{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.portman.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-portman-priorities-help-vulnerable-elderly-and-disabled-get", "Senate Passes Portman Priorities to Help Vulnerable Elderly and Disabled Get Care They Need", "2019-12-19", "2019", "2019-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Rob Portman", "P000449", "www.portman.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senate Passes Portman Priorities to Help Vulnerable Elderly and Disabled Get Care They Need\n \n      \n  \n\n          \n                          \n      December 19, 2019\n      \n  \n |     \n                          \n      Press Releases\n      \n  \n  \n    \n                  WASHINGTON, DC  U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) applauded the Senate today for passing the final FY 2020 funding bill, which includes his priorities to help vulnerable groups like the elderly and the disabled get the care they need. The package includes a five-month extension for Portman's bipartisan Money Follows the Person Program, which helps transition Medicaid beneficiaries from nursing homes to long-term care in their homes; and the Protecting Beneficiary Access to Complex Rehab Technology Act, which will remove accessories to complex wheelchairs from Medicare's competitive bidding, and thus improve access to those accessories for wheelchair-reliant seniors. The legislation now heads to the president's desk for his signature.\nI'm pleased that the Senate passed the final FY 2020 funding bill, which includes my legislation to help to ensure that the most vulnerable among us have better access to quality care,Portman said. The legislation helps support seniors with disabilities by improving access to vital accessories for wheelchair-reliant seniors, and it includes a five-month extension of Money Follows the Person (MFP), which helps transition Medicaid beneficiaries from nursing homes to long-term care in their homes. This extension of the program will mean that MFP can continue to support the more than 10,000 Ohioans that the program has helped to receive the home and community-based care that they need. I will continue working for a longer extension like the permanent extension Senators Grassley and Wyden included for the Money Follows the Person Program in their Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act.\nNOTE: The legislative package includes the following Portman-championed priorities:\n \n\tThe Protecting Beneficiary Access to Complex Rehab Technology Act will remove accessories to complex wheelchairs from Medicare's competitive bidding, and thus improve access to those accessories for wheelchair-reliant seniors.\n\tThe Ensuring Medicaid Provides Opportunities for Widespread Equity, Resources, and Care Act  or EMPOWER Care Act will help Medicaid beneficiaries receive long-term services and support in their community or home and help save taxpayer dollars in the process. The legislation includes a three month extension version of this priority.\n \n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.portman.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-portman-priorities-help-vulnerable-elderly-and-disabled-get"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4396689366549253, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}