Please return by Monday, September 18

CANDIDATE NAME: ____________________________________________________________

PARTY AFFILIATION: ____________________________________________________________

OFFICE SOUGHT AND DISTRICT (e.g., State Senate District 8): ______________________________

Additional Comments (please identify which question is being addressed): ________________________

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1.Employment. Although Maine has made much progress on employment opportunity for people with disabilities, many still cannot find work. Will you support 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?
YES
NO

2.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?
YES
NO

3.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?
YES
NO

4.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 supplemental state funding to preserve the Parents as Scholars program for TANF parents who are seeking a post-secondary degree? and
YES
NO

(B) Support requiring post-secondary institutions to ensure access to their programs for people with hearing impairments, providing funding if needed?
YES
NO

5.Voting. Will you support legislative advocacy and, if needed, more funding, to ensure that every polling place uses its accessible voting systems in every election, that every polling place is accessible, and that the whole voting process is accessible?
YES
NO

6.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 with disabilities who are eligible for the Act’s protections.
YES
NO

7.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 Dirigo Health?
YES
NO

8.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?
YES
NO

9.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?
YES
NO

10.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?
YES
NO

11.MaineCare funding. Given the rising levels of poverty and disability in the population, the skyrocketing costs of health care, and the significant federal matching funds that the State would receive, would you support expanding state funding for MaineCare?
YES
NO

12.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?
YES
NO

13.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
YES
NO

(B) Creating a Brain Injury Waiver to increase community integration for people with brain injuries?
YES
NO

14.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?
YES
NO

15.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?
YES
NO

16.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?
YES
NO

17.Dorothea Dix. Today the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center (formerly Bangor Mental Health Institute) has roughly 60 patients and 335 employees.  Would you support ending DDPC’s expensive inpatient program and replacing its services with an appropriate array of services?
YES
NO

18.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?
YES
NO

19.Developmental disabilities. The parties to the Community Consent Decree, which governs the rights of roughly 800 past Pineland residents, are meeting to integrate the consent decree’s requirements into the laws governing services for individuals with diagnoses of mental retardation and autism. Would you support broader changes to these laws to apply them to the full range of developmental disabilities, not just mental retardation and autism, and to provide rights, services, and access to due process for those to whom these laws apply?
YES
NO

20.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 Brain Injury Trust Fund, funded by a $1 surcharge on motor vehicle registrations, to begin to address unmet needs for people with brain injuries?
YES
NO

21.Have you ever employed or worked closely with an individual with a disability?
YES
NO

If yes, please feel free to explain more. ______________________________________________________

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