Medicaid Updates & Action Steps

Over 17 million Californians rely on programs that are funded by Medicaid dollars and other programs Congress is considering cutting. This includes over 488,000 people with developmental disabilities served by regional centers, 830,000 people living independently with In-Home Supportive Services, 59,000 foster youth, and 14,500,000 people whose health insurance is Medi-Cal.

“When 43% of Californians benefit from a program funded by Medicaid, these services support every part of our state,” said Julie Gaona, Chair of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. “We want to be sure people with disabilities and aging adults in California can live, work, play, and contribute to their community.”

The federal budget proposals currently under consideration threaten deep and irreversible harm to the people we serve. These proposals include:

 

• Over $700 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the foundation of community-based supports for individuals with disabilities and complex behavioral health needs;

• Nearly $300 billion in reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), putting direct support professionals and the people they support at risk of food insecurity; and

• Proposed reductions to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), including efforts to eliminate or significantly reduce funding for State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (DD Councils) and other vital programs.

The impact of these cuts would be devastating and widespread:

• People with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health needs would lose access to critical, individualized supports – including housing, employment services, therapy, case management, and crisis intervention.

• Medicaid-funded behavioral health and home and community-based services (HCBS) would be slashed, leading to increased institutionalization and preventable crises.

• DD Councils, which play a central role in research, policy innovation, advocacy, and systems change, would face defunding or elimination – at a time when inclusive and evidence-based practices are more essential than ever.

• The workforce crisis on disability and mental health services would intensify, with job losses, unsustainable workloads, and diminished service quality.

• Families and unpaid caregivers would be forced to carry impossible burdens, with little to no support from public systems.

This is not just a policy debate – it is a moral reckoning.

Medicaid is not a luxury. SNAP is not an option. ACL programs are not expendable. These are the mechanisms by which we affirm the dignity, rights, and humanity of people with disabilities. To weaken or eliminate them is to regress—to erase decades of advocacy, legal progress, and hard-won equity.

We call on the U.S. Senate to:

• Reject cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and the Administration for Community Living.
• Protect the funding and integrity of State Councils on Developmental Disabilities and related programs.
• Preserve the right of all people with disabilities to live in their communities with autonomy, support, and dignity.

To every member of Congress: this is your opportunity to stand on the side of justice. 

TAKE ACTION!

Call Your U.S. Senators 

Tell them you oppose the proposed cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and ACL programs. Demand they protect funding that supports people with disabilities and their access to inclusive, community-based services.

Call the Capitol Switchboard: 1-202-224-3121

Write to Your Local Media 

Submit a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or contact a local journalist. Share how these cuts will harm your community, your work, or your loved ones.

Educate Others 

Talk with colleagues, family members, and self-advocates. Host a discussion or webinar. Use your platform to amplify the message.

Share on Social Media

Use your voice online to raise awareness.

Tag your representatives. Use hashtags like:

#SaveMedicaid

#DontTouchMedicaid

#HandsOffMedicaid

#SaveMediCal

#DisabilityRights

#IAmTierra

Together, we must raise our voices louder than the proposals that threaten to silence us.

Remember, we are not Fraud, Waste, or Abuse. We are people, and we matter.