BALTIMORE, MD — A Maryland mother is fighting to restore her disabled son's Medicaid benefits after they were abruptly terminated despite her efforts.
WATCH: Maryland family struggles after son's disability benefits suddenly canceled
Sandy Schwartz has been caring for her 31-year-old son Matt since birth. He was born with a disability that requires constant care and leaves him mostly non-verbal.
"Matt's 31 and he's been in the system since birth, he's been disabled," Schwartz said.
For 31 years, Matt received assistance through a Medicaid waiver program that paid for his caregivers, covered doctor visits and prescriptions. That support ended on August 1.
"Early June, I received a packet requesting a lot of financial information, which they, the health department calls a redetermination," Schwartz said.
"The letter indicated that this information needed to be returned by July 31st or else his waiver would be discontinued," she said.
After weeks of gathering documentation, Schwartz submitted Matt's information on July 22 via secured email, believing she had met the deadline, but then a letter arrived.
"I received a letter stating that his medical assistance is now canceled as of August 1st," Schwartz said.
"I feel abandoned by the state. Because I am his main caretaker, I know he's gonna be taken care of either way. What I have to do, I'm gonna have to do it, but for his future, it scares me," said Schwartz.
Schwartz isn't alone in her frustration with Maryland's Department of Health.
"We have heard stories from participants and clients who we work with on the individual level that they either are experiencing very long response times from representatives at MDH or they're not receiving responses at all," said Tara Moriello, attorney with Disability Rights Maryland.
Moriello says her organization has seen an increase in benefit denials.
"We get intakes almost weekly from people who are experiencing those denials or who are otherwise experiencing issues with," Moriello said.
For now, Schwartz is continuing her fight to ensure her son receives the benefits he's entitled to.
"I'm gonna go back online and write letters to, I'm going to knock on doors and bring my son and say, you tell me what to do," Schwartz said.
I reached out to the Maryland Department of Health, which responded saying: "People with developmental disabilities and the families and providers that care for them deserve accessible services and supports.
It is a top priority of the Maryland Department of Health to continually improve the systems and processes for Medicaid waiver programs that provide services and supports to applicants, participants, and community providers.
MDH is working in partnership with stakeholders and providers to enhance and improve the process for these complex Medicaid eligibility reviews."
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