Senator Charles Grassley is co-sponsoring a bill to help the parents of “special needs” children who find government red tape limits their ability to work. Under current law, families with kids who need extraordinary care because of a disability or development problems must strictly limit their income to qualify their kids for both Medicaid and federal disability benefits. The result: parents often are forced to refuse jobs, pay raises or overtime to preserve the health care benefits their kids need. Grassley says his “Family Opportunity Act” would fix that by giving states the authority to change the rules.Grassley expects the bill to easily win Congressional approval.Senator Ted Kennedy is co-sponsor of the legislation, which is modeled after last year’s “Work Incentives Improvement Act” — a new law which lets disabled adults return to work without risk of losing their government-paid health care coverage. Grassley will meet at noon with a Des Moines family which cannot qualify for government aid to care for their daughter who has cystic fibrosis, but can’t afford her extensive care on their income, either.
Iowa's Radio News Network
