Disability News Round up - May 17, 2025
Recent articles about disability and potential cuts to Medicaid and other services.
RFK Jr’s autism comments place blame and shift research responsibility to parents, critics say by Melody Schreiber, published May 12, 2025 in The Guardian.
"These statements appear to blame parents for vaccinating their kids and causing autism, a developmental and neurological condition that is overwhelmingly genetic"
House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care by Lisa Mascaro, published May 12, 2025 in AP News
"While Republicans insist they are simply rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements, Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage. A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over the decade."
The House Republicans’ Budget Bill Guts Basic Needs Programs for the Most Vulnerable Americans to Give Tax Breaks to the Rich by Bobby Kogan, published May 12, 2025 at The Center for American Progress
"Earlier today, House Republicans unveiled the final parts of their partisan tax and budget bill. Their proposal would dramatically reshape America for the worse: It would implement the largest cuts to both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in history—kicking millions of Americans off their health insurance and taking food away from hungry children. It would raise household electricity costs while trapping most middle-class and poor students in greater student loan debt to afford a higher education. "
25 Arrested While Protesting GOP Medicaid Cuts by Julia Métraux, published May 13, 2025 at Mother Jones
"Within the first few minutes of Tuesday’s House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on planned Republican Medicaid cuts—which would render more than eight million Americans uninsured—a contingent of protesters entered the room in Washington, DC’s Rayburn Building where members of Congress had gathered."
Federal Medicaid Cuts Would Force States To Eliminate Services for Disabled Adults, Older Adults, and Children: The reconciliation bill that just passed out of committee in the House proposes cutting Medicaid and therefore gutting essential services upon which disabled and older people rely, by Mia Ives-Rublee, published May 16, 2025 at The Center for American Progress
"The bill, as currently written, would punish Medicaid recipients who are unable to comply with strict work reporting requirements and redetermination reviews, risking coverage loss for procedural reasons. It also would block recent federal rules designed to make Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) applications simpler and more accessible for eligible individuals, primarily children, older people, and people with disabilities. All of these things would increase the costs to administer Medicaid and CHIP."