From Disability Scoop — By Michelle Diament —
Just weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives approved billions in cuts to Medicaid, the Senate is considering even deeper cuts, a move that advocates say would have dire consequences for people with disabilities.
Senate Republicans unveiled legislation last week detailing sweeping changes to Medicaid that are part of a broader effort to make good on President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. The measure includes more aggressive changes than the version passed by the House in May.
Both chambers are seeking to impose work requirements on many Medicaid beneficiaries and mandate that states check individuals’ eligibility for the program more frequently, among other changes, but some of the Senate’s requirements would be more stringent.
Notably, the Senate is also seeking to limit Medicaid provider taxes, a workaround that states use to collect more federal dollars for the program.
“The Senate took a rotten bill and made it worse,” said Elena Hung, co-founder and executive director of Little Lobbyists, a national group advocating for kids with disabilities. “The Senate text cuts even more money from Medicaid and will result in even more harm to medically complex and disabled children.”
While neither bill explicitly calls for spending on disability services to be slashed, advocates say that reducing federal investment in Medicaid will increase financial pressure on states leading to deeper cuts in optional programs like home and community-based services.
“History shows that when Medicaid budgets are cut, home and community-based services are among the first services cut,” said Hung, whose group brought families from across the country to Capitol Hill last week to pressure senators to reject Medicaid cuts. “Millions of Americans, including disabled and medically complex children, are in imminent danger of losing Medicaid. The threat is dire.”
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