The words illuminated on the screen, followed by a computer-generated voice.
"If it was not for you, I wouldn't be where I am today."
That's what Adam Walter, a Macon man diagnosed with cerebral palsy, said to his aide, Felicia, inside the Capitol Rotunda Thursday before the 15th annual Disability Rights Legislative Day rally in Jefferson City, which joined together disability advocates from across Missouri.
She responded with a smile.
Walter is allotted four hours weekly with his aide, who helps him with various tasks, including attending church and running meetings for the Macon County chapter of People First of Missouri, an organization dedicated to promoting equality for people with disabilities. He leads the chapter as its president. If he had more time with his aide, who is provided through a nonprofit organization, Walter could spend more time out in the community. At home, his mother assists him.
Like hundreds of others gathered inside the Capitol, Walter spoke up for the opportunities he needs to lead a meaningful life. The rally's theme was "Freedom to Choose My Own Path."
Becky Dickey, a Jefferson City woman born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, finds personal fulfillment in her employment with two part-time jobs with state departments.
"Working means that I am in the community," she said. "I'm doing something besides sitting at home. I could be sitting at home feeling sorry for myself, but I'd rather go out in the community and work so it can help my husband and I pay bills that we need to pay."
Many Missourians with disabilities opt out of employment in order to maintain their benefits, including Medicaid. Disabled individuals on the non-spenddown MO HealthNet (Medicaid) option cannot make more than 85 percent of the federal poverty level, a total income based on household size. To qualify for Medicaid, individuals with disabilities must make $834 per month or less. Couples cannot earn an excess of $1,129. For blind individuals, the limit is $981 monthly, and couples cannot exceed $1,328.
Dickey said a Medicaid buy-in program would allow Missourians with disabilities to gain employment and have access to health care. Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis, sponsored a bill this session to accomplish that, increasing the federal poverty level requirements for the disabled.
"Medicaid buy-in is the ticket to work," Dickey said.
Rep. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, has sponsored a bill that would increase the income caps annually from fiscal year 2018-21. In fiscal year 2018, the legislation states asset limits would go from no greater than $1,000 per individual to $2,000. Couples' asset limits would increase from $2,000 to $4,000. Every fiscal year following, individual asset limits will increase by $1,000 and couples' would jump $2,000. By 2021, the total asset limits would be $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for couples.
The current standards have not been adjusted since 1972, Engler said.
"Having to spend $1,000 based on a standard set in 1972 is not right," Engler said. "We are doing this (legislation) in a fiscally responsible manner - we're doing it over the next four years. We're taking (the asset limit) up so people won't have to decide on putting gasoline in the car to visit a loved one in a nursing home or eating. It's only fair, it's only just. Private businesses have had adjustment for inflation, it's time you had one."
In Missouri, more than 10 percent of people under 65 live with a disability. That's a population base with talents and skills going unappreciated and unrecognized, said Chris Worth, organizing team manager for the St. Louis-based company Paraquad.
"We have power, but they keep us poor," he said. "Today is about choosing our own path, and not only are we choosing our own path, we're making our own path. ... We are valuable people. We are not invisible."