Disability advocate says Medicaid freeze could lead to death, homelessness
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
About a quarter billion dollars of federal Medicaid funding are temporarily blocked from Minnesota.
Vice President JD Vance and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Wednesday that nearly $260 million dollars will be temporarily withheld from Minnesota in their crusade against fraud in the state.
Ellie Wilson is the executive director of Autism Society of Minnesota. She said that money is used to not only help low-income families, but help pay for services to keep people with disabilities in school, at their jobs, and even within their communities.
“It’s absolutely terrifying,” Wilson said. “We have seen cases of deaths; we have seen cases of homelessness caused by services being dropped too quickly.”
She added that many in the disability community are advocates for ousting fraudsters and stopping waste of taxpayer dollars. But Wilson said this is a step too far.
“We could be using a scalpel and not a hammer, and I could tell you, there would be a ton of support from the disability community to do that,” she said. “That opportunity is not being afforded to us.”
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player above.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
