Jul 022007
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an excellent article on kids with disabilities who are being warehoused in nursing homes. The article highlights the strong institutional bias that persists in many states’ Medicaid programs. Every state Medicaid program will cover nursing home care, but only a handful of states (including Minnesota) cover the optional home care services that make it possible for kids with severe disabilities to remain at home. These kids are victims of chance and geography; the disparities in covered Medicaid services are, in part, a function of tax base disparities. Wealthier states can afford to offer a more comprehensive set of Medicaid benefits.
According to the article, nearly 4,000 children with disabilities are currently placed in nursing homes. Many of them are placed in facilities that serve geriatric populations which can offer little in the way of schooling or therapy. The article really pushes the fact that it’s cheaper to care for these kids at home (this is the Wall Street Journal, after all) and that may be true. What really matters is that these kids would be healthier and happier in a caring and nurturing home. Unfortunately, our health care financing paradigm doesn’t share the same view.
