Medicaid waivers to physically disabled not in budget

CARSON CITY - Lawmakers have been asked why $500,000 was left out of Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposed budget for a program to help physically disabled Nevadans live independently.

Members of legislative money committees didn't have an answer Monday, and turned to state budget chief Perry Comeaux who said the funding was one of numerous one-shot initiatives approved in 1997 but not recommended to continue.

The state actually reverted the initial $500,000 approved for the current two-year budget cycle. That was due to a hold-up in getting a waiver needed because federal Medicaid funds also would have been used.

Lawmakers in 1997 approved a bill requiring the state to apply for the Medicaid waiver in efforts to get people with severe physical disabilities out of institutions and into more independent lifestyles.

"The money is there, the program is there, the consumer is there," said Mary Jean Thompson of the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living in Reno. "Fifty or so individuals are expected to lose their independence, becoming dependent on nursing homes, with little or no choice in where they go."

Though the 1997 bill was passed and $500,000 was allotted, the two agencies charged with implementing it, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and the Department of Human Resources, never finished the waiver application.

HRD chief Charlotte Crawford, contacted after the meeting, said the problem was the length of time it takes to get a rule waiver approved.

The original idea was to allow use of Medicaid funds for alternative care that suits an individual's needs, such as assisted living, as long as the funds didn't exceed what the government would pay for institutional care.

"The bottom line is, we don't have a plan, an approved plan," Comeaux said. "Due to the budget situation, we did not recommend that this be continued in the upcoming biennium."

This leaves the disabled persons who were counting on the program without a choice in how they live, advocates said.

"Without this assistance, I would probably be costing more than I am right now. I would be in a convalescent home," said Ray Botrell. "It's a lifesaver. I've been able to volunteer my time and be more viable for this community."

The joint committee members also heard from administrators about the telephone claim system for jobless benefits that's now in place in southern Nevada.

Employment Security chief Stan Jones said the system, on line for less than a month, was well received by those using it to file their initial unemployment insurance claims.

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