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The Bipartisan Policy Center interviewed older adults through The People Say initiative to identify health care challenges. Key recommendations include: establishing Medicare respite benefits and caregiver tax credits to support family caregivers; addressing direct care workforce shortages through apprenticeships and adequate Medicaid payment rates; expanding telehealth and behavioral health access; streamlining Medicare Savings Program enrollment; and reducing system complexity through State Health Insurance Assistance Programs and integrated care models like PACE.
POWER STATION: They want to round up people with disabilities and put them in institutions
By SD Network, 2026-01-24
Theo Braddy, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), discusses threats to disability rights. NCIL is the longest-running disability-led association in the nation with 660 centers across the country that empower people with disabilities to thrive in their communities. Braddy: "Discrimination against and the oppression of people with disabilities is largely invisible in our society until it happens to us."
AAPD BLOG: Recent Changes to Immigration Policies Have Disastrous Impacts on Disabled People and Long-Term Care
By SD Network, 2026-01-24
Litchman received approval for IRIS, Wisconsin's self-direction program, but struggled to find personal care attendants at $17/hour maximum wages. With immigrants comprising 32% of home care workers, Trump's immigration raids and deportations worsen existing workforce shortages (75% turnover, 1-in-4 vacancies). Combined with Medicaid cuts threatening optional HCBS programs, these policies push disabled people toward institutionalization.
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION: Martin Luther King, Jr’s Legacy: How the Civil Rights Movement Paved the Way for Disability Rights and Disability Justice
By SD Network, 2026-01-19
The civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1955 to 1968 reshaped the nation's understanding of discrimination and equality, making it possible to reconceptualize disability as a civil rights issue and paving the way for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Section 504 adopted the same nondiscrimination language as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, extending protections to disabled people, while the ADA used the same structure to prohibit discrimination in employment, public accommodations, transportation, education, and government services. The disability justice movement builds on King's insight that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," recognizing that ableism is interconnected with racism, sexism, classism, and other systems of oppression, requiring collective action to dismantle all barriers to achieve full equity and liberation.
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HEALTH AFFAIRS: Implementing Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements: Defining A ‘Serious Or Complex Medical Condition’
By SD Network, 2026-01-19
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires Medicaid expansion states to implement work reporting requirements starting January 2027, with the The Congressional Budget Office estimates over five million people will lose coverage by 2034. The law includes a "medically frail" exemption for those with "serious or complex medical conditions"—broadening previous "serious and complex" language to give states more flexibility.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: You’re invited to participate in an ableism research study
By SD Network, 2026-01-15
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From Algoma to Durand, these spots prioritize wellness, transportation, and social engagement. These nine towns make comfort practical: reasonable home prices, quick trips for essentials, easy trails, friendly gathering spots, and nearby healthcare.
KFF surveyed Medicaid officials in all 50 states and D.C. between April-July 2025. Nearly all states (49 out of 50) allow Medicaid enrollees to self-direct their home care in some circumstances. Self-direction emerged from the "consumer-directed" movement, which began with demonstration programs in 19 states. All states with self-directed programs allow enrollees to select, train, and dismiss workers; 41 states allow enrollees to set worker pay; 39 allow them to allocate service budgets. All responding states pay family caregivers through one or more Medicaid home care programs. Self-direction is most common in waivers for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (41 states) and older adults/physical disabilities (39 states).
KFF surveyed Medicaid officials in all 50 states and D.C. between April and July 2025. Over 5 million people receive Medicaid home and community-based services annually. The 2025 reconciliation law reduces federal Medicaid spending by $911 billion (14%) over a decade. All states offer HCBS through optional waiver and state plan programs. The most common are 1915(c) waivers (47 states) and personal care state plans (33 states). Forty-six states cover services supporting self-direction, which assist people in managing participant-directed services. Nursing facility care is required, but most home care is optional for states. All but 11 states use managed care to provide at least some home care.
CENTER FOR RETIREMENT RESEARCH AT BOSTON COLLEGE: Family Caregivers: How Many and Who Are They?
By SD Network, 2026-01-15
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found 14% of Americans ages 15+ provided unpaid care to someone 65+ in 2023-2024. The National Alliance for Caregiving's 2025 survey found 59 million Americans provide care to adult family members, a 40% increase over a decade. About 11 million family caregivers are paid through Medicaid home-and-community-based services provisions, which vary by state and include self-direction programs. Four in ten caregivers live with their care recipient, and one-fifth provide 21+ hours of care weekly. Among employed caregivers, 56% had to adjust work schedules, 18% reduced hours, and 16% took leave.