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Action Alert: Proposed Changes to Medicaid Will Cut Funding

Call Your Representatives Today!

 

Congress is moving quickly to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) and replace it with the American Health Care Act, or AHCA. This bill will make drastic cuts to the Medicaid program affecting people with autism who are currently getting Medicaid, including those on Innovations home and community based waiver, those on the waiting list, and those who may need these services in the future.

The health-care bill is being debated now. The House of Representatives is moving quickly to push for a vote by the end of March. The Senate is planning to vote on the House bill before the mid-April recess.

We urgently need you to call your senators and representatives today and explain why the ACA and Medicaid are essential to people with disabilities and their families. People’s health, services, and lives are at stake.

Message: Do not cut and cap Medicaid. As it is currently written, the AHCA will cut an estimated $800 billion from Medicaid over the next 10 years.

• Already lengthy waiting lists for disability waiver services will grow to record levels, and services may be severely limited. General Assembly legislators are moving to reduce NC waiting lists; these changes at the federal level could stop this from happening
• If funds become scarcer, states may decide to stop providing personal care, mental health, prescription drugs, and rehabilitative services.
• People with disabilities who require Medicaid services to live in their own homes, hold jobs, and participate in communities may be without those supports. Costs could shift to individuals or family members.
• Coverage for intensive behavior services (including ABA) for children under Medicaid’s EPSDT could end.
• Schools may no longer be reimbursed for services. This would only increase the burden on schools.
• For additional information, see the Medicaid fact sheet developed by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities.

Take 5 minutes to call your representatives now!

Let them know:

• I am your constituent.
• I am a person with a disability, or I am a family member of someone with a disability, or I am a professional in the disability field.
• I care deeply about health care, including Medicaid.
• Briefly share your personal story; that is what will make a difference.
• North Carolina is already using per-capita funding models and has 8-year waiting lists for many autism services.
• Do not allow per-capita caps and cuts to Medicaid to be part of an ACA replacement.

Call now:

Sen. Richard Burr 202-224-3154

Sen. Thom Tillis 202-224-6342

NC congressional delegation (find which US House member represents you here):

• 1st District: George “G.K.” Butterfield Jr. 202-225-3101
• 2nd District: George Holding 202-225-3032
• 3rd District: Walter Jones Jr. 202-225-3415
• 4th District: David Price 202-225-1784
• 5th District: Virginia Foxx 202-225-2071
• 6th District: Mark Walker 202-225-3065
• 7th District: David Rouzer 202-225-2731
• 8th District: Richard Hudson 202-225-3715
• 9th District: Robert Pittenger 202-225-1976
• 10th District: Patrick McHenry 202-225-2576
• 11th District: Mark Meadows 202-225-6401
• 12th District: Alma Adams 202-225-1510
• 13th District: Tedd Budd 202-225-4531

 

To learn more about how to advocate with your legislators, see our website.

Every call you make counts! Literally. Staff and representatives are noting the issues and counting calls.

Thank you for taking action and making calls today!

 

Tags: affordable care act, ASNC, autism, autism advocacy, autism resources, autism society of NC, Autism Society of North Carolina, Autism spectrum, Autism Spectrum Disorders, autism support, medicaid