How Will the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Affect People
with AD/HD?
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, or Public
Law 111-5), which includes $787 billion in spending and tax relief. The
primary purpose of the new law is to attempt to create and save jobs in
the next two years.
Some of the key provisions that will impact the lives of individuals
with AD/HD and related disorders include:
IDEA Special Education: Allocates $12.2 billion for formula
grants to increase the federal share of special education costs and
prevent these mandatory costs from forcing states to cut other areas of
education. The $12.2 billion allocated to special education includes
$11.3 billion for the Part B IDEA state grant program that serves
children aged 6 -21, 500 million for the IDEA Part C Early Intervention
program that serves children aged 0-2, and $400 million for special
education preschool services for children aged 3-5.
Prevention and Wellness Fund: Allocates $1 billion to create a
new Prevention and Wellness fund through the Department of Health and
Human Services to assist in funding immunization programs and
evidence-based clinical and community based prevention and wellness
programs.
Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP): Provides an $87
billion temporary increase for all states to assist them in avoiding
cutting eligibility and services. This increase represents a 6.2 percent
increase for all states, with states with high unemployment rates
entitled to bonus payments. The increase requires a two-year
“maintenance of effort” that will require states to maintain
their current eligibility standards for the next two years.
Payment to Recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Veterans Disability
Compensation Benefits: Provides a one-time payment to beneficiaries
in the amount of $250.
COBRA Premium Subsidy: Provides a 65 percent premium subsidy for
nine months for individuals who lose their jobs between September 1,
2008 and December 31, 2009.
Health Information Technology: Allocates $19 billion to
computerize health records to cut costs and reduce medical errors, while
maintaining meaningful patient privacy protections. The law adds seven
HIT privacy provisions. CHADD, as a member of the Consumer Partnership
for e-HIT, supported these privacy provisions. These include "affiliated
businesses" complying with privacy requirements, notification to
patients when information is disclosed, prohibiting sale of health
information data, and authorizing the state attorney generals to help
enforce these protections.
Healthcare Effectiveness Research: Allocates $1.1
billion for Healthcare Research and Quality programs to compare the
effectiveness of different medical treatments.
Medicare and Medicaid Regulations: Extends the moratorium on
Medicaid regulations for targeted case management, rehabilitation, and
school-based services through June 1, 2009.
The final bill as signed into law can be read here.
The federal government has launched a website to provide individuals with information on
ARRA, to demonstrate transparency in how the money allocated to various
agencies and programs is being spent, and to ensure accountability by
allowing individuals to evaluate ARRA’s progress and provide
feedback.
The Department of Education has created a specific ARRA website where information and resources regarding the funds allocated
to education will be posted as they become available.
Clarke Ross, CEO of CHADD, has posted a blog
entry regarding CHADD’s involvement in passage
of the ARRA.
February 20, 2009
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