NCD Bulletin
A Monthly Publication of the National Council on Disability (NCD)

Marca Bristo, Chairperson
September 1998

The Bulletin, which is free of charge, and at NCD’s award-winning Web site (http://www.ncd.gov), brings you the latest issues and news affecting people with disabilities. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the NCD listserv, send a blank e-mail to add-bulletin@list.ncd.gov or remove-bulletin@list.ncd.gov. No need to write anything in the subject line or body. Please send your editorial comments to Bulletin editor Mark S. Quigley (mquigley@ncd.gov).

ADA Over-the-Road Bus Update

NCD representatives participated in the September 24 announcement of new regulations from the Department of Transportation (DOT) that will allow passengers with disabilities to use over-the-road buses and that will require bus lines such as Greyhound to purchase only accessible buses after the effective date of the rule and to be completely accessible by 2012. The action by DOT fulfills a key element of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. NCD commends DOT Secretary Rodney E. Slater for issuing this regulation that will finally allow people with disabilities to take an accessible bus from one city to another, helping them live independently and participate fully in their communities. NCD Youth Leadership Development Conference participants Tracee Garner of Sterling, Virginia, and Melissa Santos of Chicago, Illinois, also attended this event. Their remarks may be obtained from NCD's web site.

President Clinton Announces New Medicaid Regulation

During a speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on September 17, President Clinton announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has completed a new regulation that would give more than 20 million Medicaid beneficiaries in managed care plans the patient protections they deserve. The new regulation would bring the Medicaid program into compliance with the Patients' Bill of Rights. This proposed regulation would require managed care plans in all 50 states to provide needed patient protections to Medicaid beneficiaries, including access to specialists; anti-gag rules to ensure that health professionals can discuss all medical treatment options with their patients; access to providers for women's health services; access to emergency room services when and where the need arises; disclosure of clear, up-to-date information about benefits, plan operations, and protections; and a timely internal appeals process as well as an independent external appeals process.

Return-to-Work

On September 18, Vice President Al Gore announced that the Social Security Administration will award grants initially totaling $4.4 million to nine states to develop innovative projects to assist adults with disabilities in their efforts to reenter the work force. These competitive grants are the first of a five-year, $25 million program designed to provide coordinated approaches to increase work opportunities for people with disabilities. The grants are the first under an Executive Order signed on March 13, 1998, by President Clinton that created the President's Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.

The Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1998 (S. 1858) continues to be the subject of intense negotiation between its principal sponsors and the leaders of the Senate Committee on Finance. The bill, which is a substitute for the House-passed H.R. 3433, is sponsored by Senators James M. Jeffords (R-VT) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and would provide incentives to people with disabilities to become economically self-sufficient. Today, 7.5 million Americans with disabilities depend on Social Security assistance. The cost to taxpayers is $73 billion annually and will continue to increase at 6 percent yearly. Social Security disability payments are the fourth largest entitlement expenditure by the Federal Government.

International Update

The United Nations Disability Program recently announced its accessible web page for persons with disabilities (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/disabled). Among other things, the site contains copies of the World Programme of Action, the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, and information on the special rapporteur on disability of the Commission for Social Development.

NCD representatives met with Ambassador Victor Marrero, U.S. permanent representative to the Organization of American States, at the Department of State to discuss the Draft Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination by Reason of Disability. Ambassador Marrero was very supportive and requested that NCD analyze the current draft and make recommendations for changes.

NCD to Hold Third Annual Youth Leadership Development Conference

NCD has begun plans for its third annual Youth Leadership Development Conference. The conference, cosponsored by NCD and the Social Security Administration, will be held June 23-26, 1999, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia. For information, contact Kathleen Blank at kblank@ncd.gov or 202-272-2004.

New Miss America Celebrates Victory and Pledges More Diabetes Awareness

On September 19, Nicole Johnson of Roanoke, Virginia, was crowned Miss America 1999. Ms. Johnson, the second person with a disability to win the pageant, is a severe diabetic who wears an insulin pump to supply her with insulin 24 hours a day. She pledged to speak out on diabetes "for the 16 million people who have diabetes and the millions who will find out they have it in the future."

NCD Announces New YOUTH/FAMILY

NCD is pleased to announce its new Youth/Parent Information Page as part of its web site (http://www.ncd.gov). This page contains information and resources for children, youth, and parents.