A. MEDICAID

In order to pay for President Trumps “big beautiful bill” that will in large part cut taxes for the wealthy even more than the tax cuts from his first term, legislators in the House and Senate must find large spending cuts.

President Trump has “pledged” not to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and many representatives and senators have said the same. BUT Despite these promises, the simple reality of the federal budget puts certain entitlement programs in the crosshairs of legislators. Cuts to defense are a non-starter and cuts to Social Security and Medicare would undoubtedly be political poison for legislators. But Medicaid, which provides vital health care and essential services to disabled individuals and other financially disadvantaged populations, is very vulnerable and may be severely cut.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has been instructed to find $880 Billion in savings and Medicaid programs are the primary target for cuts. There is talk that the final number may be less, and much discussion about the elimination of only fraud and waste. Stakeholders should not be fooled. Clearly, essential programs and services for the developmentally disabled community are at risk, particularly home and community-based services.

The Energy and Commerce Committee will begin its markup of its portion of the bill in coming days.

Make your voice heard and protect the vital services of disabled individuals.
Call and write your representatives in Congress now.

B. WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE

Last week, the White House unveiled its budget summary, called a “skinny budget” which asks Congress to slash funding for non-defense discretionary spending by 22.6% in the next fiscal year. This type of spending does not involve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. But this spending does fund programs critical to the developmentally disabled community.

From information released by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), it is clear that the spending cuts the Trump administration is requesting would eliminate funding for, among other things, protection and advocacy agencies (P & A’s) for the disabled, state councils on developmental disabilities, the lifespan respite program and other key programs for the disabled.

All of the programs included with the Administration for Community Living are at risk because HHS has disclosed that it wants to shutter this agency entirely. According to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, when speaking about his overall restructuring that eliminates departments and agencies while purporting to preserve core functions, “We’re going to do more with less.”

It is hard to see how cutting funding, eliminating programs and closing essential agencies will result in ‘more’ for the community of disabled individuals.

The words being said and the explanations offered don’t add up to the severe actions being taken and the money being withdrawn.

SPEAK UP
ADVOCATE FOR YOUR LOVED ONES

C. NEW YORK STATE ED UPDATE

Within the past two weeks, Marna participated in a New York State Education Department virtual briefing regarding funding of programs for the developmentally disabled. According to the State Ed representatives, as of the end of April there has been no change in federal funding to New York State for Medicaid and other essential programs. State Ed advised that they are carefully monitoring the situation, as is Marna.