In-Home Services Changes Opposed

* I would like to enlighten state Sen. John Lewis (R-Orange) and other misinformed public officials and taxpayers about the current situation of Orange County’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and the corporation that made a proposal to “corporatize,” not privatize, the delivery of service to people with disabilities, including seniors.

As Sen. Lewis stated (“Private Aid for the Home-Bound,” July 5), National Homecare Systems, a Chicago-based, for-profit company, submitted a proposal to the Orange County Board of Supervisors to take over the management of the IHSS program. What he failed to mention is that if the county approves National’s proposal, more than 4,000 IHSS consumers, their service providers and families will experience decreased service hours, compromised personal safety and loss of personal choice.

In fact, other counties are experiencing and responding to their negative experiences with National’s managed-care approach. For example, Tulare County recently decided to terminate its three-year contract with National due to consumer dissatisfaction, pending class-action litigation and failure to obtain appropriate federal waivers for such a contract. This should be a major red flag to our officials.

The current Individual Provider system allows IHSS recipients to hire, train, supervise and terminate their providers. Sen. Lewis wonders how people with disabilities can be expected to manage and supervise their care givers when some can’t even dress or feed themselves. This is a distasteful stereotype of people with disabilities because it implies we are incompetent as employers. This type of discriminatory comment is the basis of “disability-ism” that caused Congress to enact the Americans With Disabilities Act.

National and Sen. Lewis claim Orange County’s IHSS is characterized by fraud, waste and overuse. This assumption is unsubstantiated and false. In fact, Orange County’s average approved hours for IHSS recipients is 10% below the statewide average and the program is even used as a standard in other counties.

Finally, I want to point out an obvious item: National Homecare Systems is not located in California, nor is it a nonprofit entity. This company is not out to make the lives of people with disabilities better. It’s out to turn a profit, by capitalizing on our county’s financial devastation by promising substantial savings. However, it is the very method of saving money--cutting hours--that is going to impact an important segment of our community.

I implore Sen. Lewis, the county supervisors and other leaders to listen to the people and respond fairly, considering the human value this proposal will sacrifice, not just the fiscal bandage it offers.

ROBERT D. CUMMINGS

Executive director

Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled