Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Legislative Audit Report Released on A/D Waiver

In 2006 it got harder to be be determined medically eligible for the Aged and Disabled Medicaid Waiver program in West Virginia. Increasing numbers of new applicants were being denied eligibility, and increasing numbers of beneficiaries of the program were being thrown off or getting levels of care reduced because they were failing their redeterminations under the PAS 2005. Some of the beneficiaries had been on the program for many years. Concerned citizens organized, the media took notice, a class action lawsuit was filed (Fleshman v. Walker), and the West Virginia legislature asked for an audit of the situation.

Finally on Monday, January 7, 2008 the auditor's report was published. You can find the complete report here on the legislature's website. It's a 28 page .pdf file. Here also is a brief article in the Gazette about the report.

Most advocates believed that the changes were intended to save the state money by reducing the number of people the program served and the levels of services they received. This report supports that conclusion.

No comments: