Families of Idahoans with disabilities say their lives could be upended as lawmakers in the state’s Republican-dominated legislature mull sweeping cuts.
Services at risk include the 24/7 care that allows a 39-year-old with cerebral palsy to live independently; the in-home caregiving that lets a 26-year-old with brain damage from a hemorrhage at birth stay in his family home; and private duty nursing for a 19-year-old with cerebral palsy who has qualified for hospice care for complications including pulmonary decline from a spinal cord injury.
Concerns for such care arose when Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, proposed cutting $22 million from Medicaid — the joint state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities — to balance the state budget. Home- and community-based services such as caregiving, nursing, and residential rehabilitation are optional under Medicaid, and Little listed them as possible targets for the cuts.
Across the country, people with disabilities and their families are confronting similar plans to cut Medicaid as states grapple with budget challenges compounded by congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is expected to reduce federal spending on Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade.
A four-hour town hall on the proposal in Idaho drew more than 500 people to the state capitol. Colorado lawmakers heard hours of testimony from concerned residents before pausing a pay cut for family caregivers. In Missouri, families raised alarms about a propose …