Month: September 2015

The Assembly Committee on Health, Committee Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities and the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities held a public hearing on October 8 in Albany. The Committees and Task Force received oral and written testimony from patients and their families, clinicians, service providers, and the Department on topics including the incidence, severity and consequences of TBI; treatment and service appropriateness and availability, including the rights of patients sent out-of-state; and issues relating to the transition of the TBI Waiver program to managed care.

If you missed it, video of the hearing is available at http://nystateassembly.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=8&clip_id=2722 (first part of testimony) and  http://nystateassembly.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=2723# (second part).

Please reach out to your Assembly member and let them know why they should support individuals with brain injury and the services needed to support them in the community. If you or a loved one are on the Waiver, please let them know why those services keep you/your loved one independent. Please be sure to sign up for the BIANYS email list and become a member to get action updates on this issue and many more.

If you submitted testimony for the hearing, please share it with BIANYS by emailing to Victoria Clingan, BIANYS Director of Engagement and Outreach (vclingan@bianys.org).

Assemblymember Gottfried’s office is organizing a hearing on brain injury for early October. The hearing is still in the beginning stages, but they are seeking providers, patients and families, researchers, advocates (including self-advocates), and any other interested parties to testify. The hearing will cover issues related to brain injury in general, but also should include a focus on the state’s Medicaid TBI waiver program and its transition into managed care.

If you are interested in speaking at the hearing, please contact Victoria Clingan, BIANYS Director of Engagement and Outreach at 518-459-7911 or vclingan@bianys.org. Please include your name, address, phone number, and email address and a brief statement of your affiliation or relationship to brain injury. We will be submitting contact information of interested speakers to the Assemblymember’s office for invitations to the hearing.