VA governor proposes cuts in services to people with disabilities
January 13th, 2009From the DC Examiner:
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine plans to shelve a planned expansion of community-based care for the mentally disabled in Virginia, drawing opposition from lawmakers and advocates who cite a swiftly growing need for the program.
Despite the decades-long trend away from institutional care, Medicaid still requires states to fund a waiver to provide care for a mentally retarded person outside of the facilities
… The waivers in many cases offer care to disabled Virginians when no other care is available, often after a parent or caretaker dies. Kaine is proposing to delay 200 new slots in the program approved last year by the General Assembly that were supposed to open in April.
The action would result in a savings of $6 million. Legislators need to cut $3 billion from the state’s proposed two-year budget.
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