Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story misidentified the speaker at the CHOICE board meeting.
Fifteen-year-old Alexander Davis is physically dependent on other people for all of his needs, from getting in and out of his power chair to sipping a drink.
But the straight-A Tipton student, who has spinal muscular atrophy, is his own spokesperson. In a meeting with his state representative at the Indiana Statehouse Monday, he and his mom, Anastasia, tag-teamed their case for why the state’s plan to cut the family caregiver program will wreak havoc on their and hundreds of other families.
“I’m not trying to get rich off my son ― I’m just trying to care for him,” Anastasia Davis pleaded with state Rep. Heath VanNatter, R-Kokomo. “So we’re just trying to communicate that these kids shouldn’t be bailed on.”
“And that’s what we feel like they’re doing,” Alexander added .
After the state’s Medicaid office discovered a forecasting error in December that resulted in a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall, the agency started looking to cut costs immediately. One solution, the Family and Social Services Administration announced last week , is to no longer pay parents or spouses for caring for elderly or disabled loved ones , including children with severe disabilities and complex medical conditions.