October 2022 Advocacy Update

 
 

From United Spinal National

Congressional Briefing on Seat Elevation and Standing Systems – 9/14

Thanks to Ali Ingersoll, Kent Keyser, Jim Meade and Stephanie Woodward for doing a great job speaking to Congressional offices at the 9/14 Congressional Briefing of the dire need of Medicare coverage of both seat elevation and standing systems embedded in power wheelchairs for individuals living with paralysis and mobility disabilities. And thanks to all of you who submitted comments on this request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by the 9/14 deadline.

Senator Duckworth (D-IL) and Representative Dan Meuser (R-PA) spoke at the Congressional briefing in support of Medicare coverage for both of these features.

For more information, click here.

HHS Announces Proposed Rule to Strengthen Nondiscrimination in Health Care

In July, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a proposed rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)(Section 1557) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in certain health programs and activities. This proposed rule restores and strengthens civil rights protections for patients and consumers in certain federally funded health programs and HHS programs after the 2020 version of the rule limited its scope and power to cover fewer programs and services. Comments are due October 3. United Spinal will be submitting comments. Click here for more information.

Advocacy live join us! Collaborate with other advocates. October 18, 1 PM ET, November 15, 5 PM ET, December 20, 1 PM ET background photo two wheelchair users talking to each other

Advocacy LIVE
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 1:00pm ET

Pre-register for the Advocacy LIVE event on October 18, 1:00PM ET at:
https://unitedspinal.org/events/advocacy-live-at-1pm/

Pre-register for the Advocacy LIVE event on November 15, 5:00PM ET at:
https://unitedspinal.org/events/advocacy-live-at-5pm/

Working Groups Call for Participation

The Advocacy and Policy team is creating three different working groups, and we need your participation in order to help drive change! Please read about each working group below, and if you or your members would like to take part in any of these working groups, please contact United Spinal’s Director of Advocacy and Policy, Steve Lieberman, slieberman@unitedspinal.org or Grassroots Advocacy Manager, Annie Streit, astreit@unitedspinal.org.  

  • Accessible Parking Working Group - This working group will come together to advocate for improvement in accessible parking and increase awareness and education regarding common barriers to parking encountered by the disability community and accessible parking laws and regulations throughout the United States.

  • Outdoor Access Working Group - This working group, aimed at advocates with outdoor access and recreation experience, will come together to advocate against current constraints that hinder the disability community from participating in outdoor activities, while also raising awareness on the importance of inclusivity and equality for access to outdoor recreation.

  • Emergency Preparedness Working Group (Ready to Roll Emergency Preparedness) - This working group will focus on emergency preparedness for the SCI/D and wheelchair user community after a natural or manmade disaster, in an effort to help better prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters.