July is Disability Pride Month, which celebrates people with disabilities and commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. This landmark legislation was a huge step in ensuring the inclusion of people with disabilities in society by preventing discrimination and protecting rights. While societal inclusion is important for combatting discrimination, financial inclusion is just as important for helping people to maintain their independence and freedom.

While the new federal budget will have an impact in many people’s lives, the disability community will likely be navigating additional adjustments as varying pieces of the new bill are put into place. It’s important for people with disabilities to be aware of all of the potential changes coming their way, so they can best prepare and make necessary changes to try and maintain financial stability.

In this blog post, we will be discussing the varying budget changes that might impact people with disabilities and their families as well as discussing some potential resources and options to help keep finances and support more manageable.

Disability Is a Spectrum 

Before we dive into the changes coming that might impact people with disabilities, it’s important to understand that not every person with disabilities will be impacted by every change mentioned. There is a huge spectrum of disabilities that results in different access needs, daily impact, required resources, and support. This guide is meant to provide generalized support for people who are more likely to be affected by the upcoming federal budget changes.

Medicaid 

The new federal budget bill includes nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and changes to qualifications like work requirements, eligibility, and administrative processes. While disabled people are not explicitly mentioned in the changes, many disabled people rely on Medicaid coverage for medications, care, and services. As the Center for American Progress and The Arc lay out in a recent joint article, some people with disabilities may experience a loss in coverage, and many will experience increases in their costs for medical care due to rising copays and fewer benefits and out-of-pocket costs being covered.

Work Requirements 

Work requirements have become stricter with limited exemptions. This means people with disabilities and caretakers are more likely to lose coverage. According to The Arc of Massachusetts, most Medicaid recipients who are able to work are already working. Those who aren’t working generally want to but struggle to find suitable jobs due to a lack of support and other barriers to employment. While there are some exemptions to the work requirements, exemptions are often burdensome and challenging to prove. Some people may lose coverage simply for not being able to keep up with paperwork.

Administrative Hurdles 

Similar to the work requirement changes, there will also be changes in eligibility redeterminations, which will now occur twice a year instead of annually. The verification requirements will also be stricter. Together, these changes will cause more opportunities for errors and missed deadlines, which will likely lead to many people inadvertently losing access to their Medicaid. Limited resources will also have to be allocated to implementing these requirements, which means that there will be even less resources for Medicaid programs and benefits.

Home and Community-based Services 

One of the biggest direct impacts for people with disabilities that advocates are particularly worried about is the impact on home and community-based services (HCBS) that usually provide disabled people and older adults with daily assistance for tasks such as eating, dressing, using the bathroom, and getting to work. HBCS includes:

In a letter to senators, disability organizations noted that 86% of optional Medicaid spending is used for services and support for people with disabilities and older adults, more than half of which is for HCBS. Without these services, people with disabilities who rely on this assistance will lose some of their independence, may have a harder time making it to their jobs, or could require a family member to step in as a caretaker, affecting more people’s ability to work and, therefore, have access to services like Medicaid.

There is already a huge waitlist for these services, but cuts to funding will make it even harder for people who need support to receive these services.

SNAP 

In addition to the cuts to Medicaid, there will be $200 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Many of the provisions added to Medicaid, like work requirements and eligibility changes, will apply to SNAP as well.

During a time when food insecurity is already a pressing challenge due to rising grocery costs and economic instability, this change could have a detrimental impact on the livelihood of many Americans, particularly low-income communities, communities of color, and disability communities. It is estimated that these cuts will impact 4 million non-elderly adults with disabilities who rely on SNAP.

Between the cuts to Medicaid and the cuts to SNAP, people with disabilities and caretakers who rely on both services could end up having to choose between feeding their families and purchasing life-saving medications.

Higher Education 

The new bill imposes stricter caps on student loans, particularly for grad students and parents. Because people with disabilities often experience a higher cost of living and could require special living or transportation accommodations to attend graduate school, caps on student loans could inadvertently prevent more people with disabilities from pursuing a higher education by making the financial burden too overwhelming for them to consider. This could also have a cyclic effect of then making it harder for people with disabilities to become employed throughout their lives.

Resources 

While these budget cuts will impact many disabled and low-income communities, there are resources to help prepare affected individuals with additional support and options:

With the new federal budget bill comes uncertainty and a potential hit to financial stability and independence for many people with disabilities. At Self-Help, we believe in ownership and economic opportunity for all, which means we are here to support underserved communities in building wealth and making responsible financial decisions.

We are honored to commemorate Disability Pride Month and will continue working to provide helpful information and support for the disability communities.