BOISE, ID – Kristyn Herbert has a knack for coming up with delicious recipes in her head. But a seizure when she was a 2-day-old infant that left her not breathing for 10 minutes means that she needs someone else to prepare the food in her Meridian apartment.
Herbert pays for her 24/7 care through Medicaid, but this type of long-term care in her home is considered an optional benefit that states may offer under federal regulations. Herbert has been living under looming uncertainty about whether the service will be taken away after Congress this month passed a federal budget reconciliation bill that is expected to cut Medicaid spending by around $1 trillion over the next decade.
“If they cut my Medicaid, I don’t know what to do, because I won’t move into a nursing home,” she said. “I can’t have my baby (Herbert’s cat Destiny is her “baby”) and people go to nursing homes to die.”…