Wages for Texas Medicaid caregivers were already close to the poverty line. However, parents whose primary source of income was providing care for their impaired children are now unable to work extra hours. Parents are in line to implore state health commission officials not to raise caretaker wages at a hearing held inside an Austin high-rise north of the Texas Capitol in August. They claimed it would backfire. Their means of support would be lost.
This group of parents, many of whom act as the primary caregivers among their physically and intellectually challenged adult children, advocated for less financing in a town where state authorities frequently hear requests for more money. Some spoke in groups while being seated next to their impaired adult offspring. They realized better than most that maintenance was never going to be a 9-to-5 profession and that even a tiny compensation increase would prevent them from clocking extra hours despite making up the difference.
Numerous youngsters in the group need on 24-hour care that is funded by a Medicaid waiver scheme called Neighborhood Help and Support Services. After years of shortages, confusion, and crises throughout the state’s Medicaid programs, activists first saw this year’s state budget’s modest boost in base caretaking salaries as a victory.
However, it had an unintended consequence that prevented money from being allocated to the extra time that account for a sizable portion of caretaker compensation. Additionally, the majority of the caregivers in this program were close relatives who relied solely on it for their livelihood.
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