Community care is a right

The truth can often be quite harsh. More than 70 percent of Americans over the age of 65 will need long-term care services at some point in their lives, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If that doesn't open eyes, consider the following HHS statistic: Anyone reaching the age of 65 has a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home, with a 20 percent chance of staying there for at least five years.

In many instances, Iowans with a brain injury or a developmental disability are forced to go into a nursing home facility because there has not been enough state funding allocated for home- and community-based services.

Services in a community-based setting vs. an institution have been identified as a right for all Iowans with disabilities. The 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C., ruled that states must provide care and treatment to those with disabilities in the most dignified setting - the community. Olmstead's central holding is that states are prohibited from unnecessarily institutionalizing people with disabilities and from failing to serve them in the most integrated setting. What makes these services even better is they are the least costly option. The law of the land demands that more affordable, more appropriate and more acceptable community services must be an option.

Unfortunately, Iowa seems to ignore this law. The need for services in the community is far greater than the allocated funding and a seemingly insurmountable, and unreasonable, waiting list has been established by the state for such services. More than 7,000 Iowans with disabilities are without services because we have not adequately invested as a state in these Iowans with brain injury, physical and other disabilities, and children with mental health disabilities. Most are waiting more than two years for a 'slot” to become open. This number is growing daily.

We need to act prudently this year to get services to these individuals before the fiscal year ends. The Legislature should approve an appropriation of $8 million to buy down the waiting list and begin to treat these individuals with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Unfortunately, this amount will not eliminate the waiting list entirely and an additional appropriation will be needed in the next fiscal year so that all who are eligible can access care.

In Iowa we have a long history of caring for our neighbors in need. We are, at best, only temporarily able bodied. Disability can strike any of us, at any time, through no fault of our own, and we cannot turn a blind eye to those who need assistance.

Those of us who advocate with and for Iowans with disabilities call on our legislature and governor to understand the reality of funding needs. We call on them to respect the civil rights of those most vulnerable and to follow the law of the land.

Make buying down the Home and Community Based Services Waiver waiting lists a priority in 2014 and beyond.

l Geoff Lauer is executive director of the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa and chair of the Olmstead Task Force. Comments: glauer@biaia.org or 319-621-7078.