House rethinks fee hikes for disabled kids

02/10/2005

BY TONI COLEMAN

Pioneer Press

February 10, 2005

A House committee is reconsidering controversial budget cuts that raised the fees families pay for services for their developmentally disabled children.

The House Health Policy and Finance Committee heard emotional testimony Wednesday from parents in support of a fee-reduction bill authored by one of the legislators who initially supported the fee increases the 2003 Legislature enacted to save the state $4 million.

Rep. Fran Bradley, R-Rochester, said the increase in the sliding-scale fees parents pay for Medical Assistance was needed two years ago because parents of “considerable means,” making $60,000 a year, were paying $25 per month to access thousands of dollars in services. The program for disabled children supplements private insurance and pays for in-home personal care aides and reimburses parents’ medical travel expenses, among other things.

“Whenever we do something around here, it’s important to look back and see how it worked,” Bradley said. The higher fees have proved to be harmful to middle-income families, he said.

A family of four with an annual income of $75,000 now pays $454 a month, compared with the $199 monthly fees it was paying before. Under Bradley’s bill, that family would pay $284 per month.

The House committee is considering the bill for inclusion in the final budget for the state Department of Human Services. The changes would cost the state more than $2.6 million in the next two years, raising concerns that they may not be financially feasible for a state already faced with a $700 million shortfall.

Arc of Minnesota, a group that is lobbying on the issue, has held 16 town meetings across the state to discuss the fees and has recruited parents like Jessica Wilson of St. Cloud to share their stories.

Her 14-month-old son, Lars, was born with spina bifida and has had six surgeries and spent long periods in the hospital. Holding her son, who smiled and waved at legislators, Wilson recounted the hardship the higher fees, which went from $157 per month in 2003 to $409 per month in 2004, caused her family.

Because of Lars’ surgeries and hospital visits, Wilson was unable to keep a part-time job she used to cover most of the fees. Unable to pay the fees on top of the $5,000 deductible for their private, employer-provided health insurance, the Wilson family eventually dropped out of the state program.

“Before we knew it our savings was almost gone. We dig deep each month to cover his medical costs,” Wilson said. “This has placed us in a financial hardship. We have to second guess if we need to bring Lars into the doctor and how we are going to afford the care he needs.”