Olmstead v L.C.: Implications for Older Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities
By: Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, Health Law and Policy, The George Washington University Medical Center, School of Public Health Services; | November 1, 2000
Analysis by Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., of George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services of the implications of the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision for individuals with physical and mental disabilities, with a particular focus on older persons. Olmstead's central holding is that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits states from unnecessarily institutionalizing persons with disabilities and from failing to serve them in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs if the provision of community services represents a reasonable accommodation and not a fundamental alteration of public programs. Implications for Medicaid policy are also considered in this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper. (17 pages)
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