MEDICAID SUPPORTS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The NDNRC wants to make sure that people with disabilities (PWDs) are aware of potential changes to their healthcare with the new administration taking office. The disability community utilizes Medicaid, and the ACA Marketplace plans at a higher rate than those without disabilities due to their unique needs.
By updating this newsletter with resources and educational pieces on where disability health policies stand, we hope to ensure that the disability community continues to have access to accessible and affordable healthcare coverage no matter what changes occur in the foreseeable future.
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) worked with Caring Across Generations to release a report on how Medicaid supports the health of people with disabilities. Not only does it provide health care coverage but also supports the economic stability and well-being of those providing direct care to the disability population.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has interactive maps to show how many people are enrolled in Medicaid and what percentage for each Congressional district. This breakdown also includes people with disabilities, which can serve as a disability health advocacy tool.
The CHIRblog covered how policymakers can help address fraud in the Marketplace without having to increase premiums for enrollees and not impacting people with disabilities’ access to care.
The Commonwealth Fund released a blog on how affordable job-based healthcare coverage for workers really is, noting the large range in premium payments but overall lower median incomes.
As a part of our partnership with the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), we have updated Factsheets 1 through 16, excluding Factsheet 6; people with disabilities should read topic and population specific sheets.
CCF discussed the impacts of a per capita cap on Medicaid expansion and how it could lead to a decrease in expansion programs over time. This would directly affect over 21 million enrollees who are in low-income groups.
KFF conducted health tracking polls to assess overall public opinion on changes to Medicaid, with key takeaways, noting that more than half say that they have a family that is covered by Medicaid, large majorities not wanted major cuts, and a breakdown of questions.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is calling for abstracts for the APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo. The submission deadline is March 28, 2025: “APHA’s Disability section invites abstract submissions for socio-behavioral including health education and program intervention research, epidemiological, health systems, health law and policy, and social justice research related to disability and public health that represent people with all types of disabilities (e.g., cognitive, physical, mental, and sensory) across the lifespan. The section encourages abstracts that feature domestic and international perspectives. Case studies and demonstration projects that represent best practices and have been evaluated are also highly encouraged.”
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.