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The Issue
Medicaid supports over 70 million Americans, especially people with disabilities, by providing essential services like healthcare, Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), employment supports, and school-based care, including preventive health screenings and physical, occupational, and speech therapies.
Right now, the system is already strained. There is a severe shortage of care workers, and over 700,000 people with disabilities are on waiting lists for HCBS, most of which are delivered through Medicaid I/DD waivers. The proposed cuts of $930 billion would further endanger access to critical services and deepen this crisis. Cutting or converting Medicaid funding to block grants could reduce services and increase wait times, forcing more people into institutional care and limiting their independence.
Additionally, the proposed change to impose mandatory work requirements for Medicaid is also dangerous since most adult beneficiaries are already working or are exempt from work requirements because they are unable to work. The consequences would be devastating; up to 5.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries could lose their coverage in 2026.
Medicaid is the nation’s largest health insurer and is critical to the financial stability of our healthcare system, particularly in rural areas where often providers are already operating on scarce funds. In 2023, over 700 rural hospitals faced potential closure, predominantly in states that did not adopt Medicaid expansion. Therefore, reducing Medicaid funding would trigger a significant healthcare crisis in rural communities. Also, it would make things harder for family caregivers, who benefit from Medicaid as enrollees and the Medicaid-covered services for their care recipient. About 1 out of 10 family caregivers nationally receive Medicaid coverage for their own health care.
Medicaid can be the difference between life and death for our most vulnerable communities. Please join us in fighting to preserve and expand Medicaid, instead of supporting devastating cuts.
Calls to Action
- Do NOT support any cuts to Medicaid, including per-capita caps, work requirements, or block grants
- Make sure Medicaid is fully funded and supported, and spread that message throughout Congress and the states—your constituents need and deserve full access to Medicaid!