Latest news with #HCBS
Time Magazine
5 days ago
- Health
- Time Magazine
Trump's Medicaid Cuts Put People with Disabilities at Risk
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This landmark legislation, which enshrined in federal statute civil rights for people living with disabilities, has transformed countless lives. It opened the world up to an entire population who, until that point, were more often than not excluded and isolated from society. It codified a legal pathway for equality and inclusion by dismantling longstanding barriers that prevented people with disabilities from having the opportunity to pursue employment, live independently, access transportation and public spaces, and so much more. The ADA affirmed the fundamental right of every American to participate fully in society, and is foundational to ensuring that those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) have equal opportunities to thrive and live with autonomy. Yet, as we celebrate the ADA's enduring legacy this year, the future for people with disabilities looks less certain. The ADA's vision is not self-sustaining. Its promise is fulfilled through an ecosystem of vital support services, many of which rely on Medicaid funding. For millions of Americans living with disabilities, Medicaid is a lifeline that provides access to essential home- and community-based services (HCBS). These services include the most basic activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, eating, and more, as well as the residential programs, employment supports, and assistive technologies that allow people with I/DD to live with dignity in their own homes and communities. These services are at the heart of the ADA and crucial to making inclusion a reality. Following the passage of President Donald Trump's tax bill, which will cut aproximately $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next several years, these support systems are in jeopardy. This attack on Medicaid threatens to unravel decades of progress toward equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities, as access to these services will undoubtedly become more limited. Read More: The Big Budget Bill Could Make Your ER a Mess Cuts to Medicaid could mean fewer available care services, longer waiting lists for critical support, and potentially the loss of the very assistance that allows those with I/DD to live independent and fulfilling lives. Imagine losing the career coach who helps you get ready for work and makes it possible to maintain steady employment, or the direct support professional (DSP) who helps you bathe and brush your teeth, or the transportation service that connects you to your community. These cuts translate into a forced retreat from independence, pushing individuals back into isolation and dependency, often in hospitals or costly, state-run institutions, directly contradicting the ADA's core tenets. The ripple effect extends to the dedicated community providers who are the backbone of the HCBS ecosystem. These organizations operate on thin margins, relying heavily, or solely, on Medicaid to fund their services. Cuts of this size may fall heavily on providers, who are already in crisis because of long-term underinvestment in community-based services, leaving them struggling to offer their DSPs competitive wages and benefits due to stagnant and insufficient reimbursement rates. Ultimately, these cuts could lead to reduced capacity, staff layoffs, and even the closure of programs. The national shortage of DSPs is also expected to worsen. To pay wages, providers rely on Medicaid reimbursements from their states; if states are rendered unable to increase reimbursement rates, providers will lose the DSPs they employ to better-paying opportunities in other hourly wage industries such as fast food and retail. This monumental blow to Medicaid funding will make it even harder to find and retain the individuals who provide day-to-day care. Troublingly, these DSPs, whose work is both physically and emotionally demanding, often rely on Medicaid themselves due to insufficient wages. When providers are forced to scale back programs or shutter entirely, the entire HCBS infrastructure weakens, leaving countless individuals without the support they need. The strain is then placed on the families of people with I/DD, potentially forcing some to leave their own jobs to provide care for their loved ones. For the many individuals with I/DD who don't have family or existing networks of support, access to care may be lost completely. Read More: The GOP Budget Takes From the Poor and Gives to the Rich The true scale of the impact remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that it will be nothing short of devastating. A nearly $1 trillion cut to Medicaid is not just a budgetary change. It will harm people with disabilities and the progress we have made since the passage of the ADA. Decades of advocacy, innovation, and hard-won victories for equality and inclusion are at risk of being rolled back. As we honor the ADA this year, we must recommit to its vision by unequivocally protecting the very funding that makes true community living and inclusion a reality for all. We cannot allow the fundamental rights and opportunities of people with disabilities to be undermined. Solutions must be found, advocates must fight back, and state leaders need to find ways to preserve funding for these vital services. Access to care is not a luxury, it is a necessity that is integral to upholding the rights of those with disabilities.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HHAeXchange's '2025 Homecare Insights: Provider Voices' Survey Results Offer Valuable Insight into Agencies' Top Challenges and Priorities
Compliance emerged as a top business priority for HCBS providers; findings also noted growing interest in tools to reduce administrative work and specialized caregiver training NEW YORK, June 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HHAeXchange, a leading provider of homecare management solutions for providers, managed care organizations (MCOs), and state Medicaid programs, today announced the results of its 2025 Homecare Insights: Provider Voices survey. The survey, which gathered insights from 145 home- and community-based services (HCBS) agency owners and operators across HHAeXchange's customer base, highlights the current priorities, pain points, and opportunities facing the HCBS industry. The survey was developed to capture firsthand perspectives from agency leaders navigating a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, with the goal of better understanding provider needs and using those insights to inform future enhancements to HHAeXchange's platform and services. Compliance rose to the forefront as HCBS providers' most significant business priority in 2025, surpassing cost reduction and operational efficiency. A majority of respondents (70.1%) ranked it as either their No. 1 or No. 2 priority for the remainder of the year. This heightened focus likely reflects growing sensitivity to compliance risks, driven by increasing regulatory complexity and more frequent audits from the Office of Inspector General. Among agencies using reporting tools to support business decisions, ensuring compliance was the most commonly cited reason — ranked No. 1 by 52.3% of respondents. Providers are clearly open to operational support through technology. When asked which solutions would be most helpful for managing internal administrative tasks and daily operations, respondents ranked staff scheduling and communication as the top need (34.1%), closely followed by billing and payment processing (31.9%). These priorities highlight the expanding responsibilities shouldered by providers as they work to meet increasing demand for services amid a tightening pool of resources. Other key themes and findings from the 2025 survey include: In the era of value-based care, data is underutilized. As the industry continues to move toward value-based contracting, there's a growing opportunity to help more agencies harness the full potential of reporting tools. Currently, two out of three agencies that use these tools are not leveraging them to guide business decisions for better results. Drawing stronger parallels between the data generated and the day-to-day challenges providers face could help close this gap. When insights are well-aligned with the areas providers value most, the data becomes meaningful — enabling them to clearly see how it connects to their goals and helps address everyday demands and operational struggles. Communication is a critical link in care delivery. Providers ranked the ability to connect with caregivers in real time as the top technology solution that would help teams better support clients. From day-to-day operations to emergency responses, effective communication was identified as essential to client outcomes, caregiver coordination, and agency efficiency. Over one-third of agency leaders would prioritize solutions that help with staff scheduling and communication over other types of technology designed to streamline operations. Specialized caregiver training is on the rise. Nearly 70% of providers reported offering it to caregivers, with disease-specific care — such as Alzheimer's and diabetes — being the most common option. By elevating the quality of care without crossing into clinical territory, this type of training can help agencies boost client trust, offer more empathetic and effective support, better recognize red flags or changes in condition, and strengthen referral relationships with healthcare partners. Providers are driven by a desire to help members receive better care. It's no surprise that delivering high-quality, compassionate care remains the leading motivator for homecare providers, with 60.8% of respondents ranking it as their top source of inspiration. 'The findings from this year's survey paint a clear picture of what HCBS providers are up against, where they're headed, and how the evolving role of technology could help,' HHAeXchange CEO Paul Joiner said. 'At HHAeXchange, we hold ourselves accountable to the needs of our customers, and our mission is to support them with solutions that address these needs, whether that's navigating compliance, equipping staff with better communication tools, or unlocking the value of their data.' To view the full results of the 2025 Homecare Insights: Provider Voices survey, visit this page. To learn more about HHAeXchange's solution for homecare providers, and how it can help homecare agencies grow their business, retain employees, and deliver better care, visit About HHAeXchange Founded in 2008, HHAeXchange is the leading technology platform for homecare and self-direction program management. Developed specifically for Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), HHAeXchange connects state agencies, managed care organizations, providers, and caregivers through its intuitive web-based platform, enabling unparalleled communication, transparency, efficiency, and compliance. In 2024, HHAeXchange expanded through the strategic acquisitions of Sandata, Cashé Software, and Generations Homecare System, strengthening its commitment to advancing the industry. For more information, visit or follow the company on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook. CONTACT: Angie Barrell Alloy, on behalf of HHAeXchange 855-300-8209 hhaexchange@
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
My son's life depends on Medicaid. Program cuts put his future in jeopardy.
Carol Chapin's son joins a protest in Madison to oppose cuts to the Medicaid program. (Photo courtesy of Carol Chapin) This week, the U.S. House of Representatives and Wisconsin's Republican members — U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, Glenn Grothman, Scott Fitzgerald, Tony Wied and Tom Tiffany — are supporting a budget that would slash federal Medicaid funding by $790 billion, according to the latest Congressional Budget Office estimate. For my family, this isn't just a number on a budget sheet somewhere in Washington. For us, it is deeply personal. These cuts have the potential to devastate our lives. My son Liam lives with a developmental disability. Thanks to Medicaid — and more specifically, a category known as Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) — he's able to live independently in his own apartment. He receives support each day to help him manage meals, take his medications, and safely get to his two part-time jobs using paratransit. He volunteers at a local food pantry. He makes art. He participates in community programs for people with disabilities. He takes community college courses and continuing education classes, and his goal is an associate's degree in architectural technology. He's proud to call Madison's Eastmoreland neighborhood home. All of this is possible because of Medicaid. But the Home and Community-Based Services that make his life possible are considered 'optional' under federal Medicaid law. They're on the chopping block if Congress moves forward with the proposed cuts. If the federal government cuts its share of Medicaid funding, our state will face a painful decision. We will either use more state dollars to fill the gap, or make cuts — fewer people covered, fewer services, lower provider pay. For Liam and others, that means less support, fewer community programs and a greater risk of institutionalization. Even with Medicaid, it took our family years to find a supportive care agency with an opening. These services are already stretched to the limit. Some Republican members of Congress are advocating for hard caps on Medicaid costs which would further degrade these essential programs. Medicaid is not just an insurance program. It is the infrastructure that makes independent living possible for people with disabilities. And it is already under strain. Here in Wisconsin, some disability advocacy organizations have gone months without federal funding due to administrative budget cuts. The signs are all around us: The safety net is fraying. If Congress ultimately cuts federal Medicaid spending, we will witness the unraveling of vital support systems: most critically, Home and Community-Based Services. For thousands of people like Liam, this would mean being forced from their homes, with many facing the possibility of institutionalization. Keeping people in their homes has been a bipartisan issue for decades. Home and Community-Based Services are both significantly cheaper and more empowering for our community-members with disabilities. I urge our elected officials — especially those who have said they want to protect 'the vulnerable' — to stop these irresponsible cuts to Medicaid. Liam's life, and the lives of so many others in Wisconsin, depend on it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr.‘s ignorance about autism is bad enough. Republicans' Medicaid cuts are worse.
April 2025 was the weirdest Autism Awareness Month in my life, thanks largely to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The secretary of health and human services finished the month as he began it: spreading conspiracy theories, misinformation and lies about autism, vaccines, basic medical theories and more. He promised a study that would find the causes of autism by September (a timeline his NIH director immediately abandoned). He threatened to form a registry of autistic people, then pulled back, but not before parents began canceling assessments out of fear of what the government might do with that information. And in an interview with Dr. Phil, he not only offered more false links between vaccinations and autism, but also chemtrail conspiracy theories and an insistence that parents considering vaccinating their kids should 'do their own research.' That's plenty of 'awareness' — the wrong kind of awareness. I need families like mine — my 18-year-old son is autistic — and those who care about us to become aware of the threats against Medicaid. I need awareness of the consequences that proposed GOP cuts would exact on families like mine, and what we can do to stop or mitigate the coming disaster. I don't know that we can stop Kennedy from saying ignorant and stigmatizing things, but we can't spend the next four years chasing down and debunking a man who literally doesn't believe in germ theory. But the Republican-controlled Congress, backed by the president, is planning radical cuts to Medicaid, and there's nothing more important for autistic people, their families and everyone with any disability or a loved one with a significant disability in America. Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, says it's been the 'most intense April' for her in terms of media advocacy, with the need to refute public statements from the Trump administration, address community panic around the 'registry' and more. But the time spent just trying to bat back the worst statements comes with a cost. 'What we're missing,' she told me, 'is looking at the practical needs of autistic people in the U.S., how they can be met, and the government's role [in meeting them].' She's worried because the administration is 'trying to take hundreds of millions of dollars out of Medicaid' and there's no way to do that without cutting back on Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), which allow autistic people to live independently and prevent family members from having to leave the workforce to care for their loved ones. Right now, recipients of HCBS have their needs assessed, then get assigned a number of hours of support based on that assessment — already a highly contested and stressful practice. 'If Medicaid gets cut, states are going to have to make decisions,' Gross says. 'One thing they could do is cut people's hours. People will be stuck in apartments, in wheelchairs, unable to bathe, dress, go to the bathroom.' People who rely on support professionals to get them to and from work, to grocery shop, to function as highly independent members of society will lose that independence. People who need 24/7 care may be forced into institutions, or family members will have to leave the workforce to provide care at home. My son is autistic and needs a responsible adult around at all times. He also has Down syndrome, is intellectually disabled, and is nonverbal but a great communicator. I always worry that accurately describing his support needs will wrongly convey the idea that he's a burden. He just requires specific kinds of supports. They aren't really that expensive and are pretty easy to provide. Medicaid supplies him health care, an aide who allows him to access the world in the same ways that other teenagers do, and access to therapeutic programs not otherwise covered in school. As he grows older, HCBS will enable him to be supported while living at home (with us!) or in some other community context — if HCBS survives this budget process, that is. The other options are: institutionalization, which we won't do (though others' medical circumstances may warrant shifting to residential care), or a family member providing all the daily support without sufficient state assistance. Our situation isn't atypical, but one problem is that many Americans who rely on Medicaid, or love someone who does, don't even know it. States administer Medicaid under many different state-based program names, and users often don't know their state program is, in fact, Medicaid. One person who might help ensure people know this would be, of course, the secretary of health and human services. But at his confirmation hearings, alas, Kennedy seemed not to know anything about the $800 billion program. Autism Awareness Month began in 1970, and there have been both upsetting, divisive and downright weird months before. We're always a divided community, with splits among autistic people, among parents (many of whom are autistic, others of whom perpetuate the worst stereotypes about autism as epidemic), and between family and self-advocate communities. April can exacerbate such divisions, sadly, even without Kennedy perpetuating horrific stereotypes. Increasingly, the autistic community focuses on autism 'acceptance' rather than awareness, because acceptance is an action, something each of us can, and must, do. But Gross says that maybe this once, awareness might help. 'If there's increased awareness of autism this month, that's great,' she said, '[because] we want you to be aware of the precarious situation of Medicaid right now. We depend on it for daily survival.' This article was originally published on
