These actions include casting sweeping suspicion on home-based care spending and cutting off $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota, while attacking immigrant communities. The Administration is maligning the integrity of in-home care programs, the people who provide these services, and the people who need the services under the guise of combating fraud.

Who Pays the Price — and What Can Be Done

In reality, these unprecedented actions and reckless claims are aimed at distracting from the massive Medicaid cuts Congress passed last year as part of the budget reconciliation act (H.R. 1). As states are grappling to close the budget holes H.R. 1 created, Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) and other aging and disability supports are already on the chopping block.

The Administration’s rhetoric and actions are thinly veiled attempts to avoid the blame and call for more cuts. Whether cuts come from the federal government or the states, families will be faced with unaffordable costs of care and older adults and people with disabilities who are now thriving in their communities will be institutionalized.

As Justice in Aging’s new blog explains, neither the federal government nor states are without options to protect Medicaid. Congress could restore Medicaid funding and make needed investments in our long-term care system. States could raise revenue and end tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and corporations — choices that preserve care without forcing families to pay the price.

Resources for Advocates

Justice in Aging urges advocates to join the fight to protect these essential services. Attend our webinar, Protect Medicaid: State Revenue for Advocates, to learn how to engage in your state. Use our Medicaid defense resources to take action.