Maryland dad fears Medicaid cuts could harm disabled 10-year-old's quality of life

A father in Montgomery County, Maryland, is concerned his disabled daughter could lose her coverage if the House GOP's package of tax breaks and spending cuts goes through.

House Republicans failed Friday to push the bill through the Budget Committee, which plans to reconvene Sunday to try again.

Some of the biggest concerns with the bill have to do with cuts to Medicaid.

Maryland officials are worried changes could cost the state up to a billion dollars — and could knock tens of thousands of people off their health insurance.

Keir Bickerstaff's daughter is a happy 10-year-old, but she also has complex medical challenges. She's one of hundreds of thousands of kids in Maryland who receives Medicaid, which her dad calls a lifeline.

"We would be bankrupt many times over without Medicaid," he said.

While the family does have private insurance, Medicaid provides coverage for critical needs that allow her to live at home and go to school, where she's made friends and has good grades.

"Medicaid ... has funding now for home and community-based services, which allow her to live at home, because of all the medical equipment that she has, you know. Very often, kids like her used to have to live in hospitals, essentially," Bickerstaff said.

His family, and many others who rely on Medicaid, are worried about losing benefits. State health officials say federal cuts and changes outlined in the most recent budget reconciliation proposal would cost Maryland up to $1 billion and would knock tens of thousands of adults off their health insurance.

"So it's important to always frame any potential cut or change to the Medicaid program will have significant implications on the lives of Marylanders," Maryland Medicaid Director Ryan Moran said.

According to the Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Medicaid is one of the state's largest anti-poverty programs in the state, covering the poor, elderly people in nursing homes and disabled people.

Medicaid in Maryland covers :

• More than 1.6 million people in the state, or 25% of the population
• About 660,000 are children

In the D.C. area:

• Prince George's County has the largest number of enrollees in Maryland — about 260,000
• Montgomery County has 209,000

"It's the number one payer for nursing homes; the number one payer for mental health services," Moran said.

Proposed changes include:

• new work requirements for single adults without kids
• increased eligibility checks
• reductions in payments to 120,000 providers

Maryland GOP supporters say the growth in Medicaid is not sustainable and the cuts and changes will ensure the most vulnerable receive benefits.

But Bickerstaff fears the exact opposite will happen if the cuts go through. His daughter is covered under an optional waiver program.

"If there are significant cuts to Medicaid, optional programs like that would be the first to go, and I think it's very possible that she may lose Medicaid entirely," he said.

As the budget proposal continues to make its way through Congress, Maryland leaders say they're watching closely and asking those who benefit from Medicaid to speak out against the cuts.