SB23-144 Prescription Drugs for Chronic Pain Fact Sheet –Sponsor: Senator Ginal

A recent study showed that as many as 40% of primary care physician offices will NOT see a new patient if they are using opiate pain medications.

Doctors’ fear of increased scrutiny for prescribing medications for patients with legitimate medical need has had a chilling effect on care.

Overly restrictive policies limiting controlled substances for pain to try to reduce overdose deaths has created another crisis:

Coloradans living with chronic pain are unable to access the treatment they and their doctors feel they need, resulting in increased disability, decreased function, suicides, and an increase in overdoses as pain patients try to treat their own pain.

Tapering a patient down or off opioid medication can actually increase their risk of overdose and suicide.

CDC Data suggest that illicit fentanyl and other illegally obtained controlled substances, tainted substances, or the use of multiple substances in combination drive overdose deaths.

This Bill:

• Protects access to healthcare by prohibiting a healthcare provider or health system from refusing to treat a patient solely because of the patient’s use of prescribed opioids or opioids at a particular dose.
• Clarifies that a prescribing healthcare provider treating a patient for chronic pain is not subject to disciplinary action solely for prescribing a controlled substance at a dose above a set or predetermined dose threshold.
• Prohibits a healthcare provider from forcing a patient to taper their medication below the dose they need, solely because of predetermined dose threshold
  recommendations, not for independent, clinical reasons.
• Prohibits a pharmacy, health insurance carrier, or pharmacy benefit manager from refusing to fill or approve the coverage for a drug solely on the basis of the dosage requirement of a patient.
• Improves access to controlled substances for patients with genuine medical need, including those in palliative, hospice, or end-of-life care. Policies around controlled substances for pain have left many patients struggling to access pain control and medications.
• Respects that treatment decisions should be individualized and made between the doctor and the patient. Ensures that clinical discretion–whether by a pharmacist or physician –will take precedence over one-size-fits-all policies.
• Helps protect Coloradans who need opioids for chronic pain management by improving access to care and enables them to get medications from a pharmacy of their choice.

This Bill Will NOT:

• Force doctors to prescribe opiates, other controlled substances, or any other treatments.
• Prevent people who are illegally diverting medications from being prosecuted.
• Prohibit providers from referring patients who generally require care outside of their area of expertise.

Click here to download the full PDF version: Cronic Pain – Fact Sheet Final 02/28/2023

Passive Donations through Amazon Smile.

I Vote because…

In conjunction with the Getting Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign, the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC) will be issuing a social media video challenge – “I’m disabled and this is why I vote…”

This is a call to arms for any and everyone in the disability community – regardless of disability type, or severity – to rise up and use your voice to demand action!

We need the disabled community to be registered to vote, to exercise their right to vote, and to hold their elected officials accountable to fulfilling their campaign promises – especially when it comes to protecting persons living with disabilities civil rights and healthcare, especially Medicaid.

Here’s how you can participate:

• Record a selfie-style video of yourself starting with the phrase, “I’m disabled and this is why I vote…”
  • If you are not a person living with a disability and would like to participate that is wonderful! Thank you! You can start by saying, “I am a person who is not disabled, but I vote for candidates who support the rights of people living with disabilities, and here’s why…”
• Post your video to your social media platforms (i.e.: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, etc.) using the following hashtags:
  • #Vote4Medicaid
  • #ColoradoDisabilityPowerVote
  • #ColoradoDisabiltyCommunity
  • #VoteLikeYourLifeDependsOnIt
  • #DisabilityRights
  • #DisabledVoicesInAction
  • #HearUs
  • #SeeUs
  • #ProtectUs
  • #VotingForOurLives
• Make sure that your post is public and sharable, and if possible please include closed captioning with your video(s).
• Tag CCDC in your post so that we can share it.
• Share the Colorado Voter Registration website link as often as possible – https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/olvr/verifyNewVoter.xhtml
• If you see someone’s post using any of the hashtags mentioned above, especially, please like and share it to help expand the post’s reach and gain traction.

Virtual Lobby Day Is Next Week! Call to Action

National Low-Income Housing Coalition                                       View this email in your browser

The U.S. Senate will move on a COVID-19 spending package before the end of July. The window is closing for needed advocacy. The time to act is now!

NLIHC and our partners throughout the country have been hard at work urging Congress to adopt our key priorities in the next COVID legislative package, including $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, a national eviction moratorium, and $11.5 billion in Emergency Solutions Grant funding for homeless service providers. Now is the time for advocates to take action to demand #RentReliefNow!

Participate in a Virtual Lobby Day on July 21!

When the Senate returns to work on July 20, they will begin discussions and negotiations on a spending package to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recession. Any final bill must include the housing provisions of HEROES Act that has passed in the House of Representatives. In this crucial moment, join NLIHC and numerous national partners by setting up virtual lobby visits throughout the day on Tuesday, July 21.

NLIHC’s toolkit makes your participation easy. The toolkit includes talking points, statistics, a template email to request a meeting, a list of top policy asks, and sample tweets. NLIHC staff are also available to help set up and attend your virtual meetings if such assistance is needed. Please reach out to your housing advocacy organizers for more information; we look forward to assisting you in your advocacy!

If you have meetings already setup for Virtual Lobby Day, let us know by emailing any of the organizers on NLIHC’s field team or by filling out this quick form to submit your meeting. When your lobby meetings are done, please also complete this Lobby Visit Report Back Form. Even if you have done a meeting in the past couple of days or will do one or more on other days next week, we’ll still count that for our total. And be sure to tweet about your meetings by tagging your member of Congress and using the hashtag #RentReliefNow!
Thank you for your advocacy!

National Low Income Housing CoalitionThe National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.

Contact Us:
National Low Income Housing Coalition
1000 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 500, Washington DC 20005
202-662-1530 x247

www.nlihc.org

CALL TO ACTION: We Need 12% FMAP (Federal Medicaid Assistance Payment) Increase

Urgent Action Needed from You!

From Julie Reiskin, Executive Director

Background:

• The FMAP formula is designed so that the Fed pays a lesser portion of Medicaid costs in states with higher per capita income relative to the national average.  Colorado until recently was a wealthier state.
• FMAP rates have a statutory minimum of 50% and a maximum of 83%. For FY2019, regular FMAP rates range nationally from 50% – 76.39%, with Colorado at 50% and states like MS, WV, AL, KY, and NM at greater than 70%,
• That means for every dollar of expense, the State of Colorado and the Fed each chip in 50 cents, despite how the Coronavirus pandemic is impacting our economy right now.  Colorado has tourism as a big part of our economy.
• At the same time, Medicaid membership increases as our economy takes a downturn, creating even more expense for the State.

Federal Response:

• The Federal Stimulus package did include a 6.2% increase in FMAP for all states.
• Colorado and most other states asked for and received needed flexibility from the federal government to help us cope with the effects of the pandemic. THIS JUST ALLOWS US TO DO THE ACTIVITIES BELOW BUT DOES NOT GIVE US RESOURCES TO ACTUALLY DO THESE THINGS:  Some of our requests include:
  • Not kicking people off of Medicaid during the crisis
  • Relaxing prior authorization requirements so people do not risk not getting essential services
  • Increased funds for supports like cleaning and sanitizing in nursing facilities, dialysis centers, etc.
  • Paying retainer payments to programs that are essential for our most vulnerable but that cannot operate during the crisis like adult day care programs
  • Allowing paid time off for some direct care workers so they do not come work with vulnerable people when ill.

Problem:

For Colorado to actually implement the most critical areas of flexibility requested, meet the needs of the Medicaid providers that include rural hospitals, personal care workers, people that provide direct support to those with cognitive disabilities, and other essential needs the FMAP needs to be at least 12%.   Therefore, we need our federally elected officials to actively fight for an increased FMAP in the next stimulus package currently in the work.  It must be at least 12%.  At the very least we need money that goes to the states to help with Medicaid costs.

This is NOT a partisan issue.  Medicaid Helps ALL of Colorado.   This could be a life and death issue for elderly and disabled Coloradans but will also affect many others including everyone who has either lost their job or has reduced hours.

WHAT TO DO NOW:

Everyone should contact BOTH Senators and the Representative for YOUR area.  You should say that you want the package to include 12% FMAP or any other way to get money to state governments and why you care about Medicaid.  Include that you are a voter, and know and speak to many other voters!!    Share this request with others.

Colorado U.S. Senators

1. https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
2. https://www.gardner.senate.gov/contact-cory/email-cory

Colorado U. S. Representatives

1. CD 1 Diana DeGette https://degette.house.gov/contact  Denver
2. CD 2 Joe Neguse https://neguse.house.gov/contact  Boulder to Ft. Collins and Eastern Mountains
3. CD 3 Scott Tipton https://tipton.house.gov/contact Entire Western Slope and Pueblo
4. CD 4 Ken Buck https://buck.house.gov/contact Northern Colorado including Greeley
5. CD 5 Doug Lamborn https://lamborn.house.gov/contact Colorado Springs to Salida
6. CD 6  Jason Crow https://crow.house.gov/contact Aurora to Centennial
7. CD 7 Ed Perlmutter https://perlmutter.house.gov/forms/writeyourrep/  Most of Jefferson & Adams

Please get at least 5 other people to write –and ask them to do the same!

PART 3: URGENT AND IMPORTANT CCDC INVESTIGATION OF CSL PLASMA

Please see Part 1  and Part 2 for other important related information.

THE FOLLOWING PROVIDES AND EXPLANATION OF THE LEGAL BACKGROUND REGARDING DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION THAT MAY OCCUR BY PLASMA CENTERS, INCLUDING CSL PLASMA:

According to their website, CSL Plasma states the following with respect to “Who Can Donate?”

Anyone in good health, 18 or older, who weighs at least 110 lbs, have had no tattoos or piercings within the last 12 months, meets our eligibility and screening requirements, has valid identification and a permanent address is eligible to donate plasma.

To maintain high health standards, a member of our medical staff gives every potential donor a screening examination, and gathers medical history information. This is for the donor’s safety as well as the quality of the product that will be made from plasma, and we assure the utmost respect to donor privacy.

Both the requirements regarding “good health” and the required “screening examination” may very well discriminate against people with disabilities, even though they may have been put in place with the best of intentions. These phrases often serve as buzzwords for disability discrimination. For example, what does “good health” mean and who gets to decide? Also, as explained below, “screening examinations” may screen out letting people with disabilities donate plasma even when an individual’s disability has nothing to do with the ability to provide a plasma donation safely.

Plasma centers like CSL Plasma are places of public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (“CADA”) and are not permitted to discriminate on the basis of disability.[1] As such, CSL Plasma cannot refuse to allow you (if you are an individual with the disability) to donate and receive payment for doing so on the basis of disability except under very limited circumstances. If you have already contacted a CSL Plasma center in the past and have been denied the ability to donate plasma based solely on the basis of your disability or if you call now to try to make a donation, here are some key things to remember:

No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who ow/ns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.[2]

Both Title III of the ADA and the CADA apply to the owners of public accommodations and/or businesses that lease a place of public accommodation or operate a place of public accommodation, although the CADA refers to “any person” who discriminates whereas the ADA only applies to entities that discriminate, not persons.[3] You should also be aware that Title III of the ADA prohibits an entity from engaging in contractual, licensing or other arrangements that result in discrimination on the basis of disability as well.[4] The CADA is intended to apply all of the same standards and defenses as the ADA.[5] As a result, it is possible, for example, that the CADA incorporates standards pertaining to contractual licensing and other arrangements that result in discrimination. Title III of the ADA prohibits many forms of discrimination some of which are very direct and others are much more subtle.

And now for some minutia or “getting in the weeds” of ADA Title III and CADA claims:

An individual or class of individuals on the basis of disability cannot be denied the equal opportunity to participate in plasma donation; nor can an individual or entity like CSL Plasma use “standards or criteria or methods of administration” that have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability or perpetuate the discrimination of others (for example, a standard that prohibited all people who are blind or deaf or who have any other form of disability that is not specifically related to the individual’s ability to donate plasma).[6] Title III also prohibits imposing “application of eligibility criteria ” that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with the disability or any class of individual with disabilities from participating in plasma donation and prohibits failing to “make reasonable modifications in policies, practices or procedures” when such modifications are necessary to afford an individual with disabilities and equal opportunity to participate in plasma donation or due to a failure to “provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services” (like sign language interpreters if necessary for effective indication) in order to participate in plasma donation.[7] Modifications of policies, practices and procedures under Title III of the ADA may also include requiring that a plasma center not discriminate against an individual with the disability who uses a service animal.[8] Under the CADA, an individual with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a service animal and even a trainer of a or an individual with the disability accompanied by an animal that is being trained to be a service animal is permitted to have the service animal in or service animal in training in any place of public accommodation.[9]

In addition, plasma centers are required to be fully accessible to people with disabilities if they are newly constructed facilities under the ADA if they have been altered or renovated in a significant way, and they must remove architectural and communication barriers when doing so is readily achievable which means without difficulty or expense (like installing accessible parking spaces and ensuring that equipment and rooms are made accessible when doing so is not complicated or expensive).[10] The CADA also addresses design and construction issues with respect to the requirements that it be construed to apply the same standards and defenses available under the ADA reference above and also in its remedial provisions.[11]

For people with mobility disabilities, there is specific guidance issued jointly by the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“Joint Guidance”). This guidance addresses requirements related to the accessibility of medical equipment and also the need to accommodate individuals with such disabilities. See “Americans with Disabilities Act: Access To Ethical Care for Individuals With Mobility Disabilities.” Here are just some examples that relate directly to this guidance as well as prohibitions set forth in the policies of plasma clinics regarding transferring individuals with mobility disabilities:

• • Question: I don’t want to discriminate against patients with disabilities, but I don’t want my staff to injure their backs by lifting people who use wheelchairs onto exam tables. If my nurse has a bad back, then she doesn’t have to help lift a patient, does she?

Staff should be protected from injury, but that doesn’t justify refusing to provide equal medical services to individuals with disabilities. The medical provider can protect his or her staff from injury by providing accessible equipment, such as an adjustable exam table and/or a ceiling or floor based patient lift, and training on proper patient handling techniques as necessary to provide equal medical services to a patient with a disability. (See Part 4 [of the document] for more information on this equipment.)

• • Question: What should I do if my staff do not know how to help a person with a disability transfer or know what the ADA requires my office to do? Also, I am unsure how to examine someone with spasticity or paralysis.[12]

To provide medical services in an accessible manner, the medical provider and staff will likely need to receive training. This training will need to address how to operate the accessible equipment, how to assist with transfers and positioning of individuals with disabilities, and how not to discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Local or national disability organizations may be able to provide training for your staff.[13]

Therefore, it might very well be considered discrimination on the basis of disability if a plasma clinic has a policy or standard that requires an individual who uses a wheelchair who wishes to donate plasma to be able to transfer herself to a device such as an examination table or chair used for plasma donation independently and without any assistance from the staff working at the plasma center.

Furthermore, it is very important that plasma centers do not discriminate on the basis of myths, fears, and stereotypes associated with disabilities as often occurs with respect to people with cognitive or psychiatric disabilities.[14] Therefore, if a plasma center prevented someone during its screening process from donating plasma because of fears or stereotypes related to the individual due to a condition that causes muscle spasms, seizures or psychiatric disorders, all of these actions may constitute discrimination under Title III. Likewise, if a plasma center refused to allow someone to be a plasma donor because the individual had a psychiatric disability based on a fear that the individual might attempt to donate plasma without having taken his or her medications might very well constitute discrimination on the basis of disability.

There are exceptions to all of the forms of discrimination that are prohibited under Title III of the ADA set forth above, but they are very limited. For example, if allowing the individual to donate plasma would cause an “undue burden to the plasma center, or if the individual somehow constituted a direct threat to the health or safety of others even if the behavior that caused that direct threat was related to disability and could not be accommodated reasonably, the plasma center may refuse to allow the individual to donate plasma. Even when a plasma center falls under the ADA provisions addressing newly designed and constructed facilities, there might be an exception for full and complete accessibility if it is structurally impracticable to make the facility accessible and in compliance with the requirements for the Standards for Accessible Design. There may be other disability-related reasons why an individual might not be able to donate plasma (for example, if an individual had some blood-related disease that would interfere with providing plasma, this might constitute an exception). Nevertheless, as said, the exceptions are very limited. As an example of the limitations on the exceptions, making a  determination as to whether allowing an individual with a disability to donate plasma constitutes an undue burden for the facility at issue, many considerations must be made like determining resources and capabilities of any parent company involved with the facility in question. Another example relates to the structural impracticability defense related to designing instruction. A public accommodation like a plasma center would have to prove that the conditions under which the facility was built made it almost nearly impossible to build it in for compliance with the ADA if it falls under the newly designed and constructed facilities provisions.

Therefore, as set forth in Part 1 of this Alert, please let us know if you have experienced discrimination on the basis of your disability by CSL Plasma, or, as set forth in Part 2 of this Alert if you wish to contact CSL Plasma and donate plasma, and you experience discrimination on the basis of disability as a result, please do contact Kara Gillon at the email address or telephone number listed in Part 1 of this Alert.

[1] 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(f) (defines “public accommodation” to include the office of a healthcare provider or other service establishment); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-601(1)(defines “place of public accommodation” to mean a place of business engaged in sales to the public and any place offering services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to the public, including but not limited to any business offering sales to the public or public facility of any kind whether indoor or outdoor); Levorsen v. Octapharma Plasma, Inc., 828 F.3d 1227, 1234 (10th Cir. 2016) (holding that a similar plasma donation center is a public accommodation under the ADA).

[2] 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-601(2)(a) (referencing the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability by any “person” defined elsewhere in the statute, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-301(5)(a), as including limited liability companies, partnerships, associations, corporations and other entities similar to those identified in Title III of the ADA).

[3] Id.

[4] 42 U.S.C. § 12182(1)(A)(i)-(iii).

[5] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-802(4); Colo. Code Regs. § 708-1:60.

[6] Id. §§ (b)(1)(A)(1) & (b)(1)(D).

[7] Id. §§ (b)(2)(A)(i)-(iii).

[8] 28 C.F.R. § 36 302(c)(1).

[9] Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-34-803(1)(a) & (2)(a) & 24-34-804(1). Both the ADA and the CADA place some limitations on the use of a service animal (and/or under the CADA a service animal in training). 28 C.F.R. §§ 36.302(c)(2), (4), (5) (the animal must be in the control of its handler, the animal must be housebroken and public accommodations are not responsible for the care or supervision of service animals); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-803(4)(requiring that a service animal or a service animal in training must be under the custody or control of the individual wh the disability or the trainer).

[10] 42 U.S.C. §§ 12183 (applicable to new construction and alterations) & 12182(b)(2)(A)(iv) (applicable to the requirement of existing facilities — those designed and constructed before the enactment of the ADA — to remove structural and communication barriers when doing so is readily achievable).

[11] Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-34-802(b)-(c).

[12] A similar analysis would be applied to a blood donation center or plasma donation center.

[13] The guidance provides direct contact information for the ADA Website and the US Department of Justice as well.

[14] 28 C.F.R. pt. 36, app. C at 706 (a person who is not allowed into a public accommodation because of the myths, fears, and stereotypes associated with disabilities would be protected under the ADA as would an individual who was denied services because the public accommodation feared a psychological condition constituting a disability might result in problems if the individual was not medicated properly).

⇐⇐Part 1                  ⇐ Part 2

Back to top of page

PART 2: URGENT AND IMPORTANT CCDC INVESTIGATION OF CSL PLASMA

Please see Part 1  and Part 3 for other important related information.

CCDC MEMBERS, IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY ATTEMPTED TO DONATE PLASMA TO CSL PLASMA (See all locations set forth in Part 1 of this Alert):

• DO YOU NEED TO EARN MONEY? (Silly question, we know.)
• DO YOU WANT TO SAVE LIVES BY HELPING YOUR FELLOW COLORADANS? (CCDC members are always the first responders when it comes to helping others.)
• DO YOU WANT TO HELP CCDC WITH A DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION WITH AN INVESTIGATION BY DONATING PLASMA OR TRYING TO DO SO? (We need your help to determine what, if any, discrimination on the basis of disability is happening.)

What could be better than that? A trifecta. CCDC members and friends, would you like to earn up to 400 extra dollars per month[1] on an ongoing basis and provide an enormously needed service to help others in need? Why not donate plasma? Currently, plasma centers are designated as a “Critical Business” that will remain open for purposes of making donations under the current Colorado Order and PHO (see Part  1 of this Alert for links to these orders) as well as under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency[2] because their services are needed desperately by those who need plasma. In addition, CSL Plasma advertises that it is taking extreme precautions to follow all COVID-19 protocols in order to ensure the safety of those of you who want to help others who desperately need donated plasma.[3] CCDC certainly wants to ensure that all of its members and our families, friends and colleagues stay safe and healthy. Finally, CCDC wants to make sure that CSL Plasma is not discriminating against people with disabilities and needs your help to investigate whether this is happening.

We all know everyone is struggling both with worries about their own physical health and the physical health of their friends and family, and we all are dealing with economic circumstances that also provide us all with a great amount of stress. For many, economic problems are enormous.   On top of the physical health and economic concerns that weigh heavily upon all of us, our current circumstances are affecting many people’s mental health as well.

One way we can all benefit others as well as earn some income during these stressful economic times is to donate blood and plasma. Because people are staying at home, they are much less likely inclined to provide needed donations of blood and plasma to those centers that will make it available for life-giving and life-sustaining procedures for so many people throughout our state.

Several recent news reports provide some examples regarding medical needs in Colorado, and plasma donations are needed now more than ever.[4]

CCDC is investigating CSL Plasma, because there is reason to believe that this entity is discriminating against people with disabilities and preventing them from donating plasma as a result. Even though people with disabilities want to do their part and help others as well as earn needed income in the process, they might be turned away from doing so for reasons resulting from disability discrimination that could very well violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (“CADA”) and possibly other disability rights laws.

You can earn up to $400 for donations each month and help save other people’s lives in the process. Even though you might have already received or soon will be receiving a tax refund and/or a stimulus check, for many of CCDC members with disabilities, this additional money can really help especially those on lower incomes and those who are currently not working because of the pandemic. By doing so, you can provide a potentially life-saving service for so many people who are either hospitalized or have conditions requiring them to need plasma transfusions for reasons that may or may not be related to the current pandemic. This needed service for others can help CCDC members with disabilities with their needed extra income.

So, by donating plasma, you can serve three very meaningful purposes: (1) You can help yourself make it through these difficult economic times; (2) you can help others who so desperately need plasma to survive; and (3) you can help CCDC with its investigation regarding whether this plasma center is discriminating on the basis of disability. This is an extremely rare win-win-WIN situation!

So many CCDC members (many of home live on lower and fixed incomes) who have always stepped up to help others in need in the past have asked us at CCDC, “What else can I do to help fellow Coloradans during this horrible and unexpected crisis?” This is one more critical time and one more urgently needed way to help. This very well may be the most critical time we have ever seen with respect to all of us needing to help each other. Clearly, donating needed plasma will help others stay alive as we all work to help each other get through the pandemic together.

Furthermore, CCDC has become aware and is very concerned that the entity that runs these plasma centers may be discriminating against people with disabilities who want to serve others in helping to donate plasma. We have reason to believe that these plasma centers may be prohibiting many people with disabilities, solely on the basis of disability, from donating plasma.

As set forth in Part 1 sent earlier, please let us know immediately (1) if you have tried to donate plasma at one of the Colorado centers listed in Part 1 And available on the CSL Plasma website for Colorado locations, and, in doing so, if you have been denied the ability to donate plasma for a disability-related reason (the appropriate contact information and what information you should provide is all set forth in Part 1); or (2) if you would be willing to try to donate plasma to assist others and earn some income during these trying times.  You can find the plasma center near you in the state of Colorado and contact the facility of your choice if you would like to donate plasma. Their website provides other useful information you will need as well.

[1] Please keep in mind not every payment will be $400.00. That is the maximum amount an individual might receive for donating plasma in a given period of time. According to the CSL Plasma Frequently Asked Questions page:

You can get paid up to $400 each month by donating life-saving plasma. This is applicable for eligible, qualified new donors. Fees vary by location. In addition, you can also receive points (called iGive) for your donations. iGive points can be redeemed for extra cash deposited (loaded) right to your reloadable prepaid card. Check with your preferred CSL Plasma donation center to see if they are participating in any other special promotions.” In addition, The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulations state that the maximum frequency you can donate plasma is once in a two-day period – and, no more than twice in a seven-day period.

[2] See CSL Plasma Corona Virus page and Safe Passage letter; as stated in Part 1 of this Alert, CSL Plasma centers also fall under the “Critical Business” exception to the Stay at Home Order executed by the Colorado Governor and as described by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in its implementation of the Order § III(C) which excludes businesses engaging in healthcare operations and provides a non-exhaustive list, including businesses like blood banks and other healthcare operations like plasma donation centers.

[3] CSL Plasma “Our Message to Our Donors.”

[4] See, e.g., “Denver man with rare disease is asking people to donate blood during the stay-at-home order,” Denver Post, https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/coronavirus/denver-man-with-rare-disease-is-asking-people-to-donate-blood-during-the-stay-at-home-order (last visited Apr. 7, 2020); “Local family seeks plasma donor for life-saving COVID-19 treatment,” Fox31 Denver, https://kdvr.com/news/coronavirus/local-family-seeks-plasma-donor-for-life-saving-covid-19-treatment/ (last visited Apr. 7, 2020); “Colorado hospital calling for donors to help with experimental, ‘promising’ coronavirus treatment: Convalescent plasma treatment is being used at Children’s Hospital Colorado,” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/colorado-hospital-calling-donors-experimental-promising-coronavirus-treatment/story?id=69951910 (last visited Apr. 7, 2020).

This three-part Alert will be followed by Part  3, the final installment of the Alert pertaining to the applicable law and how disability discrimination might occur related to those who wish to donate plasma. Part 1 sent earlier explains who to contact and what information you should provide if you feel you have experienced disability discrimination as a result of contacting CSL Plasma.

⇐Part 1                    Part 3⇒

Back to top of page

PART 1: URGENT AND IMPORTANT CCDC INVESTIGATION OF CSL PLASMA

Please see Part 2  and Part 3 for other important related information.

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY AND ATTEMPTING TO DONATE PLASMA TO A CSL PLASMA CENTER IN COLORADO BECAUSE OF YOUR DISABILITY?

For example, were you denied the opportunity to donate plasma and receive payment for doing so for a disability-related reason? If so, our Civil Rights Legal Program needs to hear from you as soon as possible. Please contact Kara Gillon at ccdclpa@ccdconline.org or (303) 660-8254. Email is best as the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (“CCDC”) staff are all following the current EXECUTIVE ORDER D 2020 024, AMENDING AND EXTENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER D 2020 017 ORDERING COLORADANS TO STAY AT HOME DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF COVID-19 (“Order”), entered April 6, 2020, as well as the UPDATED PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER 20-24 IMPLEMENTING STAY AT HOME REQUIREMENTS (“PHO”), dated March 26, 2020, and issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. Most of us are working at home unless otherwise necessary. CCDC is permitted under these orders to have staff in the office, but we are working at home unless otherwise necessary.

WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU? We need to know as much precise information as possible which may include the following: (1) when you made the contact with any of the CSL Plasma Centers located in Colorado (the previous link provides all addresses and other necessary contact information, also listed below); (2) all reasons why you believe you were discriminated against on the basis of your disability; (3) who you talked to and when and what was said.

Leave a good time to contact you (again preferably by email) and your name, telephone number, email address and whether you are a CCDC member already.

If you would like to become a CCDC member, membership is free and can be extended to any individual who believes in social justice for people with all types of disabilities. You can become a member easily by logging on to the CCDC Membership Website Page. By becoming a member, you may elect to receive important information regarding all activities of CCDC which are especially important in light of the current pandemic.

This is Part 1 of three parts to be included in this Alert.

Part 2 of this Alert will provide you with information regarding whether you would be interested in being a plasma donor which accomplishes three important purposes: (1) Assisting individuals who are in desperate need of plasma donations received those donations during this time of crisis; (2) helping you obtain some additional needed financial resources during this economic crisis; and (3) assisting CCDC with its investigation of this issue and the possibility of disability discrimination.

Part 3 of this Alert will provide you with the legal background for the types of disability discrimination individuals might be experiencing as a result of attempting to donate plasma at CSL Plasma centers.

WE ARE CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION AND NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Colorado CSL Plasma locations:

Arvada
11651 W 64th Ave Suite B1
Arvada, CO 80004
Ph: 303-425-9959
Fax: 303-423-6464
Mon-Fri 6:30am-7pm; Sat/Sun 7am-5pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Aurora
690 Peoria St. Unit M
Aurora, CO 80011
Ph: 303-363-0095
Fax: 303-363-6732
Mon-Fri 6am-8pm; Sat 7am-3pm; Sun 6am-6pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Colorado Springs
5506 N. Academy Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
Ph: 719-284-3258
Fax: 719-387-9767
Mon-Fri 7:30am-6pm; Sat/Sun 9am-3pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Evans (Greeley)
3505 11th Avenue, Unit #1
Evans, CO 80620
Ph: 970-330-3558
Fax: 970-330-1807
Mon-Fri 7am-8pm; Sat-Sun 7am-7pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Ft. Collins
1228 West Elizabeth Street, Suite D-3
Ft Collins, CO 80521
Ph: 970-484-2248
Fax: 970-484-2568
Mon-Fri 7am-7pm; Sat-Sun 7am-3pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Grand Junction
2650 North Avenue
Grand Junction, CO 81501
Ph: 970-233-7947
Fax: 970-241-3511
Sun-Fri 6am-7pm; Sat 6am 5pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Northglenn
11874 Washington St
Northglenn, CO 80233
Ph: 303-515-7621
Fax: 303-255-1471
Mon-Fri 6:30am-7pm; Sat-Sun 7am-5pm
Map This Location
Donation Center Details

Part 2⇒                         Part 3⇒⇒

Back to top of page

The Public Charge Rule Is Now in Effect Nationwide— What Does that Mean and What Can You Do?

Update: February 24, 2020 
From the Center for Public Representation

Today, the Department of Homeland Security’s discriminatory public charge rule goes into effect. The rule puts in place a new test for people who are applying for visas or green cards. It looks at people’s health, including whether they have a disability, and whether they have used or might one day use public benefits, including Medicaid-funded home and community-based services on which many people with disabilities rely because they are not covered by private insurance. This rule will have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities and will discourage people already in the US from using critical public benefits to which they are legally entitled. Continue reading “The Public Charge Rule Is Now in Effect Nationwide— What Does that Mean and What Can You Do?”

Action Needed! SB 20-033: Allow Medicaid Buy-in Program After Age 65

SB 20-033: Allow Medicaid Buy-in Program After Age 65

By Julie Reiskin, Executive Director, CCDC

WILL ALLOW PEOPLE WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES WHO WORK USING THE MEDICAID BUY-IN TO CONTINUE WORKING AFTER AGE 65

Program: The Medicaid Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities (Buy-In) has been a path out of poverty for people with disabilities since 2014. By allowing people who have a disability and a job to buy into Medicaid and, if needed, long-term services and supports, individuals can earn up to 450% of the Federal Poverty Level while only counting 50% of their earned income. Best of all, there is no asset test. ALL OTHER paths into Medicaid carry a $2000 asset limit and strict earnings limits.  Continue reading “Action Needed! SB 20-033: Allow Medicaid Buy-in Program After Age 65”