BALTIMORE — A backlog in Maryland's medicaid waiver program is causing people in need of caretaker services choosing between covering costly care on their own or going without it.
Peggy Lauer spent years as a caretaker for her husband before being diagnosed with Parkinson's; now she's the one who need help.
"Other than sleeping, she needs 24 hour care. She is not able to walk or sit up or eat on her own. She's not even able to use a tissue or get a drink," Peggy's sister Kathy Sweat said.
Maryland woman with Parkinson's stuck in Medicaid backlog
Lauer was receiving eight hours a week of help but needed more. The sisters looked into getting in-home help through the state's Medicaid waiver program. After months of trying to get her approved, good news came.
"At the end of March, we were ecstatic because we've been doing everything and they said our planned care was all approved and the services that we had for the last two years that we could let them go because beginning April 1 we were going to have 48 hours of nursing care," Sweat said.
The sisters let go of the caretaker they had and were ready for a new provider to start at the beginning of April. Then the bad news came.
"And then we weren't told until like March 31 that, that portion wasn't approved and that it could be almost another year before we were able to get that portion approved," Sweat said.
Lauer's care plan had been approved, but the financial piece was not, putting her in a backlog that could take another year to resolve.
"I'm very disappointed because I want relief for my sister. And then it'll be easy on me," Lauer said.
I reached out to the Maryland Department of Health about the backlog, which is impacting more than just Lauer. After giving the department a week to set up an interview, I was told no one was available.
For Lauer and Sweat, the backlog can't be resolved soon enough.
"Do you feel forgotten," we asked.
"Oh, yeah, absolutely, we feel forgotten. We absolutely do," Sweat said.
The sisters are sticking together, hoping for final approval.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
