President-elect Donald Trump waves to the crowd after speaking during his election night party, flanked by family and friends at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/ TNS)
With former President Donald Trump returning to the White House, advocates say they are preparing for his administration to push through major changes to Medicaid and other programs that people with disabilities depend on.
Trump regained the presidency this week after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. While the campaign largely stayed away from disability issues, advocates say Trump’s record during his first term is cause for concern.
“Based on actions taken during the first Trump administration, we are concerned about what (the) election will mean for the funding and structure of many important programs for people with disabilities such as Medicaid, (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding. , civil law enforcement, human rights laws, among others,” said Eric Buehlmann, deputy executive director of public policy at the National Disability Rights Network. “Efforts to radically restructure Medicaid and pay for tax cuts for corporations by cutting other programs are things we saw last time and hope will be tried again.”
Advertisement – Continue reading below
Many of these types of policy changes are reflected in Project 2025, a 900-page conservative handbook from the Heritage Foundation. Although Trump has distanced himself from the plan, it is widely seen as a possible plan for his second term.
Ahead of this week’s election, the Disabled Voters Consortium, a coalition of national disability organizations, was sounding alarms about Project 2025. The group cited proposals to restructure Medicaid and impose lifetime eligibility limits to the government’s health program, as well as radical changes. to the way special education is funded, a plan to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and measures they say would weaken civil rights protections for people with disabilities.
“People with disabilities need strong federal laws, policies, and programs that take into account their needs and aspirations,” reads a statement on the Disability Voters Consortium’s Project 2025. “The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan would eliminate these standards and push people with disabilities back to an earlier, shameful era of isolation, exclusion, and institutionalization.”
Kim Musheno, vice president of public policy at the Autism Society of America, said her group is particularly concerned about any steps the new administration might take to restructure health care policies that benefit people with disabilities.
“The Affordable Care Act has changed everyone’s lives, especially those with pre-existing conditions, such as autism. “Medicaid is literally a lifeline for people with disabilities who rely on supports at home and in the community to live with their families, work in the community, and stay out of more expensive institutions,” he said. “We reject previous attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and proposals to (cut) Medicaid. If similar proposals are presented in the new Congress, we will be willing to defend them again.”
Meanwhile, Zoe Gross, advocacy director for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said advocates are also concerned about the possibility of the government circulating misinformation about autism and vaccines. Trump has reportedly promised a role in his administration to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spent years talking about a link between the two, even though studies have found no connection.
During the campaign, Trump faced backlash from disability advocates and members of both political parties for referring to Harris as “mentally disabled” and “mentally disabled.” Additionally, Trump’s nephew, Fred C. Trump III, alleged that the former president told him that people like his son, who has intellectual and developmental disabilities, “should just die.”
But Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said she is optimistic that common ground will be possible.
“Regardless of who won, many disabled people have long felt that the current levels of operation of Social Security and Medicaid leave much to be desired. “Trump may be open to some of the changes the community was hoping for in those programs,” he said. “We hope we can all move forward and turn the page to create the most positive work environment possible.”
Read more stories like this. Subscribe to Disability Scoop’s free email newsletter to get the latest news on developmental disabilities delivered right to your inbox.
