- House passes budget bill containing deep cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, Dept. of Ed. 215 Republican Representatives voted for Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” advancing plans to cut Medicaid/care, SNAP, HUD and education funding in order to up DHS spending and extend tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.
Medicaid: adds work requirements, increases “eligibility checks,” and cuts funds.
SNAP: Raises age so recipients up to 64 must meet work requirements, cuts funds.
DoED: cuts funds and shifts them to block grant format. Exact appropriations numbers for DoEd and others are not expected to be available until July (per internal sources).
The bill heads to the Senate, where it needs 51 votes to pass. Some GOP Senators have said they won’t vote for Medicaid cuts, while others seek even deeper cuts. A failed vote will send the bill back to the House. - Budget bans gender-affirming healthcare for people on Medicaid. As part of the budget bill, the House added a provision banning gender-affirming care for those using Medicaid programs. Originally the ban had only been for minors, but has now been extended to all ages.
The ban also extends to plans sold on the marketplace under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is likely to face legal challenges as many states have already prohibited plans from refusing care to trans people.
Studies estimate that about 1 in 4 trans people rely on Medicaid coverage. Nearly half of trans people also have a disability(1 , 2). - Dept. of Ed updates: On Thursday, a MA judge blocked Trump’s attempt to close DoED, including the executive order to McMahon to facilitate the department’s closure, and the mass firings conducted in March.
The judge ordered that those employees be reinstated, and underscored that closing DoEd would require an act of Congress. The administration has already filed an appeal.
This is good news, but the budget bill still contains massive funding cuts, shifting remaining dollars to voucher programs and block grants that have no enforcement mechanisms. States can use funds previously for specific programs like IDEA for whatever they want, leaving students with IEP/504s at the whim of districts. If IEPS are not followed, its unknown who, if anyone, families can turn to for support. - MAHA commission report skews focus, targets vaccines. RFK Jr’s MAHA commission released a report on what it called the childhood “chronic disease crisis” in the US, identifying poor diet, environmental chemicals, chronic stress, lack of physical activity, and “overmedicalization” as driving causes. The report also questions vaccine safety.
The report does not address socio-economic factors that may contribute to children’s health, like poverty, or firearm or motor vehicle related deaths. Injury-related deaths account for 60% of deaths for children under 18.
The commission is supposed to present a strategy for addressing childhood disease in August. However critics say budget and personnel cuts at HHS undermine the commission’s ability to meaningfully implement a plan, or even track data. - FDA Seeks to restrict access to covid vaccines: The FDA announced a plan to limit access to COVID boosters, reversing previous policy. If implemented, COVID vaccines would be restricted to people over 65 or with underlying health conditions only.
The FDA said manufacturers of COVID boosters seeking broader distribution to younger people would need to fund and conduct placebo-controlled trials, a lengthy process that would render each version of the vaccine useless given the rate of mutation.
Considering RFK Jr’s profitable ties to antivax organizations, many see this as the first step in limiting overall access to vaccines. - Texas vs Kennedy updates: Thanks in large part to disabled organizers, Count 3 of the original filing, (formerly Texas v. Becerra) “Section 504 is Unconstitutional” has been withdrawn. This is great news!
BUT, the lawsuit continues to attack Final Rule, important updates to 504 guidance re: 21st century technology (telehealth, websites), pandemic-era healthcare (ventilator rationing), and protecting disabled people’s rights to live in community instead of being forced into institutions.
Kennedy issued a “clarification” weeks ago noting mention of gender dysphoria in the preamble is not an enforceable part of the law, so the transphobic framing against Final Rule is now moot. - Hicks vs St David’s Healthcare Partnership poses threat to ADA/504. Michael Hickson, a 46-year-old disabled Black man died in Texas in June 2020 after contracting Covid and being denied ventilator care and other ICU services. At the time, Texas and 24 other states had policies about rationing care that explicitly discriminated against disabled people. This is one of the things Final Rule updates seek to rectify.
The case is currently before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a conservative court. If they rule in favor of the hospital, it would set a precedent that guts disabled people’s ability to file medical facility-related discrimination claims under the ADA or Section 504.
Action:
Share this info! Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.
Call your Senator and tell them to vote NO on this dangerous budget. Choose 1 or 2 programs important to you–Medicaid, gender-affirming care, SNAP, IDEA, etc.–and mention them by name.
Leave a public comment with DoED saying no to funding cuts and block grants. They are required to read and log them!
If your state is involved, ask your Attorney General to withdraw from Texas v. Kennedy. If able, donate to organizations like DREDF, ACLU, and NAD who are fighting various legal battles.
Contact medical providers requesting they do not share yours or your child’s autism diagnosis or records with the government registry. Letter template available here.
Consider how to move toward creative acts of mutual aid, and protest, including offline materials. Make flyers! Call out misinformation. Warn your neighbors in the presence of ICE. If able march, boycott, donate and/or volunteer with your local food pantry or library.
Tag: trans rights
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Week 18 Updates