CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is asking Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and state Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Karen Bowling to hold off on changes planned for the Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Waiver program.
The group met with Tomblin and Bowling Thursday. Nine delegates and one senator are requesting a one-year extension in the current status of the program, creation of a task force to examine the program and recommend changes, a legislative audit of the program and the implementation of incremental programmatic changes.
The DHHR announced the changes to the program earlier week. DHHR Deputy Secretary Jeremiah Samples said IDD Waiver has grown $200 million annually since 2006 with $110 million of that coming since 2010. In state dollars alone, the program has been $40 million over budget for the last three years. He said the current program is eating up funds that could help trim a waiting list.
“The modifications allow us to continue to try to get this program’s budget under control so we can service the more than 1,000 individuals currently waiting for services,” Samples told MetroNews.
The changes, which are mainly focused on family members who are caregivers and not on recipients themselves, are scheduled to go into effect July 1. The lawmakers are trying to stop that from happening.
Those signing the letter include: Del. Nancy Guthrie (D-Kanawha), Del. Denise Campbell (D-Randolph), Del. Barbara Evans Fleischauer (D-Monongalia), Del. Ralph Rodighiero (D-Logan), Del. Don Perdue (D-Wayne), Del. Patrick Lane (R-Kanawha), Del. Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha), Del. Kelli Sobonya (R-Cabell), Del. Isaac Sponaugle (D-Pendleton) and Sen. William R. Laird IV (D – Fayette, 10).
Those residents generally on the IDD Waiver list have Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida or other developmental diseases.