Chuck Grassley: “The Family Opportunity Act is a bill that I first introduced with Senator Kennedy in the 106th Congress. This bill…”

“The Family Opportunity Act is a bill that I first introduced with Senator Kennedy in the 106th Congress. This bill promotes family, work, and opportunity. Every day, across the country, thousands of families struggle to obtain affordable and appropriate health care coverage for children with special health care needs, including children with conditions such as autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, or mental illness. Over the course of the last three Congresses, this bill has enjoyed strong bipartisan support. Low and middle income parents who have employer sponsored family health care coverage and children with disabilities often find that their private insurance does not adequately cover the array of services that are critical to their child's well-being, such as mental health services, personal care services, durable medical equipment, special nutritional supplements, and respite care. Because Medicaid, our Nation's health care program for low-income individuals, offers the type of comprehensive care that best meets the needs of children with disabilities, it can become a lifeline on which many parents depend.”