Parents Speak Out Against Proposed Medicaid Change (ID)

September 28, 2010

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare wants to take two Medicaid programs for kids with special needs out of the public school system, and that’s got some parents worried their children will end up losing the services altogether.
The Developmental Therapy and Intensive Behavioral Intervention programs help kids on Medicaid who have developmental problems and learning disabilities, the Times-News reports. Normally they’re provided through public schools, and Medicaid reimburses the schools for the care.

Under a proposed rule change issued earlier this month, the state would switch the programs to "waivered services," which means they wouldn’t get federal funding if they’re administered in a school setting.
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan said the rule change is cost neutral and would allow kids to access a wider range of options, including respite care and parental education for the same cost.
Children can still get developmental therapy and behavioral intervention, it just has to happen after school, Shanahan said.
Wendy Kohntopp, a parent from Filer whose 12-year-old son Tanner has Down syndrome, says that’s not acceptable. She says her son is well-adjusted, and she credits the developmental therapy and intensive behavioral intervention he’s received since preschool.
She said the state health department "is going to pass the buck to public education," meaning the programs will get water ed down or disappear altogether.
Schools still will be federally required to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment _ and generally that means having disabled kids in classrooms with non-disabled peers, with specialists helping out, said Filer Special Education Director Pamela Houston-Powell. The Medicaid changes mean cash-strapped schools won’t be able to afford those specialists any more, she said, and that will increase the burden on regular teachers.
"If we lose that funding, it affects our whole system that we’ve worked to get up and running since 2006," Houston-Powell said. "What IDHW wants to replace the current program with doesn’t help us in the schools."