Why Should You Care about Medicaid Funding?
Dr. Michelle Powers, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Hills Training Center
In South Dakota, approximately 4,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) rely on Medicaid for their long-term care and support needs. But that 4,000 is not just a number – these are real people who depend on this program for their day-to-day needs. But, perhaps that’s not enough of a reason to consider why you should care about Medicaid funding.
I am willing to bet you have a personal connection to Medicaid and you might not even realize it. Medicaid supports people who might be your co-worker, the person who helped you check out at the grocery store, or the individual who served you a meal last week. My own personal connection to Medicaid comes from my 20-year-old daughter who has a developmental disability.
My other connection to Medicaid comes from my role as chief executive officer for Northern Hills Training Center (NTHC), a community-based support provider, where our mission is to “support people to have meaningful lives”. We exist exclusively to be of assistance to adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and are privileged to support no less than 125 individuals in Spearfish and surrounding communities. You interact with these individuals daily, whether you realize it or not. They are employed in settings across the community, they volunteer, attend local events, and contribute to the Spearfish economy in the same ways you and I do.
For NHTC, almost 90% of the funds we receive are generated through the Medicaid program. These are the funds which pay for staff who help people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to live independently, have careers and thrive in our community. Our staff are the backbone of our organization, and they do everything from coming to an individual’s home to help them with activities of daily life, help them find and keep a job they love, providing transportation to that job, and ensure they can participate in community events and maintain meaningful relationships. We do this day in and day out, feeling privileged to be a part of these individuals lives.
NHTC and its services fuel local economies, not only by creating direct support jobs, but also by helping people with I/DD to stay employed, and allowing their family members or caregivers to stay in the workforce too. Community providers enable disabled workers to secure employment in high-demand jobs while also being a top driver of job creation themselves, with direct support being the fastest-growing profession over the next decade.
Unfortunately, proposals to slash Medicaid funding threaten to unravel the vital support system thousands of South Dakotans with intellectual and developmental disabilities rely on to remain in their homes and communities.
Medicaid is not just a line item in the federal budget, it is a lifeline for our family, friends, and neighbors. As lawmakers consider drastic cuts to Medicaid funding, they risk dismantling a system that allows people with disabilities–and the people who care for them–to live, work and thrive in their communities.
Medicaid is funded by our state with matching funds from the federal government. Any cuts to federal funding for Medicaid will force our state to make impossible choices about crucial and life-saving programs and services.
Significant cuts to federal Medicaid funding will place additional financial strain on the state budget, forcing us to absorb the increased costs. State budgets must prioritize mandatory Medicaid services, leaving optional services like NHTC as a community-based service vulnerable to reductions. Without access to community-based services, people with I/DD will either go without the support they need or end up in high-cost, state-run institutions, the very settings we have spent 50 years and more trying to close.
If you’ve read this far, I ask you to decide if you care enough about Medicaid to call on Senators Thune and Rounds and Representative Johnson to protect people with disabilities and their families, our economy, and our communities by rejecting Medicaid cuts, whether those cuts are proposed through the reconciliation package or through some other federal action.
Simply stated, we need to strengthen–not weaken–our commitment to those with I/DD. Doing so requires both federal and state investments in these services and in the direct support professionals who deliver those services day in and day out.
To contact Senator Thune (Rapid City office) – Phone: (605) 348-7551
To contact Senator Round (Rapid City office) – Phone: (605) 343-5035
To contact Congressman Johnson (Rapid City office) – Phone: (605) 646-6454
(From the Editor – My wife penned this column which recently appeared in papers out west regarding one of the major items that Medicaid funding provides that often gets lost in debates; support for those with intellectual disabilities to live and work in their home communities. – pp)