Submit your public comment to NCD

Your participation during the public comment period provides an opportunity for us to hear from you—individuals, businesses, providers, educators, parents and advocates. Your comments are important in bringing attention to issues and priorities of the disability community and informing the work of NCD.

Next Public Comment Opportunity:

Thursday, March 6, 2024 during NCD’s Council Meeting.

2:30 – 3:10 PM Public Comment About Younger People in Nursing Homes

Information on our Council meeting is available on our Upcoming Event page.

Public comment will be used to further develop the information in NCD’s reports, HCBS Ecosystem (2022), Deinstitutionalization: Unfinished Business (2012); NCD communications with Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding institutionalization and HCBS; and the 2021 Progress Report: The Broadscale Impacts of Covid-19 on People with Disabilities. It will fill a gap in the existing knowledge about younger people with disabilities in nursing homes by describing policies and events that contribute to nursing home placement, presenting state and federal data on the amount of younger people residing in nursing homes and describing the impacts on their lives. Finally, it will provide recommendations to federal and state agencies on improving existing policies and causes that result in the institutionalization of younger people with disabilities, particularly the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and state Medicaid agencies.

Research Questions

• What number of people with disabilities ages 21-40 are receiving LTSS in nursing homes? How large is the subset of those under age 21? What are the numbers by state? What are the demographics? What is the average length of stay?
• What data gaps exist on these questions and how could the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) improve them? What reporting could HHS or HUD require of federal fund recipients to obtain data on people with disabilities age 40 and under in nursing homes?
• How many people are estimated to be on waiting lists to transfer out of nursing facilities are ages 21-40 and under 21? How have these numbers changed over the past 10 years? What are the best sources for this data?
• Are there existing federal and state policies that have the effect of routing younger people with disabilities into nursing homes? Are they the same as those that keep them there?
• What impact has Money Follows the Person had on nursing home diversion for younger people with disabilities? Please provide specific examples to the degree possible. What other programs are successful at diversion of younger people with disabilities from nursing homes?
• What opportunities are available to younger people with disabilities who reside in nursing homes, for free appropriate public education (FAPE), recreation, community participation?
• What are examples of non-governmental initiatives to help move children out of nursing homes? What states house the most children in nursing homes? What are the main causes? What is the remedy?
• How could policymakers address the needs of younger people with disabilities in LTSS and housing policy so that nursing home placement is minimized?

Format: Virtual format – the Council will receive public comment in person, by email or by video or audio over Zoom.

For those interested in commenting, please read the Guidelines for Submitting and Presenting Public Comment During an Event details below in full. Advanced registration is required.

General Background:

NCD welcomes the input of the public throughout the year to help inform the Council Members of concerns of the disability community so that their research and recommendations to policymakers reflects the priorities of the community. At any time, individuals and organizations may submit public comment on any topic of concern to PublicComment@ncd.gov.

Four times a year, NCD hosts quarterly Council meetings, during which NCD designates a period of time to receive public comment, either in-person, or via audio or visual through Zoom virtual meeting platform. For these meetings, NCD often selects a topic on which to receive targeted public comment, usually in line with a project that the agency has underway.

Basic Guidelines:

• Advanced registration is required to make public comment at a quarterly meeting. To provide public comment during an NCD Council Meeting, NCD now requires advanced registration by either signing up to present while registering for the meeting or sending send an email to PublicComment@ncd.gov with the subject line “Public Comment” and your name, organization, state, and topic of comment included in the body of your email. Deadline for registration is the night before the meeting, by 8:00 p.m. EDT. All individuals desiring to make public comment are strongly encouraged to read NCD’s guidelines below for public comment in advance of the meeting.
• NCD cannot guarantee all who register will be called upon. NCD will call upon as many individuals who registered as possible as time permits. However, all public comment submissions sent via email will be collected and provided to the Council at the conclusion of the meeting.
• All individuals called upon to make comments will be allotted three minutes to speak. Due to time constraints, at the end of three minutes, individuals making comment will be asked to stop speaking.
• Council Members will not respond to questions or engage in discussion with commenters. NCD’s public comment periods are opportunities for the Council Members appointed by the President and leadership in Congress to hear from the agency’s stakeholders. Council Members will not entertain questions from the public nor engage in discussion with those who seek to make comment.
• Comments must be specific to the selected topic for the meeting. While public comment may be submitted on any topic over email, comments received during NCD meetings should be specific to the topic selected for the meeting. Those who make comments on topics other than the selected topic may be asked to stop speaking.
• If there is time remaining, those who did not register can indicate interest in being selected to speak and may be called upon at the discretion of the agency.

Guidelines for Submitting and Presenting Public Comment During an Event:

1. NCD’s public comment session during our quarterly council meeting is an official government proceeding to receive input from the public. Please be considerate and use proper decorum.
2. All public comment submissions received electronically or in person during the meeting are collected specifically to inform the Council, staff and its work.
3. Due to our time constraints and to facilitate a smooth comment period, advanced registration is required.
4. To preregistration to present comments on the specified topic during the public meeting, sending an email to PublicComment@ncd.gov notifying NCD of your intent to present during the meeting, Include name, organization representing, Specific topic. 
5. Individuals must preregister, but can either submit their written statement at that time or following their preregistration email.   
6. If you cannot attend the meeting or prefer to submit comment without presenting them, please submit written public comment submission to PublicComment@ncd.gov.

7, General public comment submissions will still be accepted and collected for the Council, but only those presenting on the specific topic will be allowed to present during this meeting.

1. When the Public Comment session begins, please be available and prepared to present your comments when called upon.
2. Those preregistered will be placed in a queue and will be called upon to present their comments.
3. When a person called to present, their mic and video will be unmuted and they will be asked to begin.
4. Comments will be limited to three minutes. Warnings will be given before the end of the three minute time, and presenter will be stopped at three minutes. 
5. If any time remains following the conclusion of the comments of those registered, NCD may call upon those who desire to make comments but did not register.
6. The public is welcome to provide additional public comments after the meeting to PublicComment@ncd.gov.