As a resident of Virginia Beach utilizing consumer-directed Medicaid waiver services, I am writing to voice my absolute opposition to the proposed 56-hour weekly "soft cap" on personal care.

 

Our loved one currently receives 112 hours per week, which covers all waking hours because he cannot be left unattended under any circumstances due to severe safety risks. A 56-hour cap represents a devastating 50% reduction in our approved care. Imposing an arbitrary hourly ceiling across the board completely ignores the reality of individuals living with profound intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities who require constant, line-of-sight supervision to remain safe in their own homes.

 

Classifying this as a "soft cap" does not solve the problem. Forcing families who are already providing constant, exhausting care to battle through a complex, bureaucratic exception process just to justify basic, existing survival hours is a cruel and undue burden.

 

A person’s care plan must be determined solely by their individual functional needs and medical necessity, not by arbitrary budget thresholds. Stripping away half of our authorized hours will directly compromise our loved one's physical safety and shatter our family’s ability to keep him out of expensive institutional care. I urge DMAS to completely remove the 56-hour cap from the final waiver amendments.