published by We The People Living with AIDS/HIV of the Delaware Valley, Inc.
COMHAR agrees pay PWA in disability denial
Richman to meet with PWAs on HealthChoices
Law Project reports on food stamp crisis
Law Project sets HIV Social Security Project
"One more chance to do what's right"
The details of the agreement were to be worked out at a meeting late in October.
"They have one more chance to do what's right," said Linda Smith, chairperson of We The People.
"They had decided to out-wait [the employee]," said Smith, noting that COMHAR's previous promises to resolve the impasse had gone on for over a year. "They just wanted to wait for him to die so they're little problem would go away."
The sit-in was sponsored by We The People and was supported by members of ACT UP Philadelphia, the AIDS advocacy group.
COMHAR executive director Matthew Elavumkal agreed that the agency would back off from its position -- held for eighteen months -- of refusing to help Ted Kirk, Ph.D., a clinician and one-time Director of Education for AIDS programs at COMHAR. Elavumkal blamed CNA, COMHAR's insurance company, for denying Kirk disability coverage because his AIDS diagnosis was a "pre-existing condition." Kirk and his advocates from We The People pointed out that Elavumkal had been promising for over a year that COMHAR would help Kirk if the insurance company denied his claim, but had failed to act, even though Kirk has become progressively more ill and now faces losing his home and means of support.
Elavumkal and COMHAR board president Dot Anderson told the demonstrators that the agency -- which recently constructed a new headquarters at 100 West Lehigh Avenue, and which has purchased personal laptop computers for each of its board members -- could only afford a $1,500 payment to Kirk, which was offered to him last month.
Under the long-term disability plan offered to Kirk when he became an employee of COMHAR in 1993, he would be eligible for a monthly payment of $1,5690 per month for the rest of his life.
The surprise sit-in was in response to Elavumkal's refusal to respond to a settlement offer made by Kirk through We The People in September.
Demonstrators told Anderson and Elavumkal that they would demand that the city and federal governments withdraw funding for its AIDS programs if their demands were not met, and that they would ask for an investigation of various COMHAR billing practices and expenditures of public funds.
The tense atmosphere of the protest was heightened when Anderson, president of COMHAR's board and most of its subsidiary corporations, immediately called the police when the demonstrators entered the agency at 5 p.m., prior to a meeting of Kensington Management Services, a wholly-owned COMHAR affiliate. Eleven police cars and a police pattywagon converged on the facility within minutes, with most of the uniformed officers present donning latex gloves, in apparent fear that the protest might somehow put them at risk of HIV infection.
Anderson also refused to allow members of the group -- including one pregnant woman -- to use the bathroom facilities. She eventually relented after the intercession of members of the police Civil Affairs Unit.
The demonstrators entered the COMHAR board room -- which was decorated with a sign stating, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit" -- shortly before 5:00 p.m. After the angry reaction from Anderson, Elavumkal joined the group and asked them to be patient, explaining that over the past year, COMHAR had been trying to come up with ways in which it could help Kirk financially given the claim denial by its insurance company. ACT UP member Julie Davids -- pointing out another sign in the board room which read, "A plan without action becomes nothing more than an exercise in wasted time," noted that while COMHAR was figuring out what it would do, Kirk was forced to continue to try to survive while facing three hospitalizations for life-threatening illnesses and the continued deterioration of his financial condition.
The sit-in ended after two hours of angry confrontation and threats by We The People members to "make life miserable for everyone at COMHAR, so that they can feel for themselves some of the misery they are causing Ted Kirk because they have denied him what he earned," according to Smith.
"To deny Ted a benefit he earned only because he has AIDS -- when they hired him in the first place partly because they felt his own AIDS diagnosis would make him a more effective employee of the AIDS program -- is unacceptable," Smith said.
COMHAR is the only city-funded mental health agency with special programs for people with AIDS. Among them are Philadelphia AIDS Coordinated Therapy Services (PACTS), which provides mental health counseling to people with HIV/AIDS; a housing program for people with AIDS with mental health problems; a special treatment initiative for Latinos with AIDS; a "partial hospitalization" program; and the Community Living Room, a federally-funded demonstration project providing mental health supports to low-income and homeless people with AIDS.
"COMHAR's poor track record in these programs, and their refusal to work with people with AIDS to improve the quality of these programs, is already a matter of urgent concern to people with AIDS," Smith said. "By attempting to throw Ted Kirk out in the street after they used him as an employee, COMHAR has made it impossible for people with AIDS to trust them."
Kirk said that COMHAR had agreed to provide him the coverage at the time of his employment as part of the regular employee benefit package. "They were fully aware I had AIDS and assured me that the disability plan would cover me if I became too ill to continue to work," he said.
After over a year of meetings at which Elavumkal promised that COMHAR would help Kirk if CNA denied his claim, Kirk was informed that COMHAR would not help him at a meeting with Elavumkal and his attorney, Steven Williams, last month.
Kirk is a member of We The People's board of directors, and until last week was co-chairperson of the Philadelphia HIV Commission, the Title I Ryan White Planning Council for southeastern Pennsylvania. He resigned from that position last month after the third in a recent series of hospitalizations.
His successor in that position -- Mark Davis, a person with AIDS and a widely-known mental health advocate -- also participated in the sit-in.
Kirk had originally applied for his long-term disability benefit after consistent bouts of illness forced him to retire from his practice in the spring of 1995.
Kirk was hired as a clinician for PACTS -- the only HIV-specific mental health service in the Philadelphia area, which also operates the Community Living Room -- in July, 1993, and was promoted to the position of Director of Education in September, 1994.
A credentialed expert in the field of counseling those with terminal illnesses, Kirk was hired not only because of his professional background but because his own AIDS diagnosis was seen as an enhancement to his responsibility of counseling PACTS' HIV+ clientele.
"Ted Kirk was hired because he was a person with AIDS with unique experience and expertise for working with people with AIDS," said Joe Cronauer, executive director of We The People. "It is extremely ironic that one of the main reasons he was hired is now being used as a reason to deny him the basic financial security he needs to live."
"I think it is ironic that I worked in a program providing mental health treatment to persons with HIV and AIDS and when I needed COMHAR support, I am told there is none coming," Kirk told Alive & Kicking!. "It seems to me that COMHAR is hoping I will die, thus giving them a final solution to this matter."
"I feel like I've played by the rules and followed the system," Kirk said, noting that his doctors and attorneys had worked closely with CNA and COMHAR since 1995, on the promise that a resolution would be found. "Now, it seems, COMHAR is only concerned with itself and not people with AIDS, including me."
Kirk said that in a September 18th meeting requested by Yolanda Lollis, an attorney from the AIDS Law Project, with Elavumkal, COMHAR personnel director Ginny Bernier, and COMHAR attorney Steven Williams, he was offered a lump sump payment of only $3,000, $1500 each from CNA and COMHAR -- on the condition that he return to work part-time at COMHAR. Kirk said that beyond the fact that his disability makes it impossible to work, accepting a part-time position at COMHAR would also require him to give up his health benefits and might threaten his SSI disability coverage, which currently amounts to about $497 per month.
Elavumkal said that his agency could not afford to cover the disability benefit -- which he said might ultimately cost over $100,000, depending on how long Kirk lives -- because all of its resources are restricted to providing services to people with mental illness and mental retardation in the city's Kensington and Lower Northeast neighborhoods. "We have minimal discretionary funds," he said.
Under the CNA long-term disability plan he was promised when he joined COMHAR, Kirk would receive $1,549 per month in disability payments -- 60% of his monthly income at the time of his disability -- for the rest of his life.
Kirk had offered to accept a partial payment on his disability claim totaling $13,949 (back payments to November, 1995, when his claim would originally have gone into effect), as well as monthly payments of $1,549 for the next five years.
"If all employers followed COMHAR's policy, no person with AIDS would ever be able to obtain long-term disability coverage since it's almost impossible to pinpoint when a person becomes infected," Cronauer said. "CNA and COMHAR have made it clear that they are willing to sacrifice the life and work of an individual who gave them his all, simply to try to save a little money."
"For an organization that tries to tell PWAs that they are committed to their mental health, this is a stupid, cruel, heartless decision. Obviously they hope that through their delaying tactics they will put Ted off until he dies -- which will happen sooner rather than later, thanks to COMHAR."
Cronauer said that if COMHAR again ignores its commitments made at the sit-in, We The People will organize a series of "public actions" to dramatize Kirk's plight and attempt to secure a change of heart on the part of COMHAR.
"We The People members were willing to starve themselves to death several years ago to keep Betak open," Cronauer said, referring to the 17-day hunger strike held by WTP members in 1994 which successfully pressured the state to keep the city's only AIDS nursing home open. "Our members risked arrest to jump-start the city's AIDS housing system. We've shown our willingness to go as far as we need to, to keep our members alive. We are the first, last -- and sometimes only -- line of defense for people with HIV and AIDS abused by the system supposedly set up to help us live."
"Ted Kirk is one of us, and we won't let him down. COMHAR cannot be allowed to do this to one of us. We won't let them. If they don't change their minds, they won't know what hit them."
Kirk has retained a private attorney to pursue an action against COMHAR and CNA to win back his disability benefits. His attorney has also prepared a formal complaint that COMHAR and its attorneys have negotiated in "bad faith" over the past year.
"I'm hoping that it won't come to a long legal battle," he said, noting that he has been hospitalized several times in the past few months. "I don't think I have the time."
Richman to meet with PWAs on HealthChoices
As part of a series of meetings aimed at helping the city's AIDS community prepare for the coming of HealthChoices -- Pennsylvania's new managed care program for Medicaid recipients -- Philadelphia Health Commissioner Estelle Richman will hold a special public meeting for area people living with HIV and AIDS. The goal of the meeting is to educate consumers of HIV/AIDS services on what is happening and how they can work to make sure that Medicaid managed care works most effectively in meeting their needs.
Richman held a similar meeting on October 24th for city-funded AIDS service providers and other organizations.
The HIV/AIDS consumer meeting will be held on Monday, October 28th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Church of St. Luke's and the Epiphany, 330 South 13th Street, in center city Philadelphia. For more information, call Joe Cronauer at We The People, 215-545-6868.
Law Project reports on food stamp crisis
by Patrick Egan
Communications Manager,
AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania
Of all the cutbacks included in the welfare law signed by President Clinton in August, the largest are the cuts in the nation's food stamp program.
Before the law went into effect, the average food stamp recipient got 80 cents per meal. As a result of the new law, by the year 2002, the average recipient will get only 66 cents per meal -- a cut of 18 percent. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) estimates that 150,000 people across the state will lose food stamps as a result of this law. This article explains the food stamp cuts and how they will affect people living with HIV/AIDS.
The most important thing to know is that because DPW often makes mistakes when applying a new law, anyone who gets a notice from DPW cutting off their food stamps should appeal right away. You can keep getting food stamps while your appeal is pending if you appeal within 10 days of the letter you get cutting you off from benefits. The deadline for appeal should be indicated on the lower right hand corner of the letter.
The cuts in the new law come from three main areas: work requirements for food stamp recipients; cuts in how much in food stamps a person can receive; and drastic cuts in food stamp benefits for immigrants.
Work requirements.
The most significant cut in food stamp benefits is a new rule that essentially requires "able-bodied" adults to work in order to get food stamps. As of December 1, 1996, able-bodied adults between 18 - 50 who do not have children will be entitled to only three months of food stamps in every 36-month period unless they are working or getting job training at least half-time. The income they make from working cannot put them over the eligibility limit for food stamps. A recipient who has already received three months' worth of food stamps and begins working but loses his or her job will be eligible for only one additional three-month period of benefits.
The bill does have a provision that those "unfit to work" will be exempted from work requirements which may be helpful for people living with HIV/AIDS. But we don't know yet how officials in the federal government and DPW will define "unfit to work." The law also exempts pregnant women and some parents with young children from work requirements.
The bill allows state governors to request an exemption from these work requirements in geographical regions of with unemployment rates of more than 10 percent or due to lack of jobs. Many parts of the Philadelphia area have unemployment rates above 10 percent, so the work requirements may not apply here. It depends on whether Governor Ridge requests an exemption for the Philadelphia area and we are granted one.
These work requirements are expected to be devastating because there are simply not enough jobs for people currently on food stamps. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in an average month, there will be 1 million poor unemployed people who want to work and would take a "workfare" job -- but will find none available. These people will nevertheless lose their food stamps because of the new law.
Cuts in food stamp awards.
The new law cuts the maximum amount of food stamps a person can receive. It also keeps benefit amounts at current levels instead of allowing them to rise as the cost of living increases.
Food stamp recipients are awarded benefits based on what the government calls the "Thrifty Food Plan," which is a barebones dollar figure of how much a person needs in food stamps to survive. The plan is indeed thrifty: as noted above, before the law went into effect it provided on the average only 80 cents per person per meal. In the past, a person could receive up to a maximum of 103 percent of the amount specified in the Thirty Food Plan. Under the new law, a person can now get a maximum of 100 percent of the amount.
In addition, the new law will change how the food stamp program determines what kind of income is counted in determining whether an applicant qualifies for food stamps. State and local energy assistance will now be counted as part of an applicant's income. However, federal LIHEAP assistance will not. Earnings of high school students in a household will count toward that household's income once the student reaches age 18. Previously, high school students' income didn't count until their 22nd birthday.
The law also changes scheduled increases in the amount households are allowed to deduct when determining their income. The standard deduction per household, which had been scheduled to rise, will stay frozen at $134 per month. The most a household can deduct for shelter costs is currently $247 per month, regardless of the family's actual shelter costs. The shelter deduction will rise $25 roughly every other year, reaching $300 in the year 2000.
Immigrants.
The new law bars most legal immigrants from food stamps until they become citizens. In fact, 40 percent of all the cuts in the welfare bill are coming from legal immigrants. Anyone who is not a citizen and is eligible for citizenship should consider applying to become a citizen as soon as possible.
There are limited exceptions to these cuts. Refugees, asylees and aliens whose deportation has been withheld can continue to receive food stamps for five years. In addition, legal permanent residents who have worked for at least 10 years and noncitizens who are U.S. veterans or on active duty can continue to get food stamps. Everyone else who is not a U.S. citizen will not be eligible for food stamps -- no matter how old they are, how sick they are, or how long they have worked and paid taxes.
A bill enacted in September by Congress gave a short reprieve to legal immigrants, allowing them to continue to get food stamps until April 1, 1997 and a few months longer in many cases. State officials will be reviewing the cases of all immigrants on food stamps between April 1 and Aug. 22. Immigrants that are ineligible under the new law will be cut off from benefits when their cases are reviewed.
Other changes.
The welfare bill has many other changes for the food stamp program, including enacting more stringent fraud provisions and making recipients responsible for paying back any overpayments of food stamps they receive due to clerical errors. The bill expands the amount of time that DPW has to provide expedited services from 5 to 7 calendar days. It also eliminates automatic eligibility for expedited services for homeless households. It also bars food stamps to anyone convicted of a federal or state drug felony after the date the bill was enacted on August 22, 1996 -- although their income will count toward a household's income when determining whether a household is eligible for food stamps.
Summary
The new law is likely to create much confusion. Again, if you receive a letter that says you are being cut off from food stamps, you should immediately appeal the decision at your local welfare office. Make sure you get a dated receipt when you file your appeal at the welfare office. If you encounter problems with the food stamp program, feel free to call the AIDS Law Project at (215) 587-9377.
For more help:
A new hotline has been established to help people find emergency food assistance. Call the statewide Emergency Food Information Hotline at 800-366-3997. The hotline will provide information about the emergency food provider closest to you. Another source for help finding emergency food assistance is the Community AIDS Hotline at 1-800-985-AIDS. According to the hotline, emergency food assistance for people with HIV/AIDS is provided by several local AIDS service organizations, including Congreso, the William J. Craig Foundation, EIARC, Episcopal Community Services, MANNA, PCHA, and We the People. Call the Community AIDS Hotline for more information and referrals.
The AIDS Law Project is here to help people living with HIV and their advocates with a wide range of public benefits issues, including SSI/SSDI; Medical Assistance and the impending HealthChoices plan to place people on Medical Assistance into HMO's; and other public benefits issues. Again, feel free to contact us if you need advice or information about any of these issues.
(Special thanks to the Food Research and Action Center, Washington, DC; Debby Freedman of Community Legal Services; and Neil Sethi of the Guild Food Stamp Clinic for their help preparing this article.)
Law Project sets HIV Social Security Project
The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania is starting a new initiative -- THE HIV SOCIAL SECURITY PROJECT. Our overall goal is to ensure that everyone with HIV/AIDS who is eligible for Social Security benefits receives them as quickly as possible.
As part of this project we are meeting with officials from the Social Security Administration to push for changes in the way applications are approved. To be successful we need your help.
Please call or drop us a line if you have any specific cases where your client is eligible for benefits, but has problems or faces a delay in getting benefits approved. Let us know:
l. What medical or psychiatric conditions does your client suffer from which make him or her eligible for SSA benefits? In particular, is fatigue and/or depression a factor in your client's disability?
2. What medical records were submitted on your client's behalf?
3. Did you client have any problems getting medical care providers to complete forms or forward medical records quickly? If so, what is the name (or at least type) of the medical care provider?
4. At what point in the process was your client treated unfairly or denied benefits? Examples include the application stage (e.g. for presumptive benefits), the initial application stage, the reconsideration stage, or the administrative hearing level. Please note the exact office or staff you or your client were dealing with.
5. What is your overall experience with Social Security Administration and what would you like to see improved?
Please call Nan Feyler, Executive Director of the AIDS Law Project with this information, or mail or fax her a note:
1211 Chestnut St., Suite 1200
Philadelphia, PA 19107
phone:(215) 587-9377