[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON ACT OF 2005

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, yesterday I introduced the Money Follows 
the Person Act of 2005, along with Senator Harkin.
  My job as a Senator is to help protect and defend the freedoms of all 
Americans. One of the most important freedoms we enjoy is the freedom 
to choose where we live. For example, many people overlook the 
importance of being able to choose to live among family and friends and 
not among strangers.
  All too often this basic freedom is denied to older Americans and 
Americans with disabilities. Currently, we are unnecessarily isolating 
people with disabilities from their communities, friends, families and 
loved ones by placing them in institutional care facilities. Many of 
these Americans should not be in a nursing home or institutional 
setting. A disabled person can often be better served and integrated 
into their community by living in community-based homes.
  However, recent data indicates that 70 percent of Medicaid dollars 
are spent on institutional care and only 30 percent are spent on 
community services for the disabled. This is because Medicaid currently 
requires that States provide nursing home care for Americans with 
disabilities, but does not require the same for community-based 
services. Due to this inequity in Medicaid law many individuals with 
disabilities and older Americans are forced to live in isolated 
settings.
  In order to preserve the freedoms of our friends and loved ones in 
the disabled community, we must do something to reverse this trend. It 
is my privilege today to join my distinguished colleague from Iowa as a 
cosponsor of the Money Follows the Person Act of 2005. Under this 
legislation, Oregon's effort to help an individual move out of an 
institutional facility and into a community home would be 100 percent 
federally funded for one year. After that first year, the Federal 
Government would pay the state's normal Medicaid rate.
  These incentives can help reintegrate countless older Americans and 
Americans with disabilities into a setting where they can be more 
active citizens. Americans everywhere realize the value of integrating 
persons with disabilities into their communities. It is unfair and 
unjust to needlessly isolate productive citizens from their 
communities, regardless of their condition. It is time we work to 
reintegrate disabled Americans back into our communities. I urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important bill 
and to support the freedom of choice for Americans with disabilities.

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