America Is One Step Closer to Disappointing Me: Unfortunate Progress Has Been Made to Cut Medicaid by: Jason Hahr

Above is an image of President Trump signing a bill into law. He is wearing a black suit with a red necktie and is surrounded by people on either side. His pen is poised over legislation, which is on a wooden desk. 

What a worrisome Wednesday it is for the disability community. Steps are being taken to erase the work of great disability champions such as Judy Heumann and Ed Roberts, to name a few. As a relative of mine put it a couple of days ago, laws are made, then they are repealed, so advocates must never stop fighting. Although my relative and I sometimes disagree politically, I could not agree more with her words. Indeed, it looks like it is happening yet again. This past January, Donald Trump became the 47^th President of the United States after a four-year hiatus between his first and second term. While I am registered as a Republican, and I agree with most of his platform, I question what he's doing regarding the voiceless minority.

Before his election, he stated that he would, and I am paraphrasing, roll back or trim a lot of government waste and unnecessary spending. Financially, anyone with a logical mind would assume that sounds reasonable. After all, America is Trillion dollars in debt, so why not save money? That is why he got into politics. Trump is a businessman, and most politicians are not. Maybe he thought the country needed to be taken in a different direction; who is to say? I agree with the idea of running the government more efficiently. The problem I have with President Trump, and yes, since he is now President, is that every American should respect the office and the election results because that is what makes us different, is that by trimming the fat of Government spending the way he is, he is forgetting the people he is impacting. Money didn't elect him; people did.

You may ask, what was the point of that long-winded rant above? I answer by saying, what can I say? I like words, but anybody who has read this blog regularly knows I have difficulty being concise when I am passionate about something. If you're still reading, let me get to my point. What gives President Trump the right to marginalize an entire group of people further and set us back decades to save a little bit of money? There are other ways to save than just getting rid of Medicaid or, should I say, reducing funding. I am going to be honest for a moment. I don't like using Medicaid and the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver to pay for my aide care, but it is a reality of my life. I know President Trump is trying to reduce fraud, but by making such sweeping cuts to the program to eliminate a few bad apples, he is hurting a good program overall.

Some relatives who read this blog say that the state and the government do not have to provide these services; technically, that is true. The question is, should they? My answer to that is a resounding yes. Unless we are all blessed with a sudden windfall, some people in the United States will never be able to provide for their care. We came together as people in earlier times because we cannot all satisfy humanity's needs.

When we came together as a collective society and started this experiment we call America, we set out to be different. At first, we struggled, but then we got on the right path and realized that, as Americans, we must help our fellow citizens, not harm them. President Trump and his proposed cuts to Medicaid will do just that, and unfortunately, it came one step closer to fruition in late February of this year. The House has approved a bill that would drastically cut Medicaid. We are not just about cutting the price of fruit or other food; we are talking about people's lives here. Scary times for America are ahead. Disability advocates and allies must call their representatives in both chambers of Congress to tell them how if they cut Medicaid like they are planning, they will be providing tax cuts but also affecting people's lives in other ways they may not have foreseen.

Hang in there; we’re almost done. Before I go, I wanted to let you know that I am linking to an earlier post on this issue. I link it here to highlight that this issue has been on the horizon for quite some time. I am also linking to a national call to action from the American Association of People with Disabilities. The blog and the APD’s message should be found below. Do your part to make the voiceless heard. I urge you to contact your senators and representatives, which you can find at the following websites: https://www.house.gov/ and https://www.senate.gov/

 

Advocates and Allies Are Concerned Over the Future of Medicaid in the United States By: Jason Hahr

https://thevoicelssminority.blogspot.com/2025/01/advocates-and-allies-are-concerned-over.html

AAPD’s statement about Medicaid:

Policy and Advocacy Highlights

Cuts to Medicaid

On February 25, the House passed a budget resolution that, if finalized, would cut at least $880 billion from Medicaid.

The budget resolution sets guidelines for each committee in Congress to take actions that would allow Congress to pass a final budget that achieves the goals of Congress and the President. In this case, the budget directs the Energy and Commerce Committee to find a minimum of $880 billion to cut from vital programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). President Trump’s legislative agenda includes a significant expansion of tax cuts at the expense of vital programs like Medicaid-funded Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS).

Since the budget resolution is only the first step in the budget reconciliation process, we do not know how much Medicaid funding will be cut. We do know that any cuts to Medicaid will cause significant harm to Americans with disabilities.

AAPD is calling on people with disabilities and our allies to contact their members of Congress and tell them that any efforts to cut Medicaid or make Medicaid more challenging to access through things like work requirements are unacceptable. You can take this action with just a few clicks by using AAPD’s tool, which is linked here.

AAPD’s policy team is also meeting with Members on Capitol Hill to educate them about how proposed cuts will harm their disabled constituents who rely on Medicaid. Disabled people across the United States rely on Medicaid for healthcare, Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS), employment support, and school-based services such as preventive health screenings and physical, occupational, and speech therapies.

Until next time. Your Friendly Neighborhood Super Advocate, Jay