Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing to fund the most substantive boost in years to the Medicaid reimbursement rates for agencies that help those with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Rachel Brewer speaks at a rally with disabled Pennsylvanians and direct-support workers calling for more funding for the state's Medicaid waiver program on June 26, 2024.It took Rachel Brewer five years — from the time she graduated Cumberland Valley High School in 2019 until just recently — to finally get the support she needs to live the life she wants.and ADHD. She previously had few ways of getting out of the house, where she lives with her disabled mother.
That problem may soon be alleviated if the system in question — Medicaid home and community-based living waivers — get a jolt of new funding in the upcoming state budget, with Gov.
But the legislature must appropriate the funds — roughly $217 million from the state, which would be matched by $266 million from the federal government. Out of the more than 13,000 Pennsylvanians on the waiting list for autism and developmental disability services, roughly 4,500 are classified as “emergency” cases, according to statistics cited in Kinsey’s and Heffley’s letter.But allocations were not made to significantly boost the underlying reimbursement rates.
“It’s competition with the private sector,” said Richard Edley, head of the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association. Disability support agencies that operate on a fixed stream of public funds from Medicaid simply can’t keep up, he said. For many disabled Pennsylvanians, these numbers translate into years of lost potential. Many have seen shortages and rapid turnover among the staff they rely on for assistance, something that “greatly affects people like me,” said Molly Hosey, a disabled advocate.
Autism Josh-Shapiro Pennsylvana-Legislature
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