Today's deep dive: Ohio voters rejected at least five county developmental disabilities levies and approved two in the Nov. 3 election, and several boards now face budget decisions. Here is the rest of today's news.
Congress flips; disability advocates see "renewed hope" Democrats will control both the House and Senate next year, and advocates told Disability Scoop they expect more oversight hearings and more say over spending. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would work to reverse last year's Medicaid cuts, though a former ACL head noted any such bills could face a presidential veto. Source: Disability Scoop
CMS finalizes a 2.4% Medicare home health increase for 2027 The final rule (CMS-1844-F) raises total Medicare home health payments by an estimated $415 million, combining a 2.1% payment update with a 0.3% outlier change, while applying a temporary -3.0% adjustment to the base rate. CMS also made all grounds for revoking a provider's Medicare enrollment retroactive. Sources: CMS, Home Health Care News
Rural Health Transformation awards miss their Oct. 31 date CMS did not announce states' 2027 shares of the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program on time, citing an "additional administrative process requirement" in an Oct. 30 email to states. Kentucky told KFF Health News the money was meant to soften expected federal Medicaid reductions. Source: KFF Health News
ACL funds 16 disability research projects ACL's disability research institute, NIDILRR, awarded $3,991,978 for the first year of 16 field-initiated projects. They include airless wheels for power wheelchairs at the University of Pittsburgh and a Kessler Foundation tool to assess workplace social communication for young people with autism. Source: ACL
Supreme Court hears Texas intellectual disability death-penalty case In Guerrero v. Johnson, argued Nov. 4, the justices weighed whether a Texas death-row prisoner can bring a second federal petition arguing he has an intellectual disability, based on 2013 diagnostic changes that moved away from strict IQ cutoffs. Courthouse News reported that the court's conservative majority appeared skeptical. Sources: Cornell LII, Courthouse News Service