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Posted on Sun, Sep. 26, 2004 | | |
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S.C. disabled, elderly face longer wait for health care Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. - Waiting lists are growing for care at the state Disabilities and Special Needs and Health and Human Services departments. The two agencies have almost 7,000 residents on waiting lists for care in facilities around the state. At Health and Human Services alone there is a waiting list of 3,000 elderly patients seeking long-term care. Most of the people on waiting lists depend on Medicaid to cover medical expenses. A 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requires states to whittle down waiting lists for services for the disabled. "I'm afraid we're going to be sued," said Stan Butkus, Disability and Special Needs department director, told Gov. Mark Sanford. Butkus said South Carolina has avoided a lawsuit largely by grace. "We haven't been as litigious a state as some others," he said. But "we'd have a hard time saying we're making reasonable progress, since no one has come off the waiting list in the last three years." The state has not had enough money to build new community facilities and hire enough staffers to meet the increased demand, said Lois Park Mole, government and community relations director at Disability and Special Needs. The state is required to spend $1 to get $3 in matching money from the federal government for Medicaid, which pays for the largest part of disability services. But the state has cut spending across the board for the past three years to head off budget deficits. "The waiting list is a ticking time bomb," said Butkus, whose agency's budget has been cut by $26 million the past three years. State Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greenville, is chairman of the Senate Finance subcommittee on health. He blamed lower sales-tax collections for the tighter budgets that have left health care agencies short. "The whole state budget has been down for the past three years," Smith said. Smith said he thinks residents understand the budget problems and won't sue the state. "They know we're making every effort to try to provide for them," he said. --- Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com/ | |||