Silicon Valley Independent Living Center 

A disability justice organization that creates fully inclusive communities 

 

 




November 2, 2011 Photos By: Tom Olin 

 

Herb Schultz 

Regional Director, Region IX 

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 

90 Seventh Street, Ste. 5-100 

San Francisco, CA 94103 

 

Dear Mr. Schultz, 

 

Silicon Valley Independent Living Center is a nonprofit organization run by and for people with all types of 
disabilities, of all ages, throughout Santa Clara County, California. We are concerned that the Center on 
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has failed to exercise proper oversight over states such as California 
which seek to cut their Medicaid benefits below a minimum acceptable level. 

 

Most recently, CMS approved California’s request to slash provider reimbursements, already the lowest in the 
country, by another 10 percent. This is certain to cause even more medical professionals to stop seeing Medi-
Cal patients, jeopardizing access to health care for Medi-Cal recipients, particularly in rural areas such as south 
Santa Clara County where there are fewer providers to begin with. 

 

Also granted was a request for a 20 percent cut in hours to recipients of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). 
IHSS is instrumental in keeping seniors and people with disabilities out of nursing homes. This drastic cut 
imperils California’s implementation of the 1999 Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., which 
established the civil right under the Americans With Disabilities Act of people with disabilities to live in 
community settings. The justices made it quite clear that cost alone is not a sufficient justification to deny 
people this basic civil right. 

 

On the heels of the complete elimination of California’s Adult Day Health Center program, another key to 
Olmstead implementation, it appears that CMS is not interested in anything but passively allowing states to 
defund their Medicaid programs at will, without regard to the most basic standards of access, the Olmstead 
decision, or the substantial input from the community opposing these cutbacks. We urge the department to 
make sure that CMS’ decisions to approve budget-cutting measures by states are based on public input and 
assurances of adequate access to care, and are not merely a rubber stamp. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

 


 

Sarah Triano 

Executive Director