Assembly Representative Mark Born-R, Beaver Dam, has introduced a motion that would take the changes to Family Care, IRIS and Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) out of the 2015-17 Biennial Budget. Now other legislators need to join Representative Born to make this happen! The motion is not final but is under consideration in the legislature. Representative Born and other legislators have concerns about the lack of details in the current budget proposal and are asking for more research and input from stakeholders to understand how these major changes to long-term care programs will affect people with disabilities, the elderly, their families and the state.

 

As the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee makes final decisions about what stays in or comes out of the budget, they need to hear that people with disabilities, the elderly, family members and communities want these changes removed from the budget NOW! The current proposal to turn Family Care into a statewide for-profit insurance plan, to eliminate IRIS and to dismantle ADRCs have caused great concern statewide. There are still many unanswered questions.

 

Here are the 4 Action Steps YOU Can Take:

 

1.     Call or write your legislator and say: “Will you support the budget motion authored by Representative Mark Born to take the significant changes to our state’s long-term care system out of the budget? I am very concerned about the changes to Family Care, IRIS and ADRCs for these reasons (tell your story). I think these changes need to come out of the budget now so that stakeholders can provide input and that the state can better understand all the impacts. Bottom line: we need many more details and answers to our questions.”

 

2.    Ask your legislator to confirm with you that they will publicly support the Born motion and will contact the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee to ask them to pull the changes to Family Care, IRIS and Aging and Disability Resource Centers out of the budget.

 

3.    Share the Born motion with your legislator and people in your community. Ask people you know to contact their legislators as well. The motion is attached and linked here: http://www.disabilityrightswi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Born-Motion.pdf

 

4.    Share with your legislators this list of questions that still need to be answered: http://goo.gl/qA50Pi Ask your legislator if they will help you get answers to your questions.

 

Don’t Know Who Your Legislator is?

·       Go here and type your address under “Find My Legislators”:  http://legis.wisconsin.gov/

·       Or call this toll-free number: 1-800-362-9472

 

 

Lisa Pugh, Public Policy Director
Coordinator, Wisconsin Disability Policy Partnership

 

DISABILITY RIGHTS WISCONSIN
131 W. Wilson St.

Suite 700

Madison, WI  53703

608-267-0214

608-267-0368 (fax)

lisa.pugh@drwi.org

Twitter: @WisDisPolicy https://twitter.com/#!/WisDisPolicy