Budgets reveal our true values. Americans have long prioritized that everyone, including people with disabilities, have access to high-quality health care, essential long-term services, and nutritious food. However, the new tax cut and spending package signed on July 4, 2025, reorders U.S. budget priorities and creates significant hurdles to access or use Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance. This new budget is designed to deny coverage to those who need it, even if they qualify, by burdening them with additional administrative and paperwork barriers.
Medicaid covers more than 70 million low-income or disabled people, including nearly half of the nation’s children. Congress slashed nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, a staggering 20% cut, the largest in the program’s history. Approximately 11 million people will lose coverage. If Congress also fails to extend enhanced ACA subsidies, that number could rise to 17 million. New mandated work requirements for Medicaid recipients will result in more red tape and lost coverage. Medicaid is the primary payer for long-term supports, including home and community-based services, known as HCBS, that many people with disabilities rely on to live independently. Federal cuts mean that costs will shift to states, forcing them to reduce these “optional” Medicaid services.
The new law also cut nearly $200 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the country’s largest food assistance program, and expanded its work requirements. People with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty as those without, so many depend on both Medicaid and SNAP. Imagine losing access to health care and food simultaneously.
If you’re a Medicaid or SNAP beneficiary or an organization supporting those who are, now is the time to learn how to defend benefits and demand your rights. Here are five essential actions you can take.
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