Julianne Ethel Beckett (née O'Connell; November 9, 1949 – May 13, 2022) was an American teacher and disability rights activist. She lobbied for changes to

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

that allowed hundreds of thousands of disabled children to be cared for by their families at home. Langer, Emily
"Julie Beckett, Champion of Children with Disabilities, Dies at 72"
''The Washington Post'' (May 26, 2022). Her efforts, and those of other activists, led to the legislation and establishment of the Katie Beckett Medicaid waiver, named for her daughter Mary Katherine Beckett (1978–2012), who used a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

after surviving

viral encephalitis Viral encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma, called encephalitis, by a virus. The different forms of viral encephalitis are called viral encephalitides. It is the most common type of encephalitis and often occurs with viral meningiti ...

in infancy. The waiver was included as a provision of the

Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (), also known as TEFRA, is a United States federal law that rescinded some of the effects of the Kemp-Roth Act passed the year before. Between summer 1981 and summer 1982, tax revenue fell b ...

Early life and education

Julianne O'Connell was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

, one of the eight children born to John Joseph O'Connell and Barbara Jane Ryan O'Connell. Her family was

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

; her father was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran and a lumber salesman. She graduated from Regis High School in 1967, and from

Clarke College Clarke College may refer to: * Clarke College, the former name of Clarke University, in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. * Clarke College, in 1992 merged into Mississippi College, in Clinton, Mississippi, U.S. * William Clarke College, in Sydney, New South Wale ...

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

in 1971; she earned a master's degree in history from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

Career

Julie Beckett was a part-time teacher and worked in a record store, before becoming her only child's full-time caregiver. She was also state director of Sick Kids Need Involved People (SKIP), and later co-founder and policy coordinator for Family Voices, a national lobbying organization. She testified before Congressional hearings several times. She remained active in Medicaid reform work after the Katie Beckett waiver was established; "my goal is that no child will ever have to go through what my child had to go through," she told a newspaper in 1995. She was honored as a child advocate in 2000, and as a local hero at the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival in 2005.

Personal life

Julie O'Connell and Mark Beckett married in 1978; they divorced in 1990. Their daughter Katie was born prematurely in 1978, and died in 2012. Beckett died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in May 2022, at the age of 72. "Thanks to Julie's tireless advocacy, millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of children with complex medical needs, have been able to receive the care and support they need in their homes rather than in institutional settings", said Daniel Tsai of the

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...

, a federal agency.

References

External links

An interview with Julie Beckett
posted to YouTube by the Iowa Family Leadership Training Institute in 2022 * Julie Beckett (July 24, 2017)
"I Fought for My Daughter to Live at Home, And Congress Wants to Take That Away From People With Disabilities"
an essay posted to the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...

website
Beckett's appearances on C-Span
(three videos from 2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Julie 1949 births 2022 deaths Schoolteachers from Iowa American disability rights activists People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Clarke University alumni University of Dayton alumni 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators Activists from Iowa