Testimony presented by: Jerry Silbert, former chair, Governmental Affairs Committee
Presented to: Joint Committee on Elder Affairs
Date: June 13, 2005
Subject: Olmstead / Long-term care / Money follows the person

Dear Members of the Committee:

Thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of The Arc of Massachusetts. I am Jerry Silbert, former chair of The Arc’s Government Affairs Committee. We advocate on behalf of 120,000 individuals with disabilities and their families. I am here formally as an organization representative, but I am also a parent who has learned much about the governmental process since learning of my son’s disability.

We urge you to pass:

S.434, AN ACT REGARDING CHOICE OF LONG TERM CARE SETTING;
S.435, AN ACT REGARDING NURSING HOME RELOCATIONS; and  
H. 2898, AN ACT REGARDING CHOICE OF LONG TERM CARE SETTING.

These bills are consistent with our Olmstead policy and the need to have financing mechanisms that promote home and community options. Adults with disabilities who become elderly lose access to services because they no longer are eligible for certain programs. Of course, elders who become disabled in their senior years are similarly discrminated against. Instead we reward institutional options as the only ones with significant funding attached.  By supporting this legislation, you are taking the first step in having “money follow the person,” a goal advocated by Senator Tom Harkin on the federal level. 

Please vote yes on these three bills.

Thank you.