Make sure Iowans don’t lose services

To the editor:

There is no question Julie Beckett has been a champion for health care reform ('Change will lead to better care,” Jan. 22).

As a child, my son Kyle benefited from a strong case management program from private insurance that provided the medical care he needed to live at home. However, habilitative services were not provided.

Most case management programs do not cover the types of habilitative, employment and other support services individuals with developmental disabilities need to be successful. The initial intent of waiver programs may have been temporary, but they have evolved to become cost-effective integral part of our Medicaid system. Dismantling the Medicaid waiver system would be a huge mistake. The support and habilitative services provided for my son under the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities have never been paid for by private insurance. Kyle has been on this waiver since its inception in 1992.

Although he has an intellectual disability, Kyle is employed with supports covered by Medicaid and is paying into the system he has benefited from for many years. The managed-care organizations coming to Iowa have little or no experience in providing or paying for these services. I am an advocate for health care reform and welcomed the Affordable Care Act. Yes, states can make changes to how they implement Medicaid, but Iowa is on the fast track and must slow down. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities should be carved out of this change until it can be demonstrated they will not lose the services they depend on.

Bill Stumpf

Dubuque