BOISE ( Idaho Capital Sun ) — The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is seeking federal approval to end a pandemic-era program that let Medicaid pay family members to care for people with disabilities.
Idaho’s largest state government agency that runs Medicaid, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, says the costs and enrollment levels for the Family and Personal Care Services program have risen sharply, alleging that abuse of the program contributed to rising costs.
“It is our hope that program advocates and participants can work with the Legislature to determine which safeguards are appropriate to resolve the troubling issues we are seeing on the ground, recognizing the need for additional staff capacity if labor-intensive safeguards are selected,” agency director Alex Adams wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Nov. 4, which he shared with journalists Thursday.
Adams told reporters Thursday that in the letter, he sought to flag program issues and give the Legislature lead time to “determine what parameters are most appropriate.”