| 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? |
YY |
| 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. |
Y |
| 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? |
Y |
| 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? |
Y |
| 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? |
Y |
| 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? |
YY |
| 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? |
|
| 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? |
|
| 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 |
I HAVE HELPED TUTOR FELLOW STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES 2- THE MORE IDEAL SITUATION IS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY WORK TO EXPAND PUBLIC TRAN AND TO ENCOURAGE THOSE IN NEED OF SERVICES THAT LIVE IN EXTREMELY RURAL AREAS TO MOVE CLOSER TO ALREADY ESTABLISHED SERVICES. 3- EMPHATICALLY-YES! 4- DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND, 6- IN THEORY YES, BUT I WOULD LIKE MORE CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF THE RESTRICTED DEFINITION. 7- I SUPPORT LAMARCHE HEALTHCARE PLAN 13A- NEED MORE INFORAMTION, 17- NEED MORE INFORMATION-ONE SIDED QUESTION--THE CURRENT SITUATION SOUNDS RATHER WASTEFUL, BUT I CAN'T JUDGE WITHOUT FURTHER INFORMATION, 20- I'M NOT SURE I WOULD SUPPORT A SURCHARGE, THERE MAY BE BETTER WAYS OF OBTAINING FUNDING, BUT I WOULD SUPPORT CREATION OF THE FUND. |