Medicaid Advocacy Toolkit

man with Down syndrome is with his doctor getting his vitals checked

Overview

Medicaid is a government program that provides free or low-cost health insurance to eligible individuals, including individuals with Down syndrome. It covers essential medical services like doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescriptions. It is also the only payer of Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) and can be used to cover necessary therapies and interventions provided in a school setting for students with disabilities, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and more.

Medicaid is a critical lifeline to the vast majority of individuals with Down syndrome and their families. According to a 2023 report from Boston University, Medicaid is the primary insurance for the majority of individuals with Down syndrome.

NDSS supports protecting, strengthening, and expanding Medicaid so that it can better serve individuals with Down syndrome and the broader disability community. We oppose any attempts to weaken Medicaid or impose additional barriers to coverage and service delivery.

For more information, please contact our team at policy@ndss.org. To learn more about NDSS grassroots advocacy initiatives, please visit our DS-Ambassador® page here.

Federal Medicaid Resources

Overview

The United States Congress has initiated the budget reconciliation process in the 119th Congress. Budget reconciliation is a special process in the U.S. Congress that allows certain spending, revenue, and debt limit legislation to pass with a simple majority in the Senate (51 votes) instead of the usual 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. (A filibuster is a political procedure in which there is a prolonged debate on proposed legislation to delay or entirely prevent a decision.) Budget reconciliation is used to expedite budget-related laws and is limited to provisions that directly affect federal spending or revenue.

Congress has to decide how the government will spend its budget, and some Members of Congress believe the government should spend less money on Medicaid. Therefore, cuts to Medicaid are currently among the top proposed cuts in budget reconciliation.

Medicaid is a critical lifeline for millions of Americans with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Cutting Medicaid or imposing additional barriers to accessing Medicaid could have devastating consequences for people with disabilities.

Advocates can use the action alert and the resources below to advocate in support of Medicaid and protecting access to this essential program.

Take Action to Support Medicaid

In addition to contacting your Members of Congress through our Action Alert, we encourage you to share your stories by calling the offices of your congressional delegation. You can contact your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or by finding their direct number on their website! Here is a script you can use:

Script:

“Hi, my name is ______, I am your constituent, and I am a (person with a disability / person with Down syndrome / family member of someone with a disability). I am calling to make you aware of how making cuts to Medicaid will impact (me / my family / my community). According to a recent report from Boston University, Medicaid is the primary insurance for individuals with Down syndrome. Making cuts to Medicaid, including proposals to cut funding or impose additional barriers to accessing services, will have devastating consequences for (me / my family / my community). I urge you to vote NO on any budget proposal that places people with Down syndrome and other disabilities at risk of losing their health insurance. Thank you for considering my views.”