provides resources and strategies so you can join our national effort to change policies that affect the disability community. There are many roads to empowerment and making a difference, whether it’s through self-advocacy, community activism, cutting through red tape, or simply understanding legislative lingo and how it pertains to you.
The feedback and real world experiences United Spinal receives from participants of these webinars enables our staff to hone in on issues that directly impact the health, independence and quality of life of the people we serve. This is critical in beginning the dialogue on these issues with legislators and policymakers at Roll on Capitol Hill.
We hope you can join us!
 United Spinal Association’s membership division NSCIA and Independence Care System (ICS) are hosting the third annual From Within conference on Saturday, May 19 to improve the lives, health, and well-being of women living with spinal cord injuries and disorders.
From Within attendees will have the opportunity to participate in frank and open discussions on advocacy; disability benefits and healthcare; fitness; nutrition; sexuality and relationships; breast care and OB/GYN; wheelchair check-ups; fashion; and much more.
“From Within offers a forum for women to address their special needs, share their triumphs, and interact with peers and advocates dedicated to shattering public misperceptions and stereotypes,” said Marlene Perkins,VP of Corporate and Community Relations at United Spinal.
“It’s rewarding to see the impact From Within has had on the diverse group of women who have attended this conference––young, old, single, married, mothers, daughters, workers, caregivers and volunteers,” she added.
This year’s keynote speaker and “From Within’ award honoree is Ginny Thornburgh, who serves as director of the Interfaith Initiative at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).
Thornburgh has worked 23 years focused on the spiritual and religious issues of children and adults with disabilities.
Other guest speakers include Luticha Andre Doucette, disability rights advocate and co-founder of RocCity Young Professionals with Disabilities––a group based in Rochester, NY that focuses on helping people living with disabilities connect to their community.
Some of this year’s workshop presenters are Susan C. Wolf, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director of ICS’s Access to Women’s Health Care Program; Millie Miraglia, consultant, Fitness, Yoga and Stress Management; Carole A. Baraldi, RN, MS; public health nurse educator;Linda Hickman, consultant for Adult Day Programs and Therapeutic Music & Program, NYC Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society .
Exhibitors will include Wheelchair Medic; Able to Travel; UsersFirst; Independence Care System; The Greater New York Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association; Initiative for Women with Disabilities (IWD), See and Be Safe; Barrier Free Living; and MS Society of New York City.
The conference is free and open to the public. Advance registration recommended.
•Saturday, May 19th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
•New York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway New York, NY 10036
•Free lunch will also be provided to all registrants and attendees
•Free Raffle Drawing – Prizes courtesy of The Avon Dude Dan; Bayada Home Health and Marriott Marquis
From Within is sponsored by Allergan; Independence Care System (ICS); Coloplast; and Hollister.
For more information, please visit http://www.unitedspinal.org/events/from-within-conference/ or call Marlene Perkins at 800-404-2898 ext. 7330.
 As part of our upcoming Roll on Capitol Hill event in Washington, DC on June 25-26, United Spinal Association is urging policymakers to support a separate benefit category for complex rehab technology proposed in the Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2012 introduced by Rep. Joe Crowley, D-7th NY.
Complex rehab technology (CRT) refers to products and services, including medically necessary individually configured manual and power wheelchair systems, adaptive seating systems, alternative positioning systems, and other mobility devices that require evaluation, fitting, design, adjustment and programming. Such technology is designed to meet the specific and unique medical and functional needs of an individual with primary diagnoses resulting from a congenital disorder, progressive or degenerative neuromuscular disease, or from an injury or trauma.
The U.S. Congress has acknowledged that complex rehab power wheelchairs are unique and more specialized than standard durable medical equipment (DME) and should be treated differently. In 2008, it passed legislation exempting these products from inclusion in Medicare’s new Durable Medical Equipment (DME) competitive acquisition program recognizing that such inclusion would jeopardize access to this customized technology for individuals with disabilities for whom it is medically necessary. However, a separate CRT benefit structure was not established at that time. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recognized the unique nature of other customized products and services and has created a separate and distinct classification for Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P), i.e. custom braces and artificial limbs.
CRT is unique and differs significantly from standard DME in the following ways:
• CRT is used by individuals with disabilities who have medical conditions significantly different from those experienced by the traditional elderly population in Medicare. This population tends to qualify for Medicare based on their disability and not their age and consists of individuals diagnosed with such disorders as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and Spina Bifida.
• CRT requires a broader range of services and specialized personnel than those required for standard DME. CRT is provided by way of an interdisciplinary team consisting of, at minimum, a Physician, a Physical Therapist or Occupational Therapist, and a Rehab Technology Professional (RTP) –certified by the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA)–referred to as the CRT Team. Devices in this category require a technology assessment completed by a certified RTP employed by a CRT Company.
• Many of the products require a physical evaluation, a technology assessment, measuring, fitting, simulations and trials, a mixing and matching of products from different manufacturers, significant training and education, and refitting and ongoing additional modifications.
• The Medicare program has established quality standards that all DME companies must meet to qualify for the Medicare program. CMS has included additional and more rigorous quality standards with which CRT companies must comply.
Medicare currently does not have unique coverage for the more complex needs of individuals with disabilities and chronic medical conditions that require customized products and services that are medically necessary. We believe the creation of a separate benefit will actually result in decreased Medicare expenditures by averting hospitalizations due to such conditions as severe pressure sores and blood clots. In the interest of quality healthcare and optimal functionality for individuals with disabilities, a new Medicare benefit category is warranted.
Roll on Capitol Hill is United Spinal Association’s annual legislative advocacy event that addresses issues that will directly impact the health, independence and quality of life of individuals living with spinal cord injury or disease.
For more information on Roll on Capitol Hill, please submit your inquiries here.
Further Reading:
Tobin Calls For Wheelchair Consumers to Demand Access to Technology Critical to Independence
Disability rights activists accused the city of treating them as “second class citizens” at the unveiling of an accessible taxi they say is being downplayed by Mayor Bloomberg’s administration.
At an invitation-only event Thursday — a far cry from the media circus that surrounded the unveiling of the non-accessible NV200 taxi last month – the Taxi and Limousine Commission quietly presented plans for the accessible “Taxi of Tomorrow” Thursday.
It left wheelchair users underwhelmed — and angry.
About 20 or 30 advocates were invited to Lighthouse International, on East 59th Street, to hear Nissan and the Braun Corporation, which will be responsible for rendering an accessible version of the NV200, give a presentation highlighting some of its features.
Members of the press were not allowed to attend.
By contrast, the non-accessible “Taxi of Tomorrow” was welcomed to the city with a speech by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a crowd of hundreds who noshed on hors d’oeuvres and sipped free cocktails.
Last year, a model of the non-accessible NV200 was put on display near Madison Square Park for several days, allowing members of the public to crawl inside the mock-up and poke around.
“It’s consistent with the mayor’s position that people with disabilities are second-class citizens,” said Paul Tobin, a wheelchair user and the president and CEO of the United Spinal Association, as he left the meeting on Thursday.
“There’s a lot of effort being made to keep us out of this.”
Read the full story at DNAinfo.com.
United Spinal Association will be attending this weekend’s New York Metro Abilities Expo (May 4-6) at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison.
Our membership division NSCIA, will be sponsoring the ‘Events Area’ and you’ll have an opportunity to hook up with members from our NYC Chapter to learn about great resources in the Tri-state area. It’s all about meeting new friends and discovering life-enhancing outlets to share your abilities.
Take some time to talk to the friendly travel agents from our Able to Travel program. They are the best in the business in arranging business and leisure trips for travelers with disabilities, including wheelchair users. If you have had issues booking flights and cruises in the past, they’ll definitely be able to help you out.
Mary Peterson, CTC, Accessible Travel Consultant for ABLE to Travel, will also be hosting a highly informative workshop on ‘Planning Accessible Travel’ on Saturday, from 1:15 to 2:15pm. She has many years of experience problem-solving all types of obstacles people with disabilities face when traveling. Mary’s workshop will focus on the Air Carrier Access, the 2010 ADA Standards that have mandated increased accessibility to hotels and other travel destinations, tips for travelers, maneuvering through airport security and the mandates from TSA, and cruises (one of the most accessible ways to travel).
United Spinal’s newest program, UsersFirst, will be taking time to listen to the mobility stories of attendees at their always-colorful and energetic booth. It’s a great stop on the exhibit floor to share your thoughts on your mobility and independence–whether they are good or bad! The mission of UsersFirst is to empower and amplify the voice of consumers with disabilities and maximize our independence in the community. So events like the Abilities Expo are perfect gatherings to not only discuss the issues we encounter, but work toward solutions together.
Ann Eubank, LMSW, OTR/L, ATP Executive Director, UsersFirst will host the workshop ‘Push for More! Getting the Wheelchair that Works for You’ on Saturday from 12-1pm. This interactive seminar will offer strategies and resources to help navigate this process. Subjects including: finding the most appropriate doctor, how to work with your local equipment supplier, what to do if you are denied the equipment you want, locating resources specific to your needs and consumer rights will be discussed. The seminar will include video and on-line access to resource sites.
If you’ll be attending, our members and staff look forward to meeting you!
 When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is under attack, so are the civil rights of wheelchair users and people with disabilities across the country.
It’s time we speak out and let our Representatives know that we won’t tolerate it!
As early as Tuesday, May 8, Representatives will be considering the passage of legislation that would prohibit the Department of Justice from enforcing a new requirement under the ADA for public and commercial facilities to provide a permanent means of access to pools and spas for people with disabilities.
This provision–under The Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill–was added by Representative John Carter (R-TX), member of the House Committee on Appropriations, on April 26.
Please oppose other legislation that would also weaken these ADA rules: H.R. 4200–“To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990” and H.R. 4256–the Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone (Pool SAFE) Act.
How You Can Help
Contact your Representatives in their Home Districts. Tell them to protect the ADA and your civil rights.
Click here to take action.
Current regulations under the ADA require existing facilities to satisfy accessibility standards that are easily accomplished and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. If it is too expensive and not considered easy to install a fixed pool lift in an existing pool, then a portable lift may be all a facility would be required to provide.
These regulations were slated to go into effect 22 years after the ADA was passed. No more delays, no more weakening of the ADA. It is not acceptable for Congress to backtrack on ADA requirements. Today it’s the hotel industry. What changes impacting your civil rights will come next? Let’s join together and stop this now.
That “Taxi of Tomorrow” that Mayor Bloomberg so happily showed off last month may not be hitting the streets as fast as Nissan and the TLC might hope. In the latest blow to the handicap inaccessible vehicle, thorn in Bloomberg’s side Comptroller John Liu has written to the mayor making a strong argument that the city needs to rethink the contract or prepare to have it sent back by his office.
“The new contract for taxis presents us with a historic opportunity to right a wrong that New Yorkers with disabilities have been fighting to achieve for nearly two decades,” Liu said in a statement regarding the letter. “Requiring cabs to have independent passenger climate controls is nice, but when you fail to make them accessible to a growing number of New Yorkers, it’s not just a slap in the face, it’s illegal. We will send back any plan that does not uphold the civil rights demanded by the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Read the full story at Gothamist.
New York’s Taxi of Tomorrow, said to be a big step up from the Crown Vic fleet circulating the city, might be so yesterday.
That’s because embattled mayoral candidate/ Comptroller John Liu, who has become very vocal on a variety of issues as his campaign progresses, will not ink the agreement unless the cabs are wheelchair accessible. Other local pols have banded behind him.
Read the full story at The Village Voice.
United Spinal Association’s president Paul J. Tobin and general counsel Jim Weisman participated in a press conference on May 2 hosted by New York City Comptroller John C. Liu calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to modify the proposed “Taxi of Tomorrow” agreement before sending the contract to the Comptroller’s Office for approval as required by the City Charter. Liu vowed to reject the agreement, until New York’s entire taxi fleet follows in the footsteps of cities like London and makes all cabs wheelchair accessible.
 United Spinal's general counsel Jim Weisman takes the podium to discuss how NYC's "Taxi of Tomorrow" violates the civil rights of wheelchair users. In December 2011, a federal court ruled that the City, through its Taxi and Limousine Commission, was in violation of the ADA. The City’s proposal for a separate dispatch system for passengers using wheelchairs fails to address the underlying problem — there are not enough wheelchair accessible taxis in New York City. Only 231 of the City’s 13,000 yellow cabs, less than 2 percent, are wheelchair accessible.
“Denying access to the yellow cab system and creating a separate system for them would be described as ‘Jim Crow’ if it were done to blacks. In fact, no one would tolerate this denial of civil rights if it was directed at any other minority group,” Weisman stated.
In April 2012, Mayor Michael Bloomberg rolled out New York City’s new “Taxi of Tomorrow”–Nissan’s NV200. Despite all the bells and whistles touted by the City, accessibility is not one of the key features of this cab.
United Spinal Association and other disability advocates believe this is a slap in the face, not only to all New Yorkers who use wheelchairs, but the entire disability community. It is an insult to all of us and the court decision that required meaningful access we had fought hard to secure. Without a fully accessible taxi fleet, people with disabilities will continue to be restricted access to the Big Apple and all it has to offer.
 Paul J. Tobin (left) with NYC Comptroller John Liu. Tobin added, “Today, more than 22 years after the ADA and after 10 years of war, the City of New York is consciously attempting to discriminate against wheelchair users, including disabled veterans. It is unconscionable and we applaud Comptroller Liu for not only doing what is legal, but what is right.”
“The new contract for taxis presents us with a historic opportunity to right a wrong that New Yorkers with disabilities have been fighting to achieve for nearly two decades,” Comptroller Liu said. “Requiring cabs to have independent passenger climate controls is nice, but when you fail to make them accessible to a growing number of New Yorkers, it’s not just a slap in the face, it’s illegal. We will send back any plan that does not uphold the civil rights demanded by the Americans with Disabilities Act,” he explained.
“Every new taxi in London has been accessible to wheelchair using Londoners and tourists since 1989. If all new yellow cabs were accessible to people with wheelchairs and scooters demand for MTA’s $500 million per year, advanced reservation, Access a Ride system would be greatly reduced as riders chose taxis and traveled spontaneously. Moreover, MTA could use the private sector accessible taxis for Access a Ride, a cheaper alternative than their $60 per ride system,” Weisman said.
“The Nissan NV 200 is a van and, as such, is required to be accessible when used as a taxi according to the US Dept. of Transportation Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. The Mayor and Taxi and Limousine Commissioner have chosen to deny access to new taxis to wheelchair users and require only some to be accessible. They would force wheelchair users to depend on a dispatch system instead of being able to hail any cab like all other New Yorkers and visitors,” Weisman concluded.
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