Families fight to care for disabled kids at home after they reach the age of 21

NPR reports on families who are fighting for continued funding to care for their severely disabled children at home.

"There are about 600 children with severe disabilities in Illinois who get care through the same in-home program for 'medically-fragile and technology-dependent' children, and thousands in other states around the country." Olivia Welter, a 20-year-old woman in Illinois, is able to receive care at home through a "program provided by Illinois' Medicaid program. But it's a program for children. And when Olivia Welter turns 21, at the stroke of midnight on Nov. 9, she is no longer eligible for that care."

"By keeping her out of the hospital and free of the health care complications common to quadriplegics, [the family saves] the state of Illinois from paying high medical bills." The family is now suing the state for continued funding for home care (Shapiro, 11/8).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.