Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment.

I am the parent of an adult child who has autism.  He has been on the waiver for nearly 20 years.  During that time there have been changes to the process.  We were at some point required to receive case management through the CSB, but were able to maintain service facilitation through a chosen nonprofit disabilities advocacy organization.  This was permitted because patient choice was prioritized.  By switching to the broker model you are removing patient choice from the equation.  And by assigning the third party payer as the broker you are eliminating the opportunity for advocacy for the disabled individual to happen.

At times, the third party payer has been less than reliable.  When pay issues would occur, which they did, we had the advantage of having the service facilitator to facilitate a solution to the matter, to ensure that the caregiver received payment.  By changing the process in the manner you are proposing, you are removing the advocate who helped families to solve pay issues.  

Please reconsider these proposed changes.  My son's service facilitator and the advocacy group who employs them has been the most reliable element in this entire process. Please don't take that away.

Parenting an adult with a disability is a lifelong journey.  I understand that change in inevitable.  But please consider how this will impact the individuals on waiver programs, and allow us to maintain patient choice in the matter. 

Thank you.