Some of Ky’s most vulnerable are being left out of federal COVID-19 relief funding

Kentuckians are officially coming to terms with their new COVID-19 normal. However, as state residents prepare to begin wearing masks in public for the foreseeable future, and our Governor rolls out our reopening plan, some of Kentucky’s populations that are most vulnerable are still being left out of critical COVID-19 relief funding.

Recently, Kentucky learned that insurance companies are denying claims from childcare centers for coronavirus-related business interruption and Medicaid-only providers – like caregivers of individuals with brain and spinal cord injuries – have been completely left out of federal funding packages.

As the Executive Director of NeuroRestorative Kentucky, I am deeply concerned about individuals in our state with brain and spinal cord injuries. This vulnerable population and their caregivers are facing the same staffing and medical supply shortages as our nation’s hospital personnel, putting them at an even higher risk of exposure to the virus.

Locating and reaching these Medicaid-only providers with funding has proven to be an issue for Congress so far. But policymakers must ensure they are not forgotten. How?

The federal government can direct COVID-19 relief funds to Medicaid providers directly, use states’ existing Medicaid infrastructure to reach Medicaid-only providers, or some combination of the two.

NeuroRestorative Kentucky is part of The MENTOR Network, a national network of health and human service providers with an array of home- and community-based services for adults and children. We provide support to more than 230 individuals with brain and spinal cord injuries living in Kentucky. These individuals, all with preexisting medical conditions, rely on our more than 500 direct support professionals, nurses, and therapists to deliver life-sustaining care and are at severe risk if they test positive for COVID-19. MENTOR also operates Adult Day Health centers, supporting more than 450 seniors throughout Kentucky.

The people we support with brain injuries often reside in community-based residencies – sometimes referred to as group homes. These homes offer people with complex medical needs the opportunity to live as independently as possible in the communities of their choice. Homes are staffed with care professionals who are uniquely qualified and specially trained to help each individual with the care they require. The goal is not only to provide a safe place of residence, but a community in which people with unique medical complexities can be happy and thrive long-term.

Like doctors and hospital workers, these caregivers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to show up to work despite the risk. They, like others on the frontlines, need access to PPE and medical supplies to ensure their safety and the safety of individuals in their care. In addition, hazard pay funding is needed to recruit and retain qualified professionals to backfill when care givers become ill or opt-out of coming to work because of the risk to their own health or their families.

The providers of this important care also rely on federal and Kentucky Medicaid funding. But because some providers, like NeuroRestorative Kentucky are Medicaid only it is hard for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which operates under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to pick out the providers who need direct support. To ensure the equitable treatment of all Medicaid recipients, HHS must treat Medicaid-only recipients as they have done for Medicare. They must do this by adapting the Medicare direct COVID-19 relief payment mechanism for Medicaid-only providers or by leveraging Kentucky’s existing Medicaid infrastructure to help direct emergency funds to Medicaid-only providers.

Without federal support, the health and continuity of care for our residents and thousands more across the county will be at risk.

As policymakers continue develop and allocate the federal government’s COVID-19 response, they cannot forget individuals with complex medical challenges and the critical support their caregivers provide. The risks of these individuals never having a chance at their own normal are simply too high.

Jane Stahl is the Executive Director of NeuroRestorative Kentucky.

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 11:25 AM.