Our son has been receiving waiver services for more than 10 years. During that time we have had 2 service facilitators (who we were and are very comfortable with) who we depend on to keep us abreast on changes and guide us in available services and day to day problems.  Our service facilitators are key in documenting our family members needs and in navigating what can seem a very daunting system.  Our son has become very comfortable with our current facilitator as he did our past one.  Both have been wonderful advocates for our son as well as mentors for my husband and I in caring for our son.  Even the term service broker is cold and I can’t imagine who came up with it. It terrifies me that Virginia Legislators see fit to toss out the knowledge base and relationships these dedicated service facilitators have formed over years of experience. 
I surely hope the new “brokers” are not going to be from the insurance providers.  Our insurance person changes every other month and this past summer we had a very disturbing interaction with one.   Our service facilitator assisted us in getting a new one from Aetna but many have been very impersonal and do not seem to care about our loved one.   I am also very concerned about the soft cap in hours.  Especially for those who require constant care and supervision.   I worry that families will have to make choices that harm them financially and that finances will overrule care needs resulting in  needless injuries or even deaths.   Please do not make families choose between financial needs and care by caping hours.  Please do not rob our families of the wealth of knowledge and the relationships we have formed with our care facilitators