GOP Medicaid cuts deal tough blow to disabled
About 333,000 people from Illinois with disabilities receive Medicaid, including 26,458 people with intellectual and/ or developmental disabilities ( I/ DD) that rely on Medicaid for home and community- based supports. Illinois receives more than $ 893.7 million in federal funds to provide support and services that individuals with I/ DD use to live in the community.
Over the last two decades, funding for home and community- based services has grown. These services have had bipartisan support, as disability knows no political, or geo- graphical, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries. They provide dignity to people with I/ DD through assistance with meals, bathing and dressing, toileting, in- home skilled nursing and communication support, to name but a few.
The Senate is considering the same $ 830 billion cut to the Medicaid program that passed in the House. We fear that because home- and community- based services are “optional” services, states will cut them first if confronted with this greatly reduced federal commitment. States may return to outdated modes of serving people with disabilities, congregating large numbers of individuals in facilities with inadequate staffing and no real- life opportunities. The per capita cap proposal will pave a path backward to institutional care and segregated services.
Over the past few years, I have worked as a direct support professional to children with disabilities in their homes, as a foster- care case planner while working toward my master’s in special education as a special educator. I have provided integral services to children and their families across all socioeconomic backgrounds. I have accompanied mothers to first diagnostic screenings and individualized education program meetings. I have introduced new assistive technology to children, giving them the opportunity to effectively communicate with their families. I have provided after- school and respite care so parents could continue working, knowing their child is safe.
Most, if not all of these services are substantially funded through Medicaid, and the proposed per capita caps certainly put them at risk. Children could be pushed out of their homes and into costly, isolating institutions. If disability rights are unequivocally bipartisan, why is a health care bill that instills discrimination and disregards inclusion even on the table? Why would we choose to move backward?