Feb 062006
A few days ago, I wrote about the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the hardships that it imposes on Medicaid recipients. But there are a few bright spots in the legislation, particularly the Family Opportunity Act. The FOA enables low-income and middle-income families to purchase Medicaid for their disabled children on a sliding-fee basis. Currently, many working parents of children with disabilities have keep their incomes artificially low to ensure that their kids will continue to qualify for Medicaid, which sometimes means turning down a raise or a promotion. The FOA will remove those disincentives and allow parents to increase their earnings without jeopardizing their children’s access to health care
The FOA is modeled on existing buy-in models that some states have already implemented, including Minnesota and Wisconsin. My own family benefited from Wisconsin’s Katie Beckett program when I was a kid. Without it, my parents might have had to face the very real possibility of surrendering custody of me to the state as the only means of getting me the care I required. It’s good to know that parents across the country will now have similar assistance available to them.
However, it should be noted that the FOA passed because of intensive lobbying by concerned parents over the last several years. Contrast that with the cuts that will affect the poorest Medicaid recipients. Politicians don’t want to give the impression they’re voting against working families, but it’s a little easier to punish a group of people that is essentially powerless and voiceless in the halls of Congress.
