Texas families could lose at-home nursing under stricter Medicaid rule
JaReen Williams adjusts an iPad for her 16-year-old daughter, Lydia, so she can watch one of her comfort shows “Charlie Brown” in preparation for the treatment she undergoes three times a week by a nurse. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune
As Komika Sales returns home from work, her son’s nurse completes his evening routine — giving him his last medications, connecting him to his ventilation machine. After the nurse leaves, Sales and her son gather on the couch, giggling together as he uses his iPad or plays with blocks.
A stricter rule from Texas’ human services agency might make their bedtime ritual impossible. Her 16-year-old son could no longer receive nursing — therefore taking away his ability to live at home.
“It’s awful because the whole goal is to keep him at home,” Sales said of her son, Micahi Neal.
A proposed rule change from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission would not allow an adult “to be away from the home for any period of time” whenever a nurse is providing services, according to documents obtained by The Texas Tribune.