Idaho Parent Fear Proposed Service Hike

SPIRIT LAKE, Idaho — When Gerald Kalar sees his son competing for the Timberlake wrestling team, he knows he has the Katie Beckett program to thank.
The Idaho Medicaid program has helped pay for 11 years of doctors, psychologists and therapists for Dylan, now 15, to cope with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and Static Encephalopathy, a development disability affecting memory and impulse control.
"Right now he's standing better than he ever has, and it's got to be because of the services and the professionals who have always worked with him," Gerald said.
That's why the Spirit Lake father got nervous when he heard the state Legislature is on the brink of requiring cost sharing for the Katie Beckett program.
Last week the Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved a new rule for Medicaid coverage that would require some families to pay a premium for disabled children's services.