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1 week ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
The U.S. House of Representatives approved billions in cuts to Medicaid that advocates warn would undermine the nation’s already fragile system of services and supports for people with disabilities. Republicans in the House pushed through a bill designed to follow through on President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda early Thursday by a vote of 215 to 214 after intense negotiations.
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2 weeks ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
Seventeen states are no longer seeking to invalidate one of the nation’s key disability rights laws, but advocates say threats remain. A lawsuit brought by Texas and 16 other states garnered significant attention earlier this year because it sought to declare Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act unconstitutional. The 1973 law bars discrimination on the basis of disability at any entity that receives federal funds.
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2 weeks ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
In a marathon session marked by the arrest of dozens of disability rights activists, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives pushed ahead with plans to drastically reduce Medicaid spending. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 30 to 24 on Wednesday to send the measure to the full House.
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3 weeks ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
In a major shift, disability service providers across the nation are being acquired by investment firms seeking a quick profit, raising serious questions about implications for care. Traditionally, providers of residential care, home health, personal assistance and other services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were nonprofit or religious organizations.
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3 weeks ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unveiling plans to give researchers access to data on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees with autism, though experts are doubtful that the effort will identify the condition’s causes.
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1 month ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
President Donald Trump wants to cut $163 billion in federal spending next year, potentially zeroing out key disability programs, some of which are already pausing services because they’re running out of money. The White House unveiled a budget summary late last week known as a “skinny budget” that calls on Congress to slash funding for non-defense discretionary spending by 22.6% for the fiscal year starting in October.
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1 month ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
As the Trump administration lays out ambitious plans to address autism, many longtime leaders and well-known experts in the field have been left out, stakeholders indicate. National autism advocacy groups and top researchers tell Disability Scoop that they have not had any contact with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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1 month ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
The future of the nation’s disability services is on the line as Congress reconvenes to consider legislation that could chop billions from Medicaid. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives approved a Republican-backed budget blueprint, with leaders eyeing $1.5 trillion is savings over 10 years.
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1 month ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider a case that may have major implications for the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The high court will hear arguments in a matter known as A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools on Monday. The case centers on whether students with disabilities must show that schools acted in “bad faith or gross misjudgment” in order to claim that their rights were violated under the ADA or Section 504.
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1 month ago | 
disabilityscoop.com | Michelle Diament
Autism advocates are pushing back after U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that kids who are on the spectrum will never have a job, play baseball, go on a date and more. At a press conference last week in response to new data showing that autism rates are rising, Kennedy painted a grim picture of life with the developmental disability. “These are kids who will never pay taxes. They will never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem.
