June 22nd marked the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead v. L.C. decision recognizing the right of plaintiffs Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson and people with disabilities of all ages to live, work, and participate in their communities. As we celebrate the Olmstead decision’s ongoing success in helping thousands of people stay in or return to their communities, we also recommit to fighting to end discrimination and make sure this right is realized. The right to community living is degraded by persistent underfunding and bias in federal Medicaid law that prioritizes institutional care over home and community-based services (HCBS) creating significant gaps, inconsistencies, and inequities in HCBS across states. This leads to older adults and people with disabilities living in nursing facilities and other institutions when they do not need to be. Justice in Aging is advocating to fulfill Olmstead’s promise and advance equity and high-quality HCBS: - We are calling on Congress to dedicate funding to HCBS for investments in the workforce and infrastructure and to pass the HCBS Access Act to end the institutional bias and enable all people with Medicaid, regardless of age, race, disability, or location, to live at home and remain connected to their communities.
- We helped secure a landmark cross-disability Settlement Agreement in Marsters v. Healey, a disability rights class action lawsuit that will allow thousands of Massachusetts residents to return to the community and live in new homes with culturally and linguistically appropriate services. In the words of Regan Bailey, Justice in Aging’s Litigation Director, “This is what the Supreme Court’s landmark 1999 Olmstead decision looks like when brought to bear for nursing facility residents.”
- We created a resource to help advocates encourage their states to allow provisional service plans, which were first authorized after Olmstead, to facilitate timely access to HCBS.
- We helped stop a proposal to eliminate the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program for immigrants in California who do not have status in the state’s budget.
- Our HCBS Equity Framework supports policymakers, payers, providers, advocates, and consumers in making equity a primary focus at every stage of HCBS program design and implementation.
Learn more about Justice in Aging's latest advocacy and resources on HCBS. | |
Resources Check out these Olmstead Anniversary events and listen to people with disabilities, advocates, and policymakers share what the Olmstead decision means to them. | |
