INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indiana has nearly doubled the percentage of Medicaid funds it dedicates for services to disabled people outside institutions 15 years after a landmark Supreme Court ruling, but only two states allocate less.
The 1999 Olmstead v. L.C. decision says unnecessarily segregating people in mental hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions amounts to discrimination and gave disabled people a choice to live outside institutions.
The percentage of Medicaid funds that Indiana dedicates for services outside institutions rose from 16.4 percent in 2002 to 31.9 percent in 2012, the last year for which numbers were available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Only Mississippi and New Jersey, both at 27.4 percent, dedicated smaller percentages of Medicaid funds for services outside institutions in 2012.
