Bipartisan Group Of Legislators And Advocates Celebrate Bills To Help The Disability Community
by Hudson Kamphausen CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – Gov. Ned Lamont was joined Thursday by a bipartisan group of legislators and advocates at the Capitol for a ceremonial signing of two landmark bills for individuals with disabilities.
Lamont said that the new bills are all about increasing opportunities for people with disabilities, and evening out the availability of healthcare.
“As I think forward, I think about the fact that you don’t have equal opportunity unless you have equal access,” the governor said.
Lamont expressed disbelief that in some cases wheelchair users have had to wait 100 days in order to get their wheelchairs repaired, and said that fixing those issues will give wheelchair users more opportunities and equity.
“The world is getting more and more opportunity, I think, for each and every one of you,” he said.
Public Act 24-58, which sets requirements in state law to reduce wait times for wheelchair repairs, is the first of its kind in the nation.
Sen. Matt Lesser, a Democrat from Middletown who co-chairs the Human Services Committee, said there are three main components to the bill:
1 It will regulate the paperwork that insurance companies and providers use to make it easier to fill out;
2 It establishes a hotline for wheelchair users to call if they cannot get their wheelchair serviced in a timely manner, and;
3 It requires that wheelchair companies repair wheelchairs within 10 days after they receiving them.
Lesser said the last provision requiring service within 10 days is the main provision of the bill.
Sen. Lisa Seminara, an Avon Republican and a ranking member on the Human Services Committee, said she was proud to be part of the effort to pass the legislation.
“It is unacceptable for someone who depends on wheelchair assistance to not have the means to get around in their lives for an extended period of time,” Seminara said. “We are going to ensure for this population that their needs are addressed.”
The other bill, Public Act 24-113, sets new requirements aimed at improving accessibility standards in health care settings and the purchasing of medical equipment.
Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves said that while wheelchairs and their repairs are already covered under Medicaid, she wants to continue to make sure that coverage is protected.
“As we know, wheelchairs are not just a means of transportation. They are vital, life-enhancing devices that provide independence and mobility,” she said.
Jonathan Sigworth, a wheelchair user and advocate and the former chair of the Connecticut Wheelchair Reform Coalition, said that the new laws will make a considerable difference for individuals with wheelchairs, but that even more needs to be done to make healthcare more equitable.
“This is all of our lives at stake,” Sigworth said. “And so, we’re not done.”
Lamont agreed with that, and referenced the over $17 million in federal grant money that Connecticut recently received from the Department of Labor for the purpose of creating jobs. Lamont said that number will be focused on the thousands of high school students with disabilities that graduate every year.
“I’m very pleased that we are just getting started,” he said.