The Legislature is considering a measure aimed at eliminating the backlog in Medicaid support services for people with developmental disabilities.
The demand for services for adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, brain injury and other related conditions has increased steadily for years, but state funding has not kept pace. Democratic state Sen. Rebecca Millett of South Portland says Maine must meet its responsibility and fully fund the four programs that are in place to assist that population.
“For too long, legislators have only picked away at the edges of the problem. In the meantime, waiting lists for disability services just keep growing. They’ve been growing steadily since 2008,” she says.
Parents of several adults with disabilities testified before the Health and Human Services Committee that when services end, their children lose ground.
The Mills administration is proposing to end one waitlist, but the cost to end all of them is estimated at over $200 million.
