State Medicaid Rankings

United Cerebral Palsy, one of the USA's largest health charities, reported that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities being served by Medicaid are not getting the community-based supports they need in every State.

The report, The Case for Inclusion 2007, ranks all 50 States and the District of Columbia. At the top of the list are: Arizona, Alaska, Vermont, Massachusetts, and California. At the bottom are Mississippi, Texas, District of Columbia, Ohio, and Illinois.

"Every American wants the opportunity to live and work in their community,” said Stephen Bennett, President and CEO of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). “The top-performing states in our rankings do a better job promoting independence and productivity in safe, quality community settings, but we still have far too many people with disabilities not getting the service and supports they desperately want and need. We can and should do better."

Some of the report’s key findings include:

• Forty one states have 176 large state institutions (more than 16 beds) housing 39,000 Americans;


• Only 16 states direct more than 80% of funding to people living in the community;


• Sixteen states report very large and long waiting lists for services; and


• Only one in four people with disabilities participates in competitive employment.

"This report provides families and advocates a tool to compare how their State is performing in relation to the rest of the country,” said Tarren Bragdon, an expert in healthcare policy and author of The Case for Inclusion 2007 for UCP. “Despite much improvement over the last couple of decades, the report makes it clear that inclusion is not the reality for all Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities."

REHACARE.de; Source: United Cerebral Palsy

- More about UCP at: www.ucp.org