[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11180-11181]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     FAMILY OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2000

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, recently my colleagues, Senators 
Grassley, Kennedy, Jeffords, and Harkin introduced The Family 
Opportunity Act of 2000. I have proudly signed on to this important 
piece of legislation which will help hundreds of thousands of American 
families who have children with disabilities get access to Medicaid as 
well as obtain much needed support and information.
  The Family Opportunity Act is modeled after last year's successful 
Work Incentives Improvement Act, which assures adults with disabilities 
can return to work and not risk losing their health care coverage. This 
new Act would create a state option to allow middle-income parents who 
have a child with special health needs to keep working, while having an 
option to buy in to Medicaid coverage for their child.
  In my own state of West Virginia, over 50,000 children are known to 
have a disability. I have heard personally from many of these families, 
who remind me about their daily struggles of sacrificing time, energy, 
and finances to provide the best environment for their child. In the 
past, this has meant that parents often refuse jobs, pay raises and 
overtime just to keep their incomes low enough so that they can qualify 
for services under Medicaid for their children with special health care 
needs.
  Medicaid coverage is so crucial to the child because many private 
plans do not offer essential services such as occupational, physical 
and speech therapy, mental health services, home and community-based 
services, and durable medical equipment such as walkers and 
wheelchairs, which if uncovered, can be financially devastating to a 
family. Under the Family Opportunity Act, families would be required to 
first take

[[Page 11181]]

employer-sponsored health coverage if available. The option to buy in 
to Medicaid would be used as a supplement to existing private insurance 
or as stand alone coverage if employer-based coverage were not an 
option.
  In addition to creating Medicaid buy-in options for families, the 
Family Opportunity Act proposes the establishment of Family to Family 
Health Information Centers. These Centers, staffed by both parents and 
professionals would be available to help families identify and access 
appropriate health care for their children with special needs, as well 
as answer questions on filling out the necessary paperwork to establish 
health care coverage.
  The Family Opportunity Act promises to promote early intervention, 
ensures medically necessary services, offers support, and will help 
restore family stability. I applaud my colleagues for proposing this 
important legislation, but even more important, I give a standing 
ovation to the dedicated families who give so greatly of themselves to 
care for their children.

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