June 2001
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From the New York State Assembly  Sheldon Silver, Speaker
Kevin Cahill, Chair, Task Force on People with Disabilities
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The Work and
Wellness Act of 2001 will create new opportunities
for individuals with disabilities
Other Assembly
initiatives will improve accessibility, expand
services and benefits, prevent discrimination and
strengthen consumer protection laws
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The basic right of individuals with disabilities to
live independently and with dignity is challenged
each day by obstacles to both their physical mobility
and their ability to access services.
The Assembly Majority is working to ensure that those
with disabilities enjoy the same opportunities
readily available to others, and to improve access to
the resources that allow everyone to live their lives
to the fullest.
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The Work and Wellness Act of 2001 enables people with
disabilities to work and retain Medicaid coverage
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One of the Assembly’s top legislative priorities this
year was passage of the Work and Wellness Act of 2001,
which will enable individuals with disabilities to
accept jobs with wages above the poverty level, while
purchasing the health coverage they need through a
Medicaid “buy-in” program –– paying premiums on a
sliding fee scale based on income.
Many people with disabilities are discouraged from
seeking employment because an increase in income
would make them ineligible for Medicaid health
coverage. Even if they could afford to purchase
private health insurance, individually or through an
employer, most plans do not cover the costs of
long-term personal care or comprehensive prescription
drug coverage.
Under the Work and Wellness Act of 2001, people with
gross incomes up to approximately $26,000 would pay
nothing and still retain their Medicaid benefits.
People with a gross income between approximately
$30,000 and $68,000 would pay premiums ranging from
$275 to $5,500 per year, and persons with income
above this amount would pay 100 percent of the
premium. The cost of implementing the program would
be shared by the federal government under the federal
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of
1999, which provides funding for costs associated
with an expansion of Medicaid coverage for workers
with severe disabilities.
The Work and Wellness Act of 2001 will benefit both
those with disabilities and the people of New York
State as a whole, allowing individuals with
disabilities to receive quality, affordable health
care while pursuing meaningful employment in the
community.
Last year, New York lost the opportunity to be first
in the nation to take advantage of the new federal
legislation when the governor and Senate failed to
follow the Assembly’s lead in supporting the Work and
Wellness Act. The Assembly Majority now calls upon
the Senate and the governor to give this important
measure the support it deserves.
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Assembly
measures expand and protect the rights of the
disabled
To further protect the rights of New Yorkers with
disabilities and help them remain active and
independent, the Assembly also passed a legislative
package which will:
- require public and government facilities to make
reasonable modifications to accommodate the disabled
(A.4707 and A.4885-a);
- ensure educational materials are available in
usable formats to students with disabilities
(A.7926);
- require ATMs to provide audio messages for the
blind and visually impaired
(A.5797);
- strengthen the state’s "Wheelchair Lemon Law"
by extending warranty protection to all wheelchairs,
not just motorized wheelchairs
(A.5895);
- extend tax credits to employers who hire disabled
veterans on a part-time basis
(A.752); and
- require access aisles for handicapped parking
spaces to be at least 8 feet wide and clearly marked
(A.4625-a and A.4626-a).
The Assembly also passed bills that will increase the
number of parking spaces for the handicapped at
shopping facilities, ensuring the presence of
interpreters for the hearing impaired at public
meetings and hearings and requiring school bus
attendants to receive training related to the special
needs of students with disabilities.
Other measures will establish programs to help
reimburse those with disabilities who need adaptive
equipment to drive, assist families of children
suffering from traumatic brain injury and provide
services to persons who are deaf, deaf-blind or
hearing impaired.
These measures –– passed by the Assembly in
recognition of New York State’s 21st annual
Legislative Disability Awareness Day in May ––
represent an important step in ensuring that every
New Yorker has access to the products, services and
amenities that make up the fabric of daily life for
us all.
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