2 years ago
ARLINGTON, Va. (WUSA) - It's an issue millions of American families struggle with: Can you afford to take care of an aged or disabled loved one in their own home? Or do you have to put them in a nursing home to qualify for government help? It may be the next big battle on the Presidential campaign trail.Both the Obama and McCain Campaigns support the right of the disabled to choose whether to live at home or in a nursing home. But Sen. McCain opposes a Senate bill designed to change a system that disabled advocates say pushes them to spend the rest of their lives in an institution.
Arlington Police did their best to protect Senator McCain's national headquarters. Dozens of disabled advocates from across the country rushed the building in Crystal City -- and police ended up arresting nearly a dozen for trespassing.
"We don't want no houses like he has. Seven houses. We don't need anything fancy. We're asking for an apartment," said protestor Cassie James.
The activists say Medicaid WILL pay for their care in a nursing home. But WON'T pay for them to have a health aide at home. "All we want to do is level the playing field so people will have a choice," said activist Rick Knight.
Sen. McCain says government living assistance for the disabled should NOT mean "perpetual confinement to an institution." But he also says the bill supported by the activists is too expensive. "The Community Choice Act is not a piece of legislation that I support," Sen. McCain told a Denver forum.
Bobby Coward says that's not good enough. He's a Persian Gulf war vet left a quadriplegic by a car accident. "If I don't get an attendant, I can't get out of the house, so I'm laying in bed."
He could check himself into a nursing home, and the government would pay for it. But he says that's the last thing he wants.
"Is it going to cost the government more to keep you in your own home?" I asked him. "No! No, matter of fact, it's cheaper.' A study this year from Prudential Financial says a home health aide in DC runs an average of $19 an hour. The cost of a private room in a nursing home: about $232 a day.
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