Kicked Off Medicaid — And Put At Risk
Plus: an Arizona fight over paid parent caregivers, new federal recommendations for autism therapy, threats to disability screening in Head Start and more
Medical Motherhood’s news round up
Snippets of news and opinion from outlets around the world. Click the links for the full story.
• From WRTV (Indiana): “‘It’s just devastating’: Families with disabled children say state kicked them off Medicaid”
[…]Some Indiana families with disabled children say they are being kicked off their health insurance through Medicaid.
[…]On June 1, the family was notified by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) that Sammy was kicked off Medicaid, which also impacted his waiver.
[…]Trisha says the state kicked her son off Medicaid, saying she did not meet the income requirements. Something she says doesn’t make any sense because parental income is usually disregarded with the waiver.[…]
• From Arizona Mirror: “Audit faults Arizona for unenforced limits on paying parent caregivers”
More than a year after new regulations were signed into law, a state program that pays parents to be caregivers for their developmentally disabled children still hasn’t implemented required guardrails meant to rein in skyrocketing costs. State auditors said that the delay has cost Arizona hundreds of millions.
[…The state’s Medicaid program, called Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System or AHCCCS] disagreed with all of the audit’s findings, while the Arizona Department of Economic Security, which oversees AHCCCS, disagreed with some findings and agreed with others.
[…]In her audit response, [AHCCCS Interim Director Roberta] Harrison wrote that the 40-hour per week cap on parent caregivers was not intended as a cost-cutting measure.
“Regardless of the caregiver, it is important to recognize that assessed services in excess of 40 hours are still covered for the minor child by a non-parent provider because the services were determined to be medically necessary,” she wrote. “…When a parent provider is capped at 40 hours, the balance of the member’s authorized hours is delivered by a non-parent direct care worker. The State’s obligation to cover the authorized service does not disappear.”[…]
• From AP News: “How lightweight bamboo wheelchairs are helping Kenyan children with disabilities”
A charity in Kenya is helping children that rely on a wheelchair get access to one using a novel idea. Bethany Kids pays farmers for locally sourced bamboo which is used to create prototype wheelchairs at workshops by technicians also funded by the charity.
• From Disability Scoop: “Feds Urge States To Adopt New Rules For Autism Therapy”
[…]The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a 173-page toolkit early this month spelling out a series of recommendations for states as they consider policy changes related to coverage of applied behavior analysis services.
The document advises states to limit use of telehealth and reconsider how many hours of therapy are warranted each week and how much consecutive therapy can be billed without giving children a break, among other suggestions.[…]
• From CalMatters via Tuscon Sentinel: “Trump administration pushing to gut Head Start early education program for neediest children”
[…]The federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs posted a notice that it intends to “significantly reduce regulatory requirements” for Head Start, effectively stripping the program of the unique features that have defined it since its creation in the mid 1960s.
[…]One Head Start standard that could be especially costly to eliminate is disability screening. Identifying and addressing disabilities such as dyslexia early can reduce the need for special education later on, potentially saving thousands of dollars, Stipek said.[…]
• From BBC (Northern Ireland): “'When your child is dying you shouldn't have to beg for help'“
[…]Lila was severely disabled and her parents say they spent their daughter's entire life fighting for support for her life-limiting condition.
[…]Lila’s third birthday would have been on 1 August.
The family spent what turned out to be Lila’s final weeks of life filling in forms so she did not miss the deadline for applying for mobility [Daily Living Allowance] before her third birthday.[…]
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