Medicaid Saves Disabled People

Cuts in Medicaid Will Cause Unfathomable Suffering

Laura McKenna

Apr 08, 2025

Cross-post from Laura McKenna's Apt. 11D

The fight for Medicaid hits close to home - my son's budget is over $150k/year. -

Eric Jorgensen

For eight hours today, I helped families with disabled children and young adults.

The younger families needed help understanding a new autism diagnosis, finding ABA providers that accept Medicaid, and learning the secret words that open up the doors of the special education system.

Parents with older teens and young adults needed information about applying for SSI and DDD, finding doctors who provide low-cost evaluations, finding pro bono lawyers who do SSI appeals and guardianship, and getting a spot on the waitlist for a mental health clinic.

It’s a lot.

The current system is brutal on special needs families. After a child is diagnosed with autism, Down syndrome, or a developmental delay, parents fight a never-ending battle with the lack of information and resources. The hurdles are high, and the expenses can be huge. Sometimes, the parents also suffer from a disability and can’t read the government forms. I’m happy to be part of the solution, thanks to the big hearts of generous philanthropists.

The current system is tough. Now, imagine a system where there is even less money. That’s the fear in the disability community.

Our disability support system is funded by Medicaid. Medicaid funding is concentrated on disabled adults, though some funds also go to public schools to cover therapy services. Medicaid is on the chopping block because DOGE hasn’t been able to find enough “waste, fraud, and abuse” to provide rich people with a tax break.

Congress hasn’t approved any cuts to Medicaid yet, but I’m already hearing gossip about problems. Some states are cutting smaller programs to stay ahead of cuts from Washington. Parents spend hours trying to get someone to answer the phones at government offices. Some are reporting the sudden, unexplained stoppage of benefits for disabled family members.

Special college programs for disabled students are being cut. Down the street from us, the community college ended a new farming program that taught job skills to young adults with intellectual disabilities.

But those problems are small potatoes. If Washington cuts Medicaid by 5 percent or 10 percent, disabled adults will lose their budgets that cover the costs of their caretakers, food, clothing, and housing. Without Medicaid, folks might end up on the street or in unsafe institutions. The suffering will be unthinkable.

During Senator Booker’s filibuster last week, he talked about how Medicaid cuts would hurt people with disabilities and their families. This week, his scheduled town hall meeting in my area had to be moved to a larger venue because his popularity is sky-high in Jersey. That venue was booked up in a matter of hours. I couldn’t get in.

At that meeting, one mother stood up to say that even a 5% cut in Medicaid would make it impossible for her son to live independently in his community. That video has gone viral.

It’s hard to get disabled families to show up to meetings and speak out. Some fear that any attention will cause their benefits to be taken away. Others are too busy managing paperwork and caring for their disabled family members. Others have become hardened and cynical after decades of neglect. So, this mother quickly became viral on my social media channels this morning.

Medicaid provides low-income children with therapy and adults with the means to live independent lives. There is no question that the system is insanely complicated and expensive. Three years of paperwork to enter the system is immoral. Expecting senior citizens to become permanent paperwork queens for their adult children is cruel. If DOGE wants to streamline the system to reduce hurdles and paperwork, that would be awesome. However, making the disability system more efficient isn’t on the table; cutting services is.

Unless you have a disabled young adult and/or live under the poverty line, you’ve probably never thought about Medicaid much. You might mix up Medicaid and Medicare. You probably don’t know how much money an adult can have in their savings account (answer: less than $2,000). You probably don’t know what age you should apply for services (answer: 18). You probably don’t know how to use your budget to become a self-directed employee (answer: more paperwork).

If Medicaid doesn’t touch your lives, that’s awesome. I’m asking you to care just a minute for families that need it desperately. Here’s a good petition to sign. If you go to a protest, carry a sign that says, “Protect Medicaid!” Make disability rights your priority for just a minute.