We need Medicaid!

Medicaid changes affect EVERYONE – join the fight

One of our biggest battles in 2026 will be the fight for Medicaid. Whether or not you’re personally using Medicaid right now, this is an issue that affects all of us and our healthcare access.

What’s at stake

“The deep cuts to Medicaid funding in the Trump administration’s spending bill of almost $1 trillion — as well as new requirements making Medicaid more difficult to obtain and maintain — will hit disadvantaged groups hard. Over the next decade, some 7.5 million people are estimated to lose their Medicaid, an insurance program that helps cover medical costs for about 70 million low-income people.” 

Laura Weiss for The Sick Times

“Disabled people will keep fighting and working to build systems that allow us to lead full, dignified lives in the communities and with the people we love. Already, disabled people must adapt, share resources, and crowdfund to make up for gaps in programs and services that are meant to support us. Our community will continue to show up for one another, as we always have, to survive what comes next and insist upon a future where we can thrive.”

AAPD President and CEO Maria Town

“[DOGE] is not a budgetary project . . . this is also an ideology that is deeply rooted in eugenics.”

Beatrice Adler-Bolton, Death Panel podcast

We know American healthcare and support systems are inadequate (by design) – and we know that Medicaid saves lives every day. Even as disability rates are rising rapidly due to Long COVID and associated conditions, Medicaid and other benefits are being cut drastically via H.R. 1 (the Big Deadly Bill). This represents the largest Medicaid cuts ever— in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. 

This is heartbreaking and enraging, and we have a long road ahead. People have been mobilizing to defend Medicaid for a long time, and even though H.R. 1 was passed, there’s still so much we can do. The cuts take effect in late 2026, and we’re joining forces with others to build cross-movement solidarity on this and other issues of disability justice.

Cuts to Medicaid affect the entire healthcare system, because Medicaid funds so many things: special education, at-home care, clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, and more. People will be sicker and more likely to seek care in ERs and hospitals rather than at home. This will likely lead to widespread problems: reduced or eliminated services, facility closures, longer lines, and deaths. All of this will affect everyone, whether or not you use Medicaid.

These cuts are often presented as a budgetary issue, but we know that it’s an issue of values. The goal is not to make sure people have the healthcare they need— the goal is to disenroll people. This is an ableist, eugenicist project that explicitly pushes the idea that our health and dignity are rooted in our ability to work. 

Our system favors corporate profits over human needs. Because healthcare is tied to employment in the U.S., Medicaid is essentially subsidizing low-wage employers who don’t offer health insurance, and private insurance companies who make profits off denying healthcare claims. The majority of people using Medicaid are already employed! Fear of losing employer-sponsored healthcare, with no safety net, will make sure workers are more desperate, compliant, and less capable of organizing. 

Learn more & join the fight!

Medicaid Basics

  • Medicaid is a public health insurance program, created in 1965 and funded jointly by the U.S. federal government and states
  • There are some federal guidelines but each state develops its own version of Medicaid, often with its own name (Medi-Cal, TennCare, etc)
  • Over 78 million people use Medicaid, including about 40% of children living in the U.S., 35% of disabled people, and 40% of people living with HIV
  • Most people on Medicaid are employed, but don’t have access to health insurance through their jobs
  • Medicaid is a crucial resource for low-income individuals and families, including disabled, elderly and people of color. There are strict requirements for immigrants, which will become even stricter in October 2026.
  • In 2014, the ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility which led to 18 million more people having access to health insurance
  • New Medicaid work requirements exempt the “medically frail”

Action alerts & opportunities

Resources

This page will be updated with more information, resources, and ways to take action. We look forward to building more partnerships and connections to continue fighting for the care we deserve.