URGENT MESSAGE

Medicaid cuts put home and community based services at risk

Contact your congressperson

Letter Template

Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) play a critical role in ensuring that many autistic individuals and others with disabilities receive supports in their home and community.  Proposed cuts to Medicaid, the major funding source for HCBS, pose a significant threat to the availability of needed community supports.  They also threaten to propel us backwards to a time when autistics and others with disabilities were forced to live in institutions, nursing homes, and other segregated settings.

Medicaid pays for 78% of personal care services.  It is the primary source of health and long-term community supports for about 1/3 of individuals with disabilities in the US.  More than one in five people receiving Medicaid are people with disabilities.  Current funding through Medicaid is clearly insufficient with over 700,000 people on waiting lists for Medicaid-supported HCBS.  Proposed cuts that would reduce the underfunded Medicaid program by 2.3 trillion dollars would make it even more difficult for people with disabilities to receive necessary healthcare and community supports.

Please contact your Congressperson as soon as possible to let them know how important Medicaid is to you or your family members.  A majority of families include a person with a disability.  There will be a lot of angry voters from both parties if Medicaid is cut.

How to Look Up Your Elected Officials

Go to the following page for details on how to look up your elected official: Contact your elected official

Letter template for writing to your elected official

Go to the following page to view a letter template that you can use to write to your elected official: HCBS - Letter Template

Resources and Links

Go here to view a list of resources and links to learn more about the importance of Medicaid for autistic individuals and others with disabilities and for advocating for Medicaid, along with other helpful links and news articles.