We were excited to welcome Gary Blumenthal, NADSP’s Public Policy and Communications Advisor, last week. In his first policy update, Gary dives into the critical stakes of the proposed Medicaid cuts, the devastating impact they could have on an already fragile system, and the urgent need for bold, united advocacy. Now is the time to stand together and fight for the integrity of Medicaid.

Saving Medicaid Will Require Historic Advocacy and Coalition Building

The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the broader intellectual and developmental disability community are facing a dire threat. Medicaid, the backbone of services for people with disabilities, is at risk of unprecedented cuts under the proposed budget from the Trump Administration and a narrowly divided Republican-controlled Congress.

A Confusing and Dangerous Agenda

On any given day, President Trump and his allies claim they will protect Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. Yet, they simultaneously push for an $800 billion reduction in federal spending to fund the largest tax giveaway in American history—an estimated $4.5 trillion in tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest individuals.

Under Speaker Mike Johnson, House Republicans have advanced a budget plan that could force $800 billion in Medicaid cuts. These cuts would devastate the intellectual and developmental disability community, which depends on Medicaid for healthcare, community living support, and essential services. Such drastic reductions would further destabilize a human services sector that has been underfunded for decades. Direct support professionals (DSPs), already working at depressed wages and often forced into multiple jobs to survive, would see their work become even more unsustainable.

Medicaid Cuts Would Cripple Disability Services

Medicaid rates paid to providers who employ direct support professionals have long been inadequate, failing to account for inflation, rising costs, and increasing demand for services. Cutting $800 billion would worsen an already fragile system, leading to:

• Mass shortages of direct support professionals due to further wage stagnation and burnout.
• Increased waiting lists for critical services.
• A decline in the quality of care for people with disabilities.
• A rollback of decades of progress in including people with disabilities into their communities.

These cuts are being disguised under the pretense of eliminating “fraud and abuse,” but they are part of a broader attack on the American social safety net.

A Call to Action: Advocacy at an Unprecedented Scale

The NADSP will fight tooth and nail to protect Medicaid and educate policymakers about the destructive consequences of these cuts. But we cannot do this alone. To win this battle, we need to activate every direct support professional, provider, family member, advocate, and ally in the disability and human services community.

We are calling for a tenfold increase in advocacy efforts. This means:

• Contacting your elected officials to demand they oppose Medicaid cuts.
• Mobilizing direct support professionals to tell their stories about the critical role Medicaid plays in their work, and very likely, their home life too.
• Engaging families and individuals with disabilities to share how Medicaid supports their independence and well-being.
• Building coalitions with other advocacy organizations to amplify our voice.

In the coming weeks, NADSP and our national partners will launch coordinated advocacy campaigns. If you are ready to join the fight, reach out to us today.

For more information, contact:

• Joe Macbeth at jmacbeth@nadsp.org
• Nicole Jorwic at njorwic@nadsp.org
• Gary Blumenthal at gblumenthal@nadsp.org

America Works Best When We Stand Together

We are at a pivotal moment in history. The intellectual and developmental disability community cannot afford to be abandoned. America works best when its citizens rise to the occasion and demand that the disability and human services community be protected, not gutted.

Join us in this fight to save Medicaid. Our collective future depends on it.