Current:Home > FinanceParents of disabled children sue Indiana over Medicaid changes addressing $1 billion shortfall-LoTradeCoin
Parents of disabled children sue Indiana over Medicaid changes addressing $1 billion shortfall
View Date:2024-12-23 19:21:11
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Parents of two children with disabilities are suing an Indiana agency in federal court over changes to attendant care services they say violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and federal Medicaid laws.
A state agency overseeing Medicaid has reimbursed parents, guardians and spouses for home care for years.
Starting July 1, the state will no longer reimburse family members or guardians. The changes were proposed as a part of a cost-savings plan after the agency — the Family and Social Services Administration or FSSA — underestimated its Medicaid expenditures through July 2025 by nearly $1 billion.
Families of children who require constant medical attention in particular say the transition is mismanaged. The lawsuit alleges children’s health and well being is at risk and asks the court to order the state to continue reimbursing parents and guardians.
“This is a legally complex case about medically complex children,” the complaint filed Friday said.
A spokesperson for the FSSA did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. The state has said the attendant care services are where the Medicaid program is “most acutely seeing an unanticipated growth in spending.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Indiana Disability Rights are representing the families and the Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission in the lawsuit.
Families of children with a variety of complex medical needs have spoken out against the changes since they were first proposed in January. The complaint says the Medicaid payments help rural families who are far from facilities with trained personnel and are a financial necessity for parents unable to work while caring for their children.
Parents must provide constant care including feedings through a gastronomy tube, operating a ventilator, monitoring seizure activity and administering medications, the complaint says.
The FSSA has said it will work with families to find alternate care options, but the lawsuit alleges the new reimbursements rates are not sufficient.
The complaint said the changes could result in some children who need constant medical attention being placed in an “institutional environment,” especially if their parent must return to work to pay for the care. The lawsuit says parents of children with such disabilities often prefer to care directly for their child to suit their individual needs.
The mothers named in the suit care for a 6-year-old boy with rare genetic disorder called cri-du-chat syndrome and a 10-year-old who has hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a type of brain damage.
According to the lawsuit, both children experience routine seizures that require constant monitoring on top of other assistance. The 10-year-old was placed for a period of time in a pediatric nursing home but had a “horrendous experience.”
The lawsuit says the risk of being placed in institutions violates the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement that state and local governments offer services in people’s homes and communities.
veryGood! (5772)
Related
- John Krasinski named People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024
- N.Y. Liberty forced to move WNBA Commissioner's Cup title game due to NBA draft
- Walmart is shifting to digital prices across the chain's 2,300 stores. Here's why.
- Video shows deer warning yearling, Oregon family of approaching black bear
- Armie Hammer Says His Mom Gifted Him a Vasectomy for His 38th Birthday
- Woman ID'd 21 years after body, jewelry found by Florida landscapers; search underway for killer
- Photos show Kim Jong Un and Putin sharing gifts – including a limo and hunting dogs
- Why Heidi Klum Stripped Down in the Middle of an Interview
- New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M
- McDonald's set to roll out $5 value meal. Here's what that buys you.
Ranking
- Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
- Suspect in murders in Oklahoma and Alabama nabbed in Arkansas
- Here’s the landscape 2 years after the Supreme Court overturned a national right to abortion
- On wealthy Martha’s Vineyard, costly housing is forcing workers out and threatening public safety
- NASCAR Cup Series Championship race 2024: Start time, TV, live stream, odds, lineup
- 3 dead, 10 wounded in mass shooting at Arkansas grocery store, police say
- Nothing like a popsicle on a hot day. Just ask the leopards at the Tampa zoo
- 190 pounds of meth worth $3.4 million sniffed out by K9 officer during LA traffic stop
Recommendation
-
Roster limits in college small sports put athletes on chopping block while coaches look for answers
-
Program allows women to donate half their eggs, freeze the rest for free amid rising costs
-
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline as Nvidia weighs on Wall Street
-
Real Housewives' Porsha Williams Says This $23.99 Dress is a 'Crazy Illusion' That Hides Bloating
-
Mean Girls’ Lacey Chabert Details “Full Circle” Reunion With Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Seyfried
-
Prince William jumps for joy in birthday photo shot by Princess Kate
-
Thunder trade guard Josh Giddey to Bulls for Alex Caruso, AP source says
-
How does heat kill? It confuses your brain. It shuts down your organs. It overworks your heart.