Take Action: Help Disabled People Stay Safe at Home During the Coronavirus

Care centers such as nursing homes and psychiatric institutions currently account for nearly half of the coronavirus deaths in the United States, so for many people who need support, the ability to stay at home is a literal life-or-death situation.

Tell Congress to keep disabled people safe at home by including these vital things in the next coronavirus relief bill:

- Uninterrupted access to personal protective equipment, medication, and other critical supplies for people with disabilities during the pandemic
- Comprehensive paid leave to include all caregivers/chosen family, as well as emergency paid sick leave to include all workers even if they need more than two weeks to recover or protect their health

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2.5 million people in the United States receive home- and community-based services (HCBS) through Medicaid waivers. Medicaid HCBS ensure that people with disabilities and older adults receive the services they need to remain safely at home during the pandemic.

These services are critical, since HCBS recipients are at a higher risk of coronavirus infection.

Since nursing homes account for 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths, we must adequately fund HCBS in the next coronavirus relief bill to protect disabled people's lives and ensure public health. Put simply, Congress' continued failure to designate funding for Medicaid HCBS leaves people with disabilities vulnerable to institutionalization, where their risk of coronavirus infection and death is exponentially higher.

Further, the direct care and support workforce still lacks sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and comprehensive paid leave to protect their own health and the health of the communities they support. As of 2016, there were 2.6 million home health and direct care workers. Congress must support this essential workforce by ensuring they have sufficient access to PPE for themselves and the people they care for, as well as guaranteed paid sick leave so they are not forced to choose between forgoing a paycheck and endangering their lives and the communities they support.

As the pandemic disrupts people with disabilities' access to their typical sources of support, Congress must expand paid leave to include all family caregivers.

People with a range of disabilities and chronic health conditions are relying on Congress to provide sufficient Medicaid HCBS funding; expand paid leave; and ensure their continued access to PPE, medical supplies, and medications in the next coronavirus relief bill. Don't let them down.

Take action:

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