House Health &  Welfare Chairwoman Janice McGeachin has issued a news release charging that the state is overpaying for families who care for disabled members at home through the Medicaid program, and asking,  “When did we make the shift to decide that the taxpayer should be responsible for what has traditionally been the role of the family?” Click below to read her full release.

News release from Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, House Health & Welfare Committee chair, 2/16/11


More Dialogue Needed on Medicaid Family Payments

As lawmakers work to balance the state’s healthcare needs with shrinking tax revenues, one topic that
warrants further conversation is budget-setting for families who qualify for the self-directed track of the
Medicaid developmental disability waiver.

Idaho is careful to identify true need before admitting citizens to its Medicaid programs. The resulting
benefit is those in need can be provided for at a level that exceeds many other states.

In fact, lawmakers learned in public hearings recently that many families, especially those with great
need, have moved to Idaho because of our more generous healthcare programs.

A number of these families are in-home providers of healthcare to disabled family members. Because
it is less expensive, and generally better for those involved, the state provides families with a budget to
care for disabled family members who would otherwise be institutionalized at much greater cost to the
state.

A potential cause of concern, however, is the enormous amount of money some families receive for this
service. The average family on a Medicaid developmental disability waiver in Idaho receives a budget of $42,000 a year, while several families receive in excess of $100,000 a year from the state for their work taking care of a family member.

The system could use review.

For instance, should the state be paying the sister of a man who must be monitored through the night
$10 an hour for sleeping in the same room with him? Is that action beyond the scope of what a sister
ought to be doing for her brother anyway?

And just this year, a family hired an attorney when the state refused to increase their budget to help
cover an increase in their taxes.

Rep. Janice McGeachin asks the question: “When did we make the shift to decide that the taxpayer
should be responsible for what has traditionally been the role of the family?”

While the state’s role in providing for disabled citizens who have no family and nowhere else to turn is,
perhaps, more clear-cut, it can be difficult to decide, for those who do have this support, where the line
between family obligation and the need for state compensation should be drawn.

These issues are all the more pertinent in a year when the Legislature is working overtime to find a way
to best utilize limited funds to meet our citizens’ greatest needs.

The Health and Welfare committee will follow its principles of policy as it evaluates programs on criteria such as soundness of business practices, scientific evidence of outcomes, and effectiveness of health care provided.

Says Rep. McGeachin, “We need to take a second, honest look at some of these programs and begin to
really explore what we value and want from them, and where we can realize efficiencies in how some
programs are implemented.”
 

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