Medicaid cuts could severely impact the state’s Sheltered Workshops. Vocational Services of Liberty Executive Director Randy Hylton speaks for the Association of Sheltered Workshop Managers in telling state lawmakers new income standards could force 2,000 developmentally disabled people from Sheltered Workshop employment. Sheltered Workshops employ 8,000 developmentally disabled Missourians. Hylton says the new income guidelines would disqualify Sheltered Workshop workers from receiving Medicaid. Hylton says the decision is simple; either quit a Sheltered Workshop job or lose necessary medical benefits. He says those with developmental disabilities and their families shouldn’t be forced into such a position. And Hylton says the financial ramifications of the legislature’s action goes beyond the individual’s pocketbook. He says the loss of workers will hurt the Sheltered Workshops, reducing their productivity, harming their local economies. Hylton has asked the Medicaid Reform Commission to reverse the action.
