Working group urges Connecticut to reduce Katie Beckett wait list, add public information and plan phased service expansions

State lawmakers, family members and Department of Social Services staff closed the Katie Beckett working group's final meeting on May 14 by recommending that the state prioritize reducing or eliminating the waiver's wait list, stand up a public information website and develop a multi-year fiscal plan before expanding waiver services.

The working group, convened by members of the General Assembly, also endorsed drafting a bill concept described at the meeting as "an act concerning the Katie Beckett waiver program working group recommendations." Representative Gilchrist told the panel the bill concept would be used to translate the group's recommendations into legislation and that staff would draft language for review.

Why it matters: Katie Beckett is the pathway that allows some families with medically complex children to receive Medicaid even when parental income would otherwise disqualify them. Parents and advocates at the meeting said the program is scarce and poorly publicized: several family members told the group their children's clinicians were unfamiliar with the waiver and that learning about the program often required extraordinary effort.

Department of Social Services staff described two immediate technical steps the agency is already pursuing. Paul (DSS…