For Emma Widmar, Medicaid has become a lifeline. Starting when she was 12 years old, symptoms began to show. She started receiving Social Security payments an,d Medicaid when she turned 18. She receives home-and-community-based services through a Medicaid. The bill passed despite widespread popular opposition. Widmar says she wants to encourage people “to continue voicing their opinions to policymakers, lawmakers and politicians,” not give up in resignation. “We are the ones that employ the government,” she says. “They work for us and we have to remind them of that.”

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A new report finds that Amtrak is losing a significant amount of customers because it hasn't done a good job of responding to accessibility complaints. The report cites problems from difficulty boarding if the passenger uses a wheelchair, to being blocked from bathrooms and cafe cars, to unclear signage in stations and on trains.  Many travelers with disabilities would prefer to ride on trains as opposed to planes because flying isn't the easiest.

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The Trump administration withdrew a Biden-era rule that would have federally ended subminimum wage for disabled workers, allowing companies with 14(c) certificates to continue paying disabled employees as little as 25 cents an hour. Over 600 sheltered workshops across the U.S. employ disabled people at subminimum wage, despite studies showing employment for disabled people increased or stayed the same in states that ended the practice. While 16 states have already eliminated subminimum wage for disabled workers, advocates warn the federal rollback combined with Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will harm disabled people's economic opportunities.

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Medicaid began as a welfare program, but 60 years later it covers one in five Americans. The Wall Street Journal explains how it got so big, and how the “Big Beautiful Bill” will change it.

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Carl Schulze, who became quadriplegic 18 years ago, is riding his wheelchair from Neenah to Madison to advocate for home health aides who help him with daily tasks and allow him to live independently. Schulze says without home health care aides, his only option would be a nursing home, and he's appalled that these workers who "help people have dignity and stay alive in their own environment" earn an average of only $17.92 per hour in Wisconsin. The journey will take several weeks, covering 10-11 miles daily until his wheelchair battery dies.

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Health Secretary Kirsten Johnson criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, estimating 276,175 Wisconsinites will lose health care coverage over the next decade. The law implements work requirements for Medicaid adults ages 19-64 without dependents, putting 63,000 at highest risk of losing coverage, and extends SNAP work requirements to adults up to age 65 and parents with children 14-17. Wisconsin's Medicaid programs include IRIS, a self-direction program that allows people with disabilities to manage their own services and supports.

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Pink Umbrella Theater is the first professional theater company in Milwaukee with a focus on Disability Theater. The cast and crew are paid professionals, almost entirely made up of actors and artists who identify with a disability. The plays are written by people with disabilities.

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Celebrating 60 Years of the Older Americans Act Advancing Health and Independence

The Middleton Police Department has introduced a new program aimed at helping first responders better respond to situations with people with invisible disabilities, like autism. The hope is that this will help first responders better communicate with people.

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Podcast episode explores why consumer direction, which allows people to hire loved ones as paid caregivers through Medicaid, remains underutilized. Host interviews Corinne Eldridge from the Center for Caregiver Advancement about how consumer direction supports older adults and people with disabilities while keeping families together financially. The discussion covers the need for stronger training, support, and public investment for independent providers in this vital but underused long-term care option.

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