In Iowa, over 700,000 individuals rely on Medicaid coverage for their long-term care and support needs, that includes individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These are vital members of our communities who deserve equal opportunities to thrive and grow.
Medicaid-funded support looks different for each individual based on their goals, ability level, and career aspirations. Services including community integration, social skill building, assistance with daily tasks, career exploration and job coaching, and money management skills empower these individuals to reach individual achievement within their lives.
Proposals to slash Medicaid funding are moving through Congress, meaning hundreds of thousands of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities are at risk of losing the system that supports them in all aspects of their life, including their homes and community presence.
It is important to understand Medicaid isn’t just a line item in the federal budget—it’s a lifeline for our fellow Americans. As lawmakers consider drastic cuts to Medicaid funding, they risk dismantling a system that allows people with disabilities–and the people who care for them–to live, work and thrive in their communities. Medicaid is funded by our state with matching funds from the federal government. Any cuts to federal funding for Medicaid will force our state to make impossible choices about crucial and life-saving programs and services.
Significant cuts to federal Medicaid funding will place additional financial strain on the Iowa state budget, forcing us to absorb the increased costs. State budgets must prioritize mandatory Medicaid services, leaving optional services like community-based services vulnerable to reductions. When access to community-based services is removed or limited, individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities may go without vital support or be forced to pay high-cost institution prices that offer little support and carry a heavy burden of past support options.
The idea of reducing Medicaid funding is even more devastating given that our state is already struggling to provide the home- and community-based services promised to people with I/DD due to a lack of workers in the field. Wages for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), who assist with everything from personal care to job training, are directly tied to Medicaid reimbursement rates that have long been insufficient to attract and retain workers to this meaningful profession.
According to recent research from ANCOR, 90% of community-based service providers experienced moderate or severe staffing challenges in the past year, forcing some to discontinue their programs and services. Imagine the Possibilities is one of these service providers. We serve 1,039 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across 27 Iowa counties, meaning we offer services in all four congressional sectors of the state, and have experienced trouble finding and retaining direct support professionals.
Community-based services fuel local economies, not only by creating direct support jobs, but also, by providing meaningful employment to individuals with I/DD, helping them to fuel local economies and encourage family and caregivers to do the same. Slashes to Medicaid funding could severely harm supported employment programs, potentially leading to disparities such as closure of programs, insufficient funding for direct support professionals (DSPs), and reduced access to essential services which may hinder these individual’s ability to find and maintain employment.
Medicaid cuts won’t save money—they’ll cause a sharp shift in costs to states, forcing them to cut services or increase the burden on taxpayers.
Recently, Chief Strategic Advancement Officer Cheryl Plank joined Iowa Association of Community Providers (IACP) colleagues in Washington D.C to discuss with federal legislators Medicaid Services and the important work that is being done in Iowa to protect them. We are deeply grateful for our dedicated colleagues and our supportive legislators for their openness to hear our concerns, including the unintended consequences should Medicaid funds be cut.
We call on Senators Charles E. Grassley and Joni Ernst, and Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn, Ashley Hinson, and Randy Feenstra to protect people with disabilities and their families, our economy, and our communities by rejecting Medicaid cuts, whether those cuts are proposed through the reconciliation package or through some other federal action. Simply stated, we need to strengthen–not weaken–our commitment to those with I/DD. Doing so requires both federal and state investments in these services and the direct support professionals who deliver them.
For more information on Imagine the Possibilities, check out www.imagineia.org.
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