Pulse brief · 1 cited source · August 5, 2026
Arkansas Family Faces a Waiver Wait for a Ceiling Lift
A family says a move made its ceiling track ineligible for coverage, pointing it to a waiver with a long waitlist.
Laura Hellinga moved her family to a more accessible home, but said Landry's health insurance provider would no longer cover moving the ceiling track that lifted the 15-year-old in and out of her wheelchair. Landry is in Arkansas's PASSE program, a Medicaid managed-care program for people with complex disabilities. Four participating insurance companies cover 46,564 Arkansans, according to a department spokesperson. Hellinga said without the track, she and her daughter had slipped and fallen. To get coverage again, the family would need the Community and Employment Services waiver. As of July 1, 2,268 Arkansans were on that waitlist; people at the top had waited three years, a Department of Human Services spokesperson said. Other parents have urged state officials to direct more funding to long-term support services, and the article says federal action would also be needed.
Evidence
Each statement shown below is a verified claim this source supports.
- A ceiling track could lift Landry in and out of her chair.
- To get coverage for Landry's ceiling track again, she would have to be on the Community and Employment Services Medicaid waiver.
- When Hellinga asked to move a ceiling track to a new house, Landry's health insurance provider said it would not be covered anymore.
- As of July 1, there were 2,268 Arkansans on the waitlist, and those at the top had been waiting for three years.
- Laura Hellinga moved to a more accessible house with her 15-year-old daughter, who uses a motorized wheelchair.
- Landry's insurance comes from PASSE, a Medicaid managed-care program that serves Arkansans with complex disabilities.
- Four participating insurance companies cover 46,564 Arkansans as of July 1, according to department spokesperson Gavin Lesnick.
- Hellinga said that without the track, she and her daughter had slipped and fallen.
- Other Arkansas parents of children with disabilities have urged state officials to direct more funding to long-term support services in order to clear the waitlist.
- The federal government would also have to take action because Medicaid is a joint state-federal program.