Providers, families urge full funding for Wyoming DD waiver; committee asks Department of Health for options

Providers of Wyoming’s developmental disabilities waiver and family members told the Wyoming Legislature’s Appropriations Committee that current Medicaid reimbursement rates are not covering the actual cost of home- and community-based services (HCBS) and urged the legislature to fund a statutorily required cost rebasing.

"We are not advocating for a random increase in funding or an expansion of the program. We are simply asking that the program be funded at what it actually costs," said Bob Sell, president and CEO of ARC Regional Services in Laramie. Sell and other provider witnesses cited a cost study released this fall that they say supports increased reimbursement levels.

The funding matter matters because Wyoming’s DD waiver supports thousands of people with developmental disabilities, acquired brain injuries and related conditions in community settings rather than institutions. Witnesses said community-based care is less costly than institutional care and that current rates limit providers’ ability to recruit and retain staff, in turn constraining capacity to serve people on the waiting list.

Jeff Gardner, executive director of Wyoming Community Service Providers, told the committee that the state’s reimbursement is a cost-based model but currently “it’s not even paying the cost.” Gardner said the cost study would move average direct support professional (DSP) wages closer to $20–$21 an hour from current averages and that the study’s recommended funding…