AdvocacyDenver

Health Care Advocacy and Education | Providing active voice and supporting civil rights for people with disabilities

National Arc Fights Court Decision to Invalidate the ACA

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Peter V. Berns, Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of the U.S.
Peter V. Berns, Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of the U.S.

The national Arc is fighting a 2018 ruling in a Texas U.S. District Court that determined the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional.  That case is now pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Arc has joined 14 other national organizations representing people with disabilities in filing an amicus brief appealing to reverse the lower court’s decision.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Arc of the United States, Peter Berns, has called the lower court’s decision “an extraordinary threat” for people with disabilities and their families.  He says if the ACA is taken off the books, it will set the advocacy efforts for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) back 70 years.

[Read more…] about National Arc Fights Court Decision to Invalidate the ACA

Competency Bill Will Implement Mental Health Consent Decree Orders

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Colorado State Representative Mike Weissman, House District 36
Colorado State Representative Mike Weissman, House District 36

Disability advocates and the state of Colorado reached agreement last month in a legal battle over the long wait times for court-ordered mental health competency proceedings.  A Consent Decree was entered into as a result of a lawsuit against the state by Disability Law Colorado.  A bill introduced this Session creates alignment with the Consent Decree’s competency proceeding requirements and helps the state avoid violations and penalties.

Entitled, “Actions Related to Competency To Proceed,” Senate Bill 19-223, is a revised version of a competency bill that failed to pass in the 2018 Session.  The bill’s sponsor, State Representative Mike Weissman, says the 2019 version has bipartisan support and has been worked on extensively over the past year. He is optimistic that it will win passage this year.

[Read more…] about Competency Bill Will Implement Mental Health Consent Decree Orders

Bill Enacts Penalties Against At-Risk Adult Abuse Crimes

An Interview with Catherine Strode

Colorado State Senator Jessie Danielson, Senate District 20
Colorado State Senator Jessie Danielson, Senate District 20

Last year, nearly one thousand cases of abuse against at-risk adults were reported in Colorado. In Denver, police report over a 200% increase in these types of crimes.  Adult Protective Services estimate for every report of abuse against an at-risk adult, many more cases go unreported.

A Colorado legislator has introduced a bill to strengthen efforts to decrease crimes against at-risk adults. Senator Jessie Danielson is sponsoring Senate Bill 19-172 which makes it a Class 6 Felony to unlawfully confine an at-risk adult and a Class 1 Misdemeanor to unlawfully abandon an at-risk adult.  Senator Danielson says this bill will cut down on this type of abuse of the most vulnerable Coloradans.

[Read more…] about Bill Enacts Penalties Against At-Risk Adult Abuse Crimes