INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Parents of medically complex children on Monday said their meeting with top officials of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration came better late than never.

Families who use the attendant care program have protested for months over the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) plan to remove parents from the list of caregivers eligible for reimbursement under the program, a move prompted by the discovery of a nearly $1 billion Medicaid funding shortfall.

The change will take effect July 1. At that point, parents of children with severe disabilities will have to move to the structured family caregiving program if they want to continue serving as their children’s primary caregivers and get reimbursed for it. The structured family caregiving program reimburses at a far lower rate than the attendant care program.

Jennifer Dewitt led a group of roughly half a dozen mothers of medically complex children in a Monday meeting with Gov. Eric Holcomb and FSSA Secretary Dr. Dan Rusyniak. During the hourlong meeting, the mothers gave Holcomb and Rusyniak the results of a survey of more than 200 affected families along with testimony about the impact the changes to the program will have. They also gave officials a list of requests including providing families with the criteria that would determine eligibility for the structured family caregiving program, delaying the implementation of program changes for 90 days and allowing applications for reimbursements of related services such as home modifications to proceed.

Dewitt said afterward she believed her group gave Holcomb and Rusyniak a great deal of information to work with. She said at this point, it’s up to them to take the data back to FSSA and figure out the next steps.

“We really appreciate the fact that they finally took time to meet with us, although we wish that we would have had this opportunity sooner,” she said.

Dewitt said Holcomb told them his administration will give them a response to their requests by the end of the week. FSSA officials told News 8 they are reviewing the mothers’ requests and will get back to them.

Statement

“I listened carefully and appreciated the moms bringing their concerns forward. They obviously only want the best for their children. Dr. Rusyniak was with me during the meeting, and we’ll consider the issues they raised as well as changes we can make to better communicate with impacted families.”

Gov. Eric J. Holcomb, a Republican