My name is Kate, I am a preschool teacher and a mom of 4 kids. My youngest was born with a heart defect and is now gtube dependent! Originally we received 4 extensions a month and 5 gtube replacements a year. They restricted it to 2 and 4 (respectively) just 2 months ago and then again this week to only one extension a month. It's insanity and unsanitary! It all started at the end of the public health crisis. When that ended they began to restrict our enteral feeding supplies as well as many other things (like dietary supplements and refusing letters of medical necessity) its so dangerous and unfair to our most vulnerable population! 

The biggest change for medically complex families is the Kepro pre-authorization process. During the pandemic, this process was suspended. Medically complex children received equipment, treatments, procedures and surgeries in a timely matter. Now, CT scans, MRI’s, equipment and supplies are being sent through this pre-authorization process to Kepro which is significantly slowing down the delivery of supplies and ability to schedule necessary procedures. In almost every scenario, Kepro denies and forces families into a lengthy appeals process. I would request a committee to research this process. The pandemic demonstrated that children can receive supplies and procedures without having to go through this oversight company. Perhaps a cost savings can be made by creating an algorithm to automate the process and eliminate the overhead of a company that seemingly only exists to deny every script, procedures and supplies that are deemed necessary by the disabled child’s medical team. It is inhuman to deny these children safe medical equipment, supplies and access to timely healthcare.

 Can you imagine being forced to use only one eating utensil for every meal for an entire month? That seems totally unreasonable not to mention unsanitary, right? I agree and so do hundreds of families across our great state. Unfortunately that is what our medically complex children in South Carolina are being forced to do with their g-tube and g/j tube feedings. Under new law, children who require tube feedings are only being given one extension set for the entire month.

At this point, Kepro, an oversight committee aka people without medical licenses are questioning prescriptions written by our providers. Life saving medicines, procedures and supplies are requiring weeks of back and forth before being approved. Children will die if we allow this to continue.

  We have to provide adequate medical care for our complex children, for all of our children! Anything less is simply inhumane! Do you care about the lives of innocent children? Because of these new laws there will be a rise in infections and illnesses threatening the lives of our children. There will be a rise in children and families not being able to afford their life saving medications. Children WILL die! 

Save Our Children! Stop Supply Restrictions!