Dear NADSP Community,

Disability Scoop reported on a troubling situation in Minnesota that should concern every person who cares about people with disabilities, children with chronic health needs, low-income families, and people who rely on Medicaid-funded home and community-based services.

According to the report, Minnesota has cut off thousands of Medicaid providers, at least temporarily, as the state races to satisfy federal demands tied to fraud prevention and the continued flow of federal Medicaid funds. While preventing fraud is important, the way this is being done appears to be creating fear, confusion, and disruption for providers and the people they support.

CMS/HHS is requiring states to verify all Medicaid providers, neglecting that many states have outdated data systems that have waited years to decades for individual governors and state legislatures to fund new and more accessible data programs.   Much of the information will take months (if not longer) for states to verify their current provider’s data and answer the federal demands for this information.

This should be viewed as a warning sign for other states. When the federal government threatens funding and forces states into rushed compliance actions, the people most likely to be harmed are not the powerful. They are people with disabilities, medically fragile children, low-income adults, older adults, family caregivers, direct support professionals, and small community providers already operating on thin margins, For people receiving HCBS, Medicaid is not an abstract program. Medicaid is how people get out of bed, take medication, eat safely, go to work, live outside institutions, and remain connected to their families and communities. When providers are suddenly cut off, payments delayed, or services interrupted, lives can be destabilized overnight.

NADSP supports accountability, program integrity, and responsible use of public funds. But we reject the idea that fraud prevention should be used as a blunt instrument that punishes people with disabilities and the workforce that supports them.

The federal government’s current approach risks making life as difficult as possible for people who already face too many barriers. It creates paperwork traps, provider instability, service gaps, and unnecessary fear. It also places additional pressure on direct support professionals who are asked to hold fragile systems together when government decisions create chaos.

NADSP members should watch closely for similar actions in their own states. If this can happen in Minnesota, it can happen elsewhere. States under federal pressure may move quickly, and people who depend on Medicaid-funded services may pay the price.

We will continue to monitor these developments and speak out whenever Medicaid policy threatens the dignity, safety, independence, and community lives of people with disabilities.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. Macbeth

President and Chief Executive Officer

National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals