Grassley, Kennedy Re-Introduce Bill to Help Disabled Children

GRASSLEY, KENNEDY RE-INTRODUCE BILL TO HELP DISABLED CHILDREN

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, ranking member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, today re-introduced their bipartisan legislation to help children with disabilities and their families. The senators won Senate approval of this long-time priority measure last May, but negotiations with the House to find a budgetary offset broke down, and the bill never received final approval.

"Medicaid works well for a lot of people," Grassley said. "The problem is some families fall through the cracks. Many parents of disabled children have to drop out of the workforce or keep themselves in a low-paying job just to remain eligible for Medicaid. In effect, the government is forcing parents to choose between near-poverty and their children's health care. We need to fix that. We came close last year, but time ran out. I hope we'll succeed in this Congress."

Kennedy said, "The Family Opportunity Act may be the most important legislation we pass this Congress. It will close the health care gap for the nation's most vulnerable children, and enable families of disabled children to be equal partners in the American dream."

The Family Opportunity Act allows states to create options for families with disabled children to buy into Medicaid while continuing to work. Parents would pay for Medicaid coverage on a sliding scale. Medicaid is critical to the well-being of children with multiple medical needs because it covers many services that these children need, including physical therapy and medical equipment, the senators said. Private health plans often are much more limited in what they cover. And many parents can't afford needed services or multiple co-payments out-of-pocket.

Grassley and Kennedy said the Family Opportunity Act is pro-work because it lets parents work without losing their children's health coverage, pro-family because it encourages parents to work and build a better life for their children, and it's pro-taxpayer because it means more parents continue to earn money, pay taxes and pay their own way for Medicaid coverage for their children.

"Parents want to provide the best they can for their children," Grassley said. "Congress should give states the flexibility to give families options without the federal government getting in the way."

Kennedy said, "These families deserve better --- continuing to force families into poverty or having families give up their disabled children to secure health care is a tragedy we have an obligation to prevent. "

Medicaid is a medical assistance program jointly financed by the federal government and state governments for eligible low-income individuals. It also covers health care expenses for the needy elderly, the blind and the disabled receiving cash assistance under the Supplemental Security Income Program.

The Family Opportunity Act has attracted widespread bipartisan support in each Congress since Grassley and Kennedy authored it in 1999, with co-sponsors numbering 70 or more. A House version of the measure sponsored by Reps. Pete Sessions and Henry Waxman also enjoyed strong support with more than 235 cosponsors. The Senate Finance Committee first approved the measure in 2002, on a voice vote, without controversy. The full Senate first passed the Family Opportunity Act in May 2004.

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