November 2024 Advocacy Update

Elections are Right Around the Corner!

Your right to vote is protected by a number of federal laws, including the ADA. Each state’s laws on voting differ, but every state must offer accessibility accommodations to voters with disabilities. These can include: service animal support, bringing another person to assist with filling out a ballot, accessible parking spaces, and/or voting at a wheelchair accessible polling location or through curbside voting. Contact your state or local election office to confirm that your polling location is accessible to you.

There’s still time to vote! There are three ways that you can still vote in Massachusetts:

  1. You can vote by mail by bringing your ballot to a drop box, or by returning it in person to your local election office.

  2. You can vote by Accessible Electronic Vote by Mail, if you applied by Oct. 29th

  3. You can vote in person between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on November 5th at your polling location.

Ryan, our Digital Media Coordinator and power wheelchair user, takes advantage of early voting with his service dog.

In Massachusetts, parking, passenger drop-off, sidewalks, entrances, and the voting area of all polling locations must be accessible to people with disabilities. Each polling location must have at least one accessible voting machine called an AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal. The AutoMARK has a touchscreen and can be equipped with a sip and puff tube or headphones for an audio screen reader. Learn more about voting in Massachusetts with a disability. 

Having issues at the polls? The Disability Law Center will have a hotline open on Election Day for voters who are having problems voting anywhere in Massachusetts. 617-723-8455 (2024#) or 800-872-9992 (2024#). The Disability Law Center would also like to know if you have encountered barriers to voting at a polling location, and if so, please fill out this survey. You can also file a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office, Elections Division, at 1-800-462-VOTE (8683). 

Related News: As Mass. Tests Its Aging Devices for Voters with Disabilities, Advocates Stress Their Critical Role and Justice Department Sues Wisconsin Townships to Ensure Accessible Voting and Justice Department Secures Landmark Agreement with Los Angeles County to Increase Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities

Wheelchair Repair:

At the beginning of October, MassHealth adopted emergent regulations around durable medical equipment repair (such as wheelchairs). These regulatory changes include the following:

  • All repairs completed within 12 calendar days will come with an add-on payment of $1000.

  • 80% of that additional payment must be reinvested into improving the rate of repairs

    • For example, this could be invested into hiring more repair technicians, replenishing a stockpile of parts that regularly break down, or expanding operating hours

  • Preventative maintenance repairs that require a trained technician are now covered by MassHealth. These repairs are not eligible for the add-on payment of $1000. 

  • In order to receive these additional payments, providers must comply with reporting requirements such as: tracking how long each repair takes, how many repairs are completed each quarter, and how the funds are being reinvested.

On October 21st, MassHealth held public hearings on the new regulations. This opportunity allowed the community to provide constructive feedback on the changes, which included appreciation for MassHealth addressing the issue, concerns that the new regulations may not effectively reduce wheelchair repair wait times, and suggestions for strengthening the regulations. Read more here.

Transportation:

Local: The MBTA has begun testing their hands free faregate technology. Riders who opt to go hands free will receive a special Charlie card that will allow them to pass through accessible faregates without stopping to tap their card. The MBTA will be the first transit system in the world to offer this feature. There will be one pilot gate installed by the end of the year, and nine more gates installed by the end of 2025.

Don’t forget to sign up for the new low-income fare program! MBTA riders who receive MassHealth Standard, MassHealth Limited, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), among a few other state assistance programs, should apply. Reduced fares will also be applicable to certain RIDE trips, the commuter rail and ferry. Applications can be filled out online, or in person.

National: The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined American Airlines $50 million for unsafe physical assistance of passengers with disabilities and the mishandling of wheelchairs resulting in damage. This fine is 25 times larger than the next largest airline penalty addressing violations of disability protections. According to the U.S. DOT, they have active investigations ongoing into other airline companies. 

If you have experienced treatment by an airline that violates the Air Carrier Access Act, please file a complaint with the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The U.S. DOT needs these complaints in order to investigate violations, enforce the regulations, and hold airlines accountable. If you’re unsure of your rights while flying, read the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights.

Travel:

Traveling with a wheelchair can pose some unique challenges. This is why Permobil has put together some checklists and guides on how to safely travel with your wheelchair. They also offer a downloadable travel tag for your chair. The United Spinal Association Care Support Work Group has provided resources for creating a care support plan while traveling. 

Housing:

Looking for accessible, affordable housing? The Metrolist is a list of units currently available to rent or for sale in the Greater Boston area. You can search by location, accessibility, number of bedrooms, amenities, income eligibility, and application type. The Massachusetts Housing Navigator is a list of affordable rental housing across the state. You can search by location, accessibility, number of bedrooms, amenities, age eligibility, availability, and affordability.

PCA/Caregivers:

The Kessler Foundation has developed a free course to train PCA’s on caring for people with spinal cord injuries, in partnership with rehab centers, disability organizations, and community members. The course contains lessons on the basics of physical functions affected by SCI, personal and social challenges created by SCI, common misunderstandings about SCI, and complications of SCI. Most of the material is offered in a video format. The course takes approximately two hours to complete, but does not need to be completed all at once. Click here to enroll.

Events*:

*(all events are free unless otherwise noted)

National Council on Disability Meeting:

Thursday, November 7th, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, on Zoom

Register here. 

Join the National Council on Disability (NCD) for their quarterly meeting. The meeting will include Council reports and policy updates; a presentation on NCD’s accessible ground transportation and people with mobility disabilities project; a disability data presentation; public comment on voting accessibility experiences in the 2024 General Election; and more. CART and ASL will be provided.

U.S. Access Board Webinar: Spa Resorts – An Experience for Everyone:

Thursday, November 7th, from 2:30 – 4:00 pm, on Zoom

Register here. 

Ever wanted to pamper yourself, but weren’t sure about the accessibility? Join the U.S. Access Board for an informative webinar on the accessibility requirements of spa resorts, as laid out by the ADA and ABA standards. They will cover locker rooms, saunas, soaking tubs, pools, fitness equipment, and manicure/pedicure stations. Video remote interpreting and real-time captioning will be provided. Continuing education credits are available.

Tech Access: Exclusive Product Updates for Wheelchair Users

November 12th, from 3:00-5:00 pm

Register here. 

Join the United Spinal Association for their final StrongWheeled Together event being held this fall. Learn more about the most recent updates to technology that will expand accessibility, such as eye gaze tracking and voice and movement commands. 

Disability in Employment Virtual Workshops:

Deciding to Disclose:

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024 from 9:30-10:30 am

Register here.

Reasonable Accommodations in Employment: 

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024 from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Register here.

Disability Discrimination in Employment: 

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024 from 2:30 - 4:00 pm

Register here.

The Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) offers a Client Assistance Program (CAP) that hosts a series of workshops on Employment throughout the year over zoom. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages to disclosing your disability, how to request reasonable accommodations, and how to identify employment discrimination.

ACL Webinar: Aging With and Into Disability

Thursday, November 14th, 2024 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm, ET, on Zoom

Register here.  

Join the Administration on Community Living (ACL), the State of California Community Access Division, the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services and the Marin Center for Independent Living for a webinar on the benefit of collaboration between aging and disability networks in supporting people that are aging with and into disabilities. ASL and CART will be provided. 

United Spinal Association’s Advocacy LIVE:

Tuesday, November 19th, 2024 from 5:00-6:00 pm, on Zoom.

Please register here to attend.

Interested in grassroots advocacy? The United Spinal Association holds a monthly meeting for advocates to collaborate with advocates from across the United States on Federal, state, and local issues affecting the disability community. Top priorities include wheelchair repair, air travel, SSI asset limits, parking, emergency preparedness, care support, and housing. Advocacy LIVE meetings are held monthly on the third Tuesday, alternating each month from 1-2 PM and 5-6 PM. 

Interested in specific issues? Join one of United Spinal’s working groups! Groups include: outdoor access, accessible parking, accessible transportation, emergency preparedness, and care support. Complete this form to join any of the groups.

November RTAG General Meeting:

Thursday, November 21st, 2024 from 5:30-7:30 pm, on Zoom

Registration to be announced. 

Riders’ Transportation Access Group (RTAG) is committed to improving the accessibility standards of transportation for people with disabilities and older people. The right to use public transportation is “a fundamental component to inclusion in our community”. Join the monthly general meeting to discuss with the MBTA, Department of System-Wide Accessibility and The RIDE. American Sign Language will be provided for this meeting. Other accommodations available upon request.

Reeve Foundation: Regional Champions Webinar

Thursday, November 21st, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm, on Zoom

Register here. 

Join the Reeve Foundation for updates from their Public Policy and Advocacy Team on legislation, coalition efforts, and grassroots advocacy initiatives. The Regional Champions Webinar occurs every quarter. Live captioning and ASL interpretation will be available.  

Reeve Foundation Webinar: Nurse Linda

Wednesday, November 27th, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm, on Zoom

Register here. 

Nurse Linda has over three decades of experience in rehabilitation nursing and offers a monthly webinar for you to ask SCI-related healthcare questions. Live captioning and ASL interpretation will be available. Past webinars can be found here.

Input Opportunities:

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations:

The U.S. Access Board wants input on a proposed rule for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. This rule would amend accessibility guidelines to include EV charging stations. The EV charger, charging space, access aisles, and accessible routes to the EV charging stations would be addressed. Click here for more information, including how to comment. Please comment by November 4th.

Free at-home COVID-19 Tests:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the United States Postal Service has begun a new program offering free COVID-19 tests. Each order will include four tests that will detect the current COVID-19 variants.

One of the available test options is the Orasure InteliSwab test, which is more accessible for people with low manual dexterity. For more information on the features that make the InteliSwab test more accessible, please visit, ACL.gov/AccessibleTests. Order accessible tests here. Order standard tests here. 

From United Spinal Association:

Take Action:Support Home and Community Based Care Workers. Reform wheelchair service and repair. Create a pilot program that would help the length of rehabilitation stays. Ask CMS to change the “in the home” language. Tell DOT to Finish the Job on Safe Air Travel. End segregated subminimum wage!

Policy Survey: Bring your most important issues to United Spinal—they’re here to help. Let them know how they can focus on what’s important to you by taking this brief policy survey.

Advocacy 101: Interested in expanding your advocacy knowledge? Head over to United Spinal Association’s website to take their first module: Why Advocacy?. You’ll learn a history of disability related advocacy, important definitions, and ways to be a more successful advocate. Click here to take the course. It will take 45 minutes or less to complete. 

Emergency Preparedness: What Can Wheelchair Users Do in An Emergency Evacuation?

Health Equity: United Spinal has compiled a list of resources to help you receive the healthcare you deserve!

From the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation:

Self-Advocacy Series: This is a seven-part video series on disability rights and self-advocacy. Explore disability history and learn about Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and pick up tips on navigating healthcare, employment, housing, transportation, and education. Watch the series here. 

Advocate with the Reeve Foundation! Sign up here!

Boston:

Did you know? Boston has a number of restrooms open to the public. Sometimes they can be difficult to find. Click here for a map of all of the public restrooms available in the city.

The Boston Disability Commission offers a number of programs, including how to apply for an accessible parking spot, requests for a curb ramp installation or repair, and additional information on housing, transportation and employment. Check out their Youtube for webinars on a variety of topics. The most recent was on finding affordable, accessible housing in Boston.

How to Navigate Insurance after Life-Changing Injury & Illness:

Spaulding hosts a yearly webinar to provide information and education.This year’s webinar covered the insurance maze. Learn the difference between commercial, Federal (i.e. Medicare), State (i.e. Medicaid), and long-term plans, as well as tips and tricks to get the most out of your insurance purchase. This webinar information is not specific to Massachusetts. Watch the recording, as well as last year’s recording on community organizations, here. 

Federal Bills on Our Radar:

The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act:

H.R. 5408/S.2767: SSI asset limits have not changed since 1989, leaving many struggling to make ends meet. This bill would raise the asset limit from $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, to $10,000 and $20,000 respectively. The asset limit would also annually adjust for inflation. It is currently in the House committee on Ways and Means and the Senate committee on Finance. You can contact your legislators through congress.gov to let them know what you think of this bill. The House and Senate links are here. If you are in favor of this bill, United Spinal has a pre-written email that you can sign your name to and send to your legislator.

The Choices for Increased Mobility Act:

This bill, H.R. 5371, would allow Medicare beneficiaries to obtain access to titanium and carbon fiber wheelchair frames, by allowing them to upgrade their wheelchairs at their own cost. Currently, Medicare beneficiaries are not allowed to upgrade their wheelchairs to a titanium frame, and many commercial plans (which often mirror these coverage policies) have followed suit. Titanium and Carbon fiber frames offer a freedom of mobility and reduction of secondary health concerns that other frames do not, due to being extremely lightweight. This bill has been reported favorably by the federal House Energy and Commerce committee and is being reviewed by the House Ways and Means. Feedback is also being accepted on this bill at congress.gov. Click here. 

The VITAL Act:

H.R.8380, or the Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act aims to increase the number of affordable accessible housing units in the nation. It would increase funding for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, increase funding for developers who build units that are accessible to people with disabilities and in locations that are connected with their community, and require that at least 40 percent of the units constructed under LIHTC are adaptable/accessible for people with disabilities. Read the fact sheet here.