Many MFTD Waiver children have been reviewed in the past two months by KePro, the independent entity that evaluates medical need for nursing care. The handful of families who have received their award letters have all received reductions in their budgets or hours. In addition, children who were in the NPCS program and are being transitioned to the MFTD waiver have also seen reductions.
A pending lawsuit, MA vs. Norwood, was filed when similar cuts were imposed on children in the NPCS program. The judge in that lawsuit put in place an order mandating that nursing care should not be reduced for any child currently receiving home nursing care in Illinois. The wording of the order is highly inclusive, and covers any child receiving nursing care, regardless of whether he/she is in the NPCS program, MFTD waiver, or transitioning from NPCS to MFTD.
As a result of the recent cuts, attorney Bob Farley has filed a petition with the judge alleging the state is willfully violating the order by cutting hours and budgets. You can read the petition here.
If your child's hours have been cut or you received a reduction in budget, please file an appeal WITHIN 10 DAYS. This will preserve your current hours or budget until the appeal is heard. Appeal information is available here. Please also contact us, as we are attempting to keep track of reduction trends to support Bob Farley's petition.