| Q1 Employment. Although Maine has made much progress on
employment opportunity for people with disabilities, many still cannot
find work. Will yousupport continuation and expansion of programs that
promote employment for people with disabilities, with emphasis on real
work for real pay, rather than on sheltered workshops and day hab
services? |
Y |
| Q2 Transportation. Access to public transportation is
essential for many people with disabilities to live and work
independently. Would you expand programs to improve provision and
accessibility of public transportation in Maine, particularly in rural
areas? |
Y |
| Q3 K-12 education. The No Child Left Behind Act views public
education in largely academic terms. However, educational experts,
stakeholders, and disability advocates believe public education should
be about developing good citizens, with strong social and
problem-solving skills in addition to knowledge of subject matter. Do
you support changes to special education programs that reflect this
latter philosophy? |
Y |
| Q4 Higher education. Access to higher education is especially
important for people with disabilities who want to live and work
independently. To increase such access, would you: (A) support
expanding the Parents as Scholars program for parents receiving
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and (B) Support requiring
post-secondary institutions to ensure access to their programs for
people with hearing impairments, providing funding if needed? |
Y |
| Q5 Voting. Will you support legislative advocacy and, if
needed, more funding, to ensure that every polling place uses
it’s accessible voting systems in every election, that every
polling place is accessible, and that the whole voting process is
accessible? |
Y |
| Q6 Discrimination. Would you oppose amending the Maine Human
Rights Act to adopt a more restrictive definition of the word
“disability?” A more restrictive definition would reduce
the number of people of disabilities eligible for the Act’s
protections. |
|
| Q7 Dirigo Health. DirigoChoice is the only insurance
available in the Maine market with mental health parity (meaning mental
health coverage equivalent to physical health coverage), no
pre-existing condition exclusionary periods, and no lifetime cap on
benefits. Will you support expansion of the Dirigo Health Program? |
|
| Q8 High-risk pools. High-risk pools separate people with
disabilities or chronic illnesses and people who are
“healthy” into distinct risk pools, instead of spreading
risks and costs across both groups. States that have implemented
high-risk pools typically require waiting periods for coverage of
pre-existing health conditions, limit and cap benefits, have high
premiums, and require coverage riders for maternity care and
prescription drugs. Will you oppose implementation of high-risk pools
in Maine? |
|
| Q9 Consumer protections. Maine’s insurance laws have
many consumer protections, including guaranteed issue and guaranteed
renewal (which prevent insurers from denying or not renewing coverage),
community rating (which prohibits insurers from varying rates based on
individual health status or gender), and mandated benefits (e.g. for
mammography or prostate screenings and diabetic supplies). Will you
preserve these consumer protections? |
|
| Q10 Stakeholder involvement. Involvement of people with
disabilities, their families, providers, and other stakeholders is
essential to good policymaking, for example in the complex process of
restructuring the Department of Health and Human Services. Would you
support a mechanism to insure that the recommendations of advisory
committees are adequately reported to the legislature prior to
promulgation of new regulations or law? |
Y |
| Q11 MaineCare funding. Given the rising levels of poverty and
disability in the population, the skyrocketing costs of health care,
and the generous federal matching funds that the state would receive,
would you support expanding state funding for MaineCare? |
BY |
| Q12 Medications. The prior authorization process creates
difficulties for many people with disabilities and their doctors in
seeking needed medications. Would you support changes that would make
the process easier, without sacrificing cost-effectiveness and
accountability? |
Y |
| Q13 Medicaid waivers. Medicaid waivers give states greater
flexibility in allowing individuals with disabilities to live in the
community, often lowering costs. Do you support: (A) increasing funding
for Maine’s existing Medicaid waivers and (B) creating a Brain
Injury Waiver to increase community integration for people with brain
injuries? |
|
| Q14 Long term care. A direct care worker shortage threatens
the independence and safety of many seniors and people with
disabilities. Would you support legislation to address this shortage by
ensuring that direct care workers receive health insurance and wages
sufficient to meet basic needs? |
Y |
| Q15 Managed care. Will you support legislation and
legislative monitoring to ensure that the implementation of managed
care for MaineCare does not lead to people with disabilities losing
supports and services necessary to independent living and continued
wellness? |
Y |
| Q16 Community integration. Under the Supreme Court’s
Olmstead decision, states must place people with disabilities in
community settings when the persons wish it, treatment professionals
approve, and State finances and the needs of others with disabilities
permit it. Will you support policies to meet the legal and moral
obligation of community integration? |
Y |
| Q17 Dorothea Dix. Today the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center
(formerly Bangor Mental Health Institute) has around 50 inmates
(patients) and more than 500 employees. Would you support ending
DDPC’s expensive inpatient program and replacing its services
with an appropriate array of services? |
Y |
| Q18 Outpatient commitment. Will you support close legislative
monitoring of outpatient commitment, and a careful examination of its
outcomes when the legislation authorizing it sunsets, to examine
whether the legislation’s intent has been met? |
Y |
| Q19 Developmental disabilities. The parties to the Community
Consent Decree, which governs the rights of roughly 800 past Pineland
residents, are meeting to redraft laws governing services for
individuals with diagnoses of mental retardation and autism, to ensure
the State’s future compliance with the decree. Would you support
broader changes to the law to embrace the principles of the federal
Developmental Disabilities Act, including providing rights, services,
and access to due process for all people with developmental
disabilities? |
Y |
| Q20 Brain injury trust fund. Many of our citizen-soldiers are
returning from war with brain injuries, yet Maine does not have
adequate funding to ensure that these individuals and others with brain
injuries can receive care and services in the State, or live in
settings that maximize autonomy, dignity, and safety. Would you support
creating a Head Injury Trust Fund, funded by a $1 surcharge on motor
vehicle registrations, to begin to address unmet needs for people with
brain injuries? |
Y |
| Q21 Have you ever employed or worked closely with an individual with a disability? |
Y |
| Comments |
MY ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS REFLECT THE FEELINGS OF MY
CONSTITUENTS WHOM I SURVEY AND QUESTION FREQUENTLY. CURRENTLY DIRIGO
CHOICE, OF WHICH I INITIALLY SUPPORTED, IS NO THE ANSWER TO OUR HEALTH
CARE PROBLEMS, HOWEVER WITH MUCH MORE WORK, IT COULD BE A VIABLE
PROGRAM. #21--I FOUND HER INTERGITY AND WORK ETHIC TO BE FAR AND ABOVE
HER FELLOW WORKERS IN MOST CASES. |