I&8217;m writing about something people may have overlooked in the news recently. You see, I believe you may have missed it because it&8217;s something we don&8217;t want to think about &045; becoming disabled and being forced into a nursing home.

If you ignored this information because you&8217;re young, and think it doesn&8217;t apply to you, think again. Maybe you&8217;re older, but in good health, and can&8217;t image being unable to care for yourself. The fact is, we&8217;re all seconds away from this situation &8212; it takes just one major health crisis or disabling accident. If you can&8217;t work, and can&8217;t care for yourself, Medicaid is the only option for most people. And, as it stands now, Medicaid will only pay for nursing home care.

Both young and old Alabamians are in nursing homes because their choices have been limited by state government, and our elected officials have rejected an opportunity to improve their situation.

Alabama has until Nov. 1 to apply for &8220;Money Follows the Person&8221; funds. The $1.75 billion federal grant will allow some nursing home patients to continue receiving Medicaid payments, even if they receive care at home or in community-based programs.

While many health-related grants require a 30 percent match from the state, under &8220;Money Follows the Person,&8221; the federal government pays 85 percent and Alabama pays only a 15 percent state match for the first year. To make the grant more appealing, at-home care costs an average of 30 percent less than nursing home care.

Sounds like a great deal doesn&8217;t it? Yet, state officials said Alabama will not apply for the grant because money isn&8217;t available for matching funds. That just doesn&8217;t add up. Our state recently announced a $1.66 billion, or 15.25 percent, increase in the state&8217;s general fund during the last fiscal year

Since it appears the refusal to apply for the grant wasn&8217;t really motivated by money, what possible reason could our elected officials have for refusing the grant money?

In Alabama, policy makers can be influenced by special interest groups.

For years, the non-profit disability and aging communities have been outspent and outmatched by these big-money special interest groups. As a result, thousands of Alabamians fall victim to state policies, regulations and laws.

The good news is AARP Alabama, Alabama Arise, the dedicated people who serve the disabled community and a number of other groups have formed a coalition, and they&8217;re not taking &8220;no&8221; for an answer. While they&8217;re hopeful our state will apply for the funds before Nov. 1, they&8217;re not counting on it. The group is working on legislation that requires Medicaid to develop an in-state &8220;Money Follows the Person&8221; program.

I&8217;m writing this hoping everyone will realize how this program could completely change their lives and the lives of their loved ones. But unless our legislators hear from the voters, the big-money special interest groups will win again. Please contact your legislator and ask him or her to urge the our elected officials to apply for the grant, or failing that, support the &8220;Money Follows the Person&8221; bill in the upcoming legislative session