Is Indiana the Worst State For Poor People?

by Megan Cottrell · 2010-08-17 13:16:00 UTC
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If you're poor in Indiana, the state might as well just tape a sign that reads "Kick Me!" to your back.

The state's welfare payments are minuscule. Their homeless are sent packing. They cheat disabled adults out of their monthly food assistance payments. They put tons of kids in foster care.

And now they're making kids with developmental disabilities wait over a decade before getting help from Medicaid.

Over 21,000 people are on Indiana's waiting list for something called a Medicaid waiver. A Medicaid waiver is what you need if you have a developmental disability and need Medicaid to help cover your health care costs — not just doctor's visits, but your home care, special medications and therapies. Medicaid is designed to cover people's routine health care costs, but to get help for long-term conditions that people with developmental disabilities face, you have to get approved for a waiver.

It's not an easy thing to do, particularly in Indiana. Rebecca Davis, mother of a child with cerebral palsy and microcephaly, has been fighting to get a waiver for her daughter's medical costs for years. She filled out an application two years ago and hasn't even gotten a response. When she called to check on her application, she got a surprising answer.

"I kept asking about the paperwork I'd submitted in 2008 and the woman kept saying the eligibility date for the developmental disability waiver was Nov. 4, 1998. It took several minutes for me to figure out what she meant — that people who applied for a Medicaid waiver in 1998 were just now receiving services," Davis said.

State officials say the waiting list is so long because they prioritize those who have the most severe conditions and need the most help. And the state has increased the number of Medicaid waivers it grants over the last few years.

But the waiting list has also grown. And in a state that has a reputation for making the poor wait for years for help and, even then, not offering them much, the thousands of people waiting for a Medicaid waiver add to the list of those who are desperate and out of patience with Indiana.

Photo credit: swanksalot

Megan Cottrell is a reporter and writer living in Chicago. She blogs about public housing and poverty at One Story Up.
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