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Delegate says IDD Waiver program changes should be put on hold

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A state lawmaker says the legislature should have a say in proposed changes to a health care waiver program that impacts thousands of state residents.

Del. Patrick Lane (R-Kanawha, 38)
Del. Patrick Lane (R-Kanawha, 38)

Del. Patrick Lane (R-Kanawha) criticized the state Department of Health and Human Resources and the Tomblin administration Wednesday during an appearance on MetroNews Talkline for proposing changes to the Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Waiver program 10 days after state lawmakers left Charleston at the end of the regular session.

The changes were put out for public comment and the DHHR announced its final decisions Tuesday. Lane said the changes need to be put on hold until the legislature can review the program.

“We need to keep the current program in place, file the current program as our five-year renewal and then once the legislature comes back in January we can modify the program as we see fit,” Lane said.

The DHHR said it needs to begin saving money now. The program has grown $110 million since 2010 and the IDD Waiver has been over state budget allocations by $40 million the last three years. The proposed changes deal with payment of services to family members who care for the intellectual and developmental disabled and not with the services directly tied to the disabled resident. The DHHR wants to use the money savings to address the more than 1,000 residents on the waiting list trying to get into the program.

Lane said he’s not sure paying a professional to care for someone in the program would be cheaper than paying a family member.

“That person (family member) might get $10-an-hour. If we shift it over to an agency, as is required by the plan that’s filed, that agency person, who is going to provide the same kind of care, is going to get $20-an-hour,” Lane said.

Lane also said Wednesday he’s detected a “dripping disdain” in comments made by the DHHR when it comes to family members caring for other family members that are in the program.

“You feel the tone of the language that people should not be paid to care for their family members,” Lane said.

The DHHR maintains it has kept the legislature up-to-date on the IDD Waiver program’s financial issues including frequent reports made to a health oversight committee. Lane said state funding for the federally matched program has stayed at about the $90 million mark the last few years.

“Frankly, I don’t know that many people put a great deal of credibility in the numbers the DHHR is putting out there,” Lane said. “The legislature needs to take a comprehensive look at it because it is an important program that needs to have sustainability.”

The proposed changes are expected to go into effect July 1.





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