Parents of Disabled Children in Arkansas Will Get ‘Second Chance’ To Receive Medicaid Benefits

Arkansas officials have said they would give parents of 241 children who lost benefits under a Medicaid program called the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act another opportunity to receive benefits, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. TEFRA, which serves approximately 3,000 Arkansas children with severe disabilities, has cut 270 children from the program since July 1 as a result of state budget reductions. Parents of 241 children will receive a notice giving them 30 days to illustrate why their child should continue to receive services through the program. According to Julie Munsell, a spokesperson for the state Department of Human Services, TEFRA officials decided to grant second chances after noticing the number of denials for service based on "inaccurate information" or "lack of proof of medical necessity." Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Sept. 9 said that parents should not consider TEFRA benefits permanent. "It's not a once on (TEFRA), forever on (TEFRA). If (medical experts) deem that progress of that child is such that (TEFRA) is no longer medically necessary, then it would be the same thing if you were being treated for gallbladder condition, we probably wouldn't continue treating you for gallbladder disease," Huckabee said. But Shannon Aston, vice president of the parent association at Little Rock-based Access School, which cares for disabled children, said, "How in the world can you say a Down syndrome child is not medically needy? These children are medically needy or they wouldn't have qualified in the first place. It's not like a cold. You don't get over it" (Blomeley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 9/10).