VOR's Testimony Concerning Protection & Advocacy Agencies and MFP to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS
On May 22, VOR submitted tesimony to the Senate Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies regarding the need to protect Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities as the Appropriations Committee negotiates continuing funding ot the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Act (MFP) in its FY2021 Appropriations Bill.
The original purpose of MFP was to rebalance services between iCFs and HCBS waiver settings, to provide people with IDD and their families with the right to choose which setteing is most appropriate to their needs. VOR believes MFP has reached, even exceeded its goal of rebalancing these services, and has been used by states to close ICFs in defiance of the protections written into the Supreme Court's landmark Olmstead decision, often overriding the rights of individuals, families, and guardians to exercise thier own choice in determining what is best for the individual.