Congress is currently going through a budget reconciliation process and is proposing measures that will lead to massive cuts to Medicaid, threatening the health and well-being of millions of people, including children, seniors, and individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Cuts could come in many forms which are being discussed. Please call your elected officials and ask them to protect Medicaid and oppose ALL cuts to federal Medicaid funding including caps, cuts, work requirements and more.  

Medicaid covers 17 million people with disabilities and older adults and serves as a vital lifeline for most individuals with Down syndrome and their families. Medicaid provides health care coverage for essential medical services like doctor visits, hospital stays and prescriptions and help with personal tasks like feeding, bathing, and dressing. It also provides Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for people with disabilities like job coaching, personal supports, and assistive technology to help people with disabilities to work and live independently in the community instead of institutions. Medicaid also pays for many of the services that students with disabilities receive in schools such as speech and occupational therapies, behavioral supports and more. Medicaid helps people with disabilities to get the care they need to protect their health and well-being and to live with dignity and independence. 

Medicaid is a federal-state partnership that supports people with disabilities throughout their lifetimes. It has different names in each state like MassHealth, Medi-Cal, TennCare, Denali Care, MO Health Net, and more. Regardless of its name and state, any reductions in federal funding to Medicaid will impose a greater financial burden on the states to make up the shortfall to serve its eligible residents. There are already 700,000 people with disabilities on state-based waiting lists for Medicaid HCBS services, often waiting many years or even a decade or more to receive services. These waiting lists will grow even longer with less federal dollars. The proposed massive cuts to Medicaid will decimate the program and harm millions of people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to live their lives.