Medicaid Reform Committee Supports Disability Programs

The interim legislative Medicaid Reform Committee has decided not to recommend any reductions in services or eligibility requirements for disability programs funded by Medicaid.

The Committee endorsed a recommendation to promote awareness and use of the consumer-directed model in the Personal Care Option for attendant care services, and it also supported the submission of a "global funding" waiver to combine nursing home services and funding with the Disabled & Elderly (D&E) waiver for community-based services.

These decisions were consistent with the recommendations made to the Committee by the Disability Coalition on Medicaid Reform. The Coalition was chaired by the Executive Director of Protection and Advocacy and also included representatives from the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, The Arc of New Mexico, the Coalition for Living Independently in the Community, and the Governor's Committee on Concerns of the Handicapped.

The legislative Committee was created in response to the increasing expenditure levels in the Medicaid program, and was charged with making recommendations to the legislature on how to reduce or restrain costs. Final decisions on programs and budgets will be made during the 2003 legislative session.

With funding from the Council, Protection and Advocacy and The Arc, the Coalition provided information and testimony to the legislative Committee about disability programs funded by the Medicaid program, recent developments in disability services, suggested guiding principles for such services, and made extensive recommendations to support and improve programs. In particular, the Coalition encouraged greater awareness and utilization of the consumer-directed option in the Personal Care Option program, and the needs of persons on the waiting lists for waiver programs.