To-Do List

Now that the Dems control Congress, I’ve been giving some thought to how they might address issues of concern to the disability community. Clearly, the Iraq war is going to dominate the agenda for several months, but here are a few priorities that we should urge the 110th Congress to take up:

• Health care reform: This needs to be at the top of the list. People with and without disabilities are in desperate need of a totally revamped health care system that is accessible, affordable, and responsive. The journey to a true single-payer system (the inevitable outcome) is going to take decades, but lawmakers need to set us on the path. They should study how states like Massachusetts are using innovative approaches to provide universal health care to their citizens
• Medicare and Medicaid reform: In the meantime, Medicare and Medicaid need some attention. The feds should have the unequivocal right to negotiate drug prices for Part D beneficiaries. Co-payments for people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid need to be eliminated. States’ ability to impose premiums on Medicaid recipients need to be sharply restricted and the onerous citizenship documentation requirements need to be eliminated.
• Fully fund special education: I’m not holding my breath on this one, but perhaps it can be looked at once Iraq isn’t such a drain on the budget.
• Adopt the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A symbolic gesture, for the most part, but one that would give us more flexibility to demand that other countries do more for their citizens with disabilities.
• Promote cheaper, more widely available broadband access: Of course, this wouldn’t only benefit people with disabilities. But broadband is a tool that at least partially addresses the social isolation and economic marginalization of people with disabilities. 

What am I missing? On what issues can we ally with other advocates to make this a better country not just for people with disabilities, but for everyone?