The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has proposed significant language changes to its Medicaid Developmental Disabilities (“iBudget”) Waiver. These proposed changes include:
-
Changing the title of the iBudget Waiver from the “Developmental Disabilities Individual Budgeting Waiver” to the “Unique Abilities Individual Budgeting Waiver.”
-
Changing the name of the iBudget Waiver’s “waitlist” to a “pre-enrollment category”, which is required, in order to reflect a naming change made in state law earlier this year.
As of November 2023, more than 21,500 individuals with developmental disabilities were approved and waiting for services under the iBudget Waiver.
We believe in the autonomy of people with disabilities and respect each individual’s personal preferred terms to describe their disability. However, we do have deep concerns about disability agencies, programs, and services changing their names to exclude the term ‘disability.’ Changing the name of an agency in this way, will only make it harder and even more confusing for people with disabilities to find the information they need. Similarly, changing the term “waitlist” to “pre-enrollment” within the waiver, though necessary to reflect language amended by the 2023 Florida Legislature, does not erase the fact that Floridians with disabilities have gone without services to which they are entitled for decades. We submitted our own comments to AHCA regarding these changes, and encourage you to share your opinions on these language changes with the State. Large scale changes to disability agency names and services like this must include immense input and feedback from the disability community, and that has not occurred here.
Public comments are due Friday, January 19, 2024.