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AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org.
Among the millions who will be impacted by Medicaid cuts are people with disabilities and their families and communities. In addition today being the 60th anniversary of Medicaid, last week was the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA. This is President George H.W. Bush, speaking, July 26th, 1990.
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: This act is powerful in its simplicity. It will ensure that people with disabilities are given the basic guarantees for which they have worked so long and so hard — independence, freedom of choice, control of their lives, the opportunity to blend fully and equally into the rich mosaic of the American mainstream. And legally, it will provide our disabled community with a powerful expansion of protections and then basic civil rights. … I now lift my pen to sign this Americans with Disability Act and say, let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down. God bless you all.
AMY GOODMAN: “Let the shameful wall of exclusion come tumbling down,” said President George H.W. Bush. Following its passage, Justin Dart, known as one of the fathers of the ADA, called it, quote, “the world’s first declaration of equality for people with disabilities by any nation,” unquote. Justin Dart founded the American Association of People with Disabilities, or AAPD.
We’re joined now in Washington by Maria Town, the current president and CEO of AAPD, longtime disability rights activist.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Maria. Thanks so much for joining us. Talk about the significance of this moment, with the massive cuts to Medicaid now being played out. What is the Yale study? They said something like they expect 51,000 people a year to die as a result of the cuts to health insurance overall.
MARIA TOWN: Yes. You know, as this reconciliation fight was happening, disabled people, working-class people kept saying that people will die as a result of these cuts. But for us, that wasn’t based on a statistical model. That was based on lived experience of having to watch our friends and family members and loved ones die because we could not get the care that we needed to survive, much less thrive. Prior to Medicaid, and really prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act, disabled people were often either forced to live in institutions or forced to stay home behind closed doors, because there was no system for us to get our needs met in the community. And Medicaid, combined with the Americans with Disabilities Act, really created the foundation for which disabled people could achieve community integration.
With these cuts, once they take effect, disabled people, older adults, disabled children will die. You know, I was born with a developmental disability. I received Medicaid as a child. And I know so many people like me, disabled adults living and thriving now, who were able to get to adulthood because Medicaid existed. I am imagining in this moment so many kids who will not get a chance to make it to adulthood because of these cuts. And I’m imagining so many adults whose lives will be cut short, and they will not be able to live into old age, because of these cuts. Those numbers are very, very real to disabled people right now.
AMY GOODMAN: As a kid with cerebral palsy, you grew up in Louisiana. Can you talk about what happened when Louisiana cut Medicaid, what that meant for your family?
MARIA TOWN: I lost my Medicaid. So, I was on a Medicaid waiver, like many kids with disabilities, and through that waiver, I received things like physical therapy in my home. I received support from direct support workers within the care workforce. And my mom received respite. And this allowed her to go back to school, to become a nurse and to raise my brothers and I — all three of us have disabilities — really, as a single mom. And when Louisiana decided to basically balance its budget on the backs of poor and disabled people, I had to go through what was called a redetermination. The state had to decide if I was still disabled, even though cerebral palsy is lifelong and never goes away. And they decided that I was too smart to need these services, even though, you know, to this day, I still struggle with mobility. I still need support. I still need support every day. I had assistance getting dressed before I could come to this interview. And we lost all of it. And we fought it. We fought it. We went to a judge, and we lost. And today, it is harder for little girls with disabilities to get Medicaid supports than it was for me more than 30 years ago. And that should not be the case. As Ai-jen said, rather than cutting from Medicaid, we should be investing in Medicaid and other systems that support our kids, our families and our older adults to really live with dignity and thrive in their communities.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to a testimonial video made during the Medicaid vigil, of Brian Coppola, who is legally blind and hard of hearing.
BRIAN COPPOLA: My name is Brian Coppola. I am legally blind and hard of hearing. I rely on Medicaid, or MassHealth, as it is Massachusetts’ version of it, because I can get transportation to and from doctors and facilities of medical nature, due to the fact that I’m legally blind. I also depend on MassHealth to cover essential disability-related expenses, such as hearing aids and any other medical things I may need due to my disabilities, including sometimes eye exams. It would be a — it would be a disaster to take my Medicaid away from me and put working requirements in, when I need the — when I need the insurance the most. I cannot afford to be cut off from Medicaid. This is wrong, wrong, wrong.
AMY GOODMAN: And this is another testimony recorded for the Medicaid vigil.
COREY GILMORE: Hi. My name is Corey Gilmore. I have an Adults with Physical Developmental Disabilities waiver. I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska. Without the support of the staff, I couldn’t even get out of bed every day. And everybody who experiences a disability has something to contribute to society. And it is time that people realize we’re more than just a problem for society to deal with. We want to — we want to contribute. We want to give back to our communities. We volunteer. We speak out when things are wrong, but we also bring solutions to problems. And these Medicaid cuts, you know, they say, “Oh, they won’t affect people with disabilities.” But you can’t get to the kind of savings that people are talking about without affecting people with disabilities. It just doesn’t work. So, please, this is our livelihood. This is our life. And our disabilities are not things to be corrected. We came with them.
AMY GOODMAN: Maria Town, as president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, your final comments about what needs to happen right now and —
MARIA TOWN: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: — why you don’t see this is the end of the line, that just these cuts have to be accepted?
MARIA TOWN: Disabled people have always fought for our right to exist. We have had to defend and try to save Medicaid and the American healthcare system multiple times. I know that disabled people are going to keep fighting to cancel these cuts, to repeal this bill, and forcing our nation to respect our lives and provide us with a system where we can thrive.
AMY GOODMAN: Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, on this month of the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Next up, we go to Arwa Damon, founder of INARA, a nonprofit currently providing medical and mental healthcare to children in Gaza. Stay with us.
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AMY GOODMAN: Jews for Food Aid for People in Gaza singing while occupying the offices of the Senate majority leader, Senator John Thune, as they protest the Israeli government’s blockade of Gaza.
