Source: PHOTO: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
STATEHOUSE — The Medicaid shortfall that the state is tasked with rectifying may have a big impact on parents who get help from the program in caring for their children with special needs.
Parents of what the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) calls “medically complex children” are currently reimbursed by Medicaid as caregivers. But the shortfall means that the program faces cuts, and these parents appear to be on the chopping block.
On Monday, a group of parents who also act as caregivers for their children met with Gov. Eric Holcomb and FSSA Secretary Dr. Dan Rusyniak to lay out their concerns about what help they will be able to get from the state.
What will likely happen is that parents of “medically complex children” will be able to move over to a different program. The structured family caregiving program under Medicaid functions similarly to the program parents currently rely on, but it reimburses caregivers at a lesser rate.
“I feel like we gave the governor and the secretary a significant amount of information that they need to be able to move forward with and hopefully be able to act on for the betterment of our families,” said Jennifer DeWitt, who led the group of parents.
They had been requesting this meeting for several months once news of the Medicaid shortfall became apparent.
“We really appreciate that they finally took the time to meet with us,” DeWitt added. “Although we wish we had this opportunity sooner to let them know about the issues that we are having. But it is better late than never.”
One of the issues these parents, and 200 more like them around the state, are having with the new program is getting set up with it. They say there is vague information about which parts of the program they and their children qualify for. They asked the governor and secretary to get clarification on that.
“I listened carefully and appreciated the moms bringing their concerns forward,” Gov. Holcomb said in a statement. “They obviously only want the best for their children. Dr. Rusyniak was with me during the meeting, and we’ll consider the issues they raised as well as changes we can make to better communicate with impacted families.”
The parents are hoping the state will enact a 90-day delay in the proposed changes to FSSA so they can have more time to get set up on the right plans with the new program.
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Caregiving Parents Meet With Governor Over Issues With Medicaid Shortfall was originally published on wibc.com
