The thoughtless change means Medicaid will no longer pay for wheelchairs designed to be used on streets, in malls, at grocery stores - places the disabled, like most of us, must go from time to time.

This is a small tweak to long-standing regulations, but with troubling implications. It could easily be interpreted by claims workers as a means to deny even basic, broad-usage wheelchairs that people need to maneuver outside their homes. That would be tragic for people with few resources.

The new rule states that Medicaid will pay only for manual and motorized wheelchairs deemed medically necessary and designed for home use. Utah health officials say the change won't affect ordinary wheelchairs that can be used outside as well as at home. They say it merely formalizes the practice of disallowing exhorbitantly expensive wheelchairs that have more bells and whistles than most disabled people need.

But that's different from what Utah Medicaid budget supervisor Don Hawley said: "Just because the design is for the home doesn't mean it won't be suitable for outside. But we're not going to pay for someone to have nobby sports tires."

Excuse us, but Medicaid, as we understand it, provides health coverage for people with illnesses and disabilities who are on the extreme bottom rung of the income ladder. These are not people who have the leisure time, money or inclination to outfit wheelchairs they must have to survive with "nobby sports tires." To imply such is insulting and demeaning to those unfortunate enough to need Medicaid.

We can support rules meant to discourage unscrupulous suppliers from selling unnecessary devices to the disabled and then sending inflated claims to Medicaid for reimbursement.

There is no doubt that fraud exists, and that taxpayers who fund Medicaid should support efforts to stop it. But this rule change goes too far. It targets Medicaid beneficiaries, the vast majority of whom are not out to defraud the system, but want only to live as normally and independently as possible.

Mediciad should be helping them move about on their own, not throwing up roadblocks.