Katherine Hansen, president of the Idaho Association of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, told the Health & Welfare committees that her group proposed various changes aimed at Medicaid savings, some of which were included in HB 221. But she said two changes in the bill aren't acceptable and won't work: Eliminating DD services for 524 adults who don't qualify for the DD waiver, and shifting people age 45 or older off of developmental therapy and onto the Aged and Disabled Waiver.

A retirement age from developmental therapy might be appropriate, Hansen said, but it should be around age 65. That could save the state about $400,000 a year in Medicaid costs, she said. But as proposed in HB 221, "The cuts are so deep into the area of DDA services." She said, "Actual dollars spent per person for developmental therapy over the past eight years has not increased, it has actually decreased. So there are some good systems in place to make sure that these are not over-utilized services." She said, "We also support the concept of managed care," and are willing to work with the state on how that might apply to the developmentally disabled population. But she said HB 221 as written needs to be amended.

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