National Council on Independent Living

As many of you know, NCIL’s staff is operating under a mandatory remote work policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and other public health experts make it seem likely this is policy will be extended for the immediate future. NCIL staff is fully equipped for telework and our work will continue unabated. There are, however, a few things we want to highlight during our time away from our physical office.

• Items mailed to NCIL’s office will not be received right away. While we have picked up our mail this week, items received in the next few days and weeks may not be received or processed right away.
• We encourage everyone to use email as much as possible during this situation, especially related to items you may normally mail or fax to us. A list of NCIL staff email addresses is available on our website.
• Call forwarding is in place and you can still call our office line to reach staff. Follow the prompts in the automated system to reach the staff person you want to talk to.
• We are closely monitoring the situation with COVID-19 and continuing our work on all of NCIL’s projects, events, and policy priorities.

We will continue to keep you updated with more information as it is available. In the meantime, we have created a web page to collect information, resources, and opportunities regarding COVID-19. View it at ncil.org/covid-19.

NCIL is proud to offer a national policy platform that advocates for the human and civil rights of all individuals. NCIL members directly determine our public policy priorities through regular survey, and by serving on our legislative and advocacy subcommittees. Read about NCIL’s current policy positions and access official position papers by using the Advocacy Monitor.

NCIL Statement on Police Violence

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) acknowledges that police violence, which is the cause of death for one out of every 1,000 Black males – a rate that is 2.5 greater than that for white males – is a public health issue that intersects with the disability rights movement via several different and troubling avenues:

• the traumatization of the Black community that occurs as a result of being subjected to the prevalent images of Black people being assaulted and even killed on live TV
• the aggravation of anxiety and other related mental health conditions as a result of constant monitoring by law enforcement in one’s own community
• the onset of acquired disabilities as a consequence of police violence that does not result in death
• the reality that police violence is a mitigating factor in overall health disparities prevalent within the Black community that, ultimately, impact overall life expectancy rates for Black people

Provider Accessibility Initiative

NCIL is pleased to announce the continuation of the Barrier Removal Fund (BRF) in 2020. NCIL and the Centene Corporation are committed to providing equal access to quality health care and services that are physically and programmatically accessible for our members with disabilities and their companions by increasing the percentage of Centene providers that meet minimum federal and state disability access standards. Since 2018, the Barrier Removal Fund has provided over $1M in grants to fund accessibility improvements at healthcare providers in six states (Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, and Kansas).

Centene, NCIL, and 3 affiliate health plans are collaborating to continue the Provider Accessibility Initiative (PAI) in three new states for 2020: California, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Read more about the Provider Accessibility Initiative.