Team,

I wish I had better news. We have just finished our first line-by-line look at the Senate Finance Committee’s new “reconciliation” draft, released today by Chairman Mike Crapo. To read the document, click here. Sadly, it takes the already harmful House-passed bill and makes it even tougher on the people we support — and on you, the professionals who stand beside them every day.

What’s different, in plain language 

• Deeper Medicaid cuts. The Senate plan slashes more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. That means fewer dollars to pay for home- and community-based services, mental-health supports, school services, and the very programs that fund DSP jobs.
• Bigger cost-shifts to states. By lowering how much the federal government will match, states will be forced either to raise their own taxes or cut services. History shows they usually cut services first.
• Provider payments hammered. Hospitals, community agencies, and behavioral-health providers would see sharper reductions than in the House bill, threatening closures — especially in rural communities.
• Red-tape “work requirements.” Parents of teens as young as 14 and many other adults would have to prove they work a set number of hours each month or lose coverage, even if they have a lifelong disability.
• Attacks on reproductive-health and immigrant care. The bill targets Planned Parenthood and dials back emergency Medicaid help for people who lack legal status, meaning more uncompensated care and higher costs for everyone else.
• Ripple effects on Medicare and SNAP. Because of the way federal budget rules work, the bill would automatically trigger over $500 billion in Medicare cuts and steep reductions to nutrition programs that keep kids and seniors fed.

Why this matters to DSPs

Cuts of this size will hit the front lines first: lower reimbursement rates, frozen wages, staff shortages, and the possible loss of services you help deliver every day. Fewer resources mean less stability for the people we support and for your livelihoods.

Next steps

This is only our early read. Our policy team is digging deeper and will share detailed analyses, action alerts, and talking points in the coming days. For now, know this: the fight is far from over, and your voice will be crucial when the Senate begins formal debate. You can take action by clicking the button below to tell your Senators to oppose the Reconciliation Act.

Thank you for everything you do. Stay tuned — and stay ready.

In solidarity,

Joseph M. Macbeth
President & CEO, National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals