As a person with cerebral palsy, Medicaid is much more than health insurance to me. It’s what allows me to live in my own home, rather than in a nursing home or other facility. It funds the PCA (personal care assistant)hours that I need every day. If I didn’t have it, my independence would be at risk.
That is why I am deeply concerned about the new Medicaid work requirements that have prompted officials from 25 states and the District of Columbia to sue the federal government. Many Medicaid recipients will be required to work 80 hours a month, volunteer, or be enrolled in school. While Congress did provide exemptions for many disabled people, the lawsuit says the federal rules make it more difficult to get those exemptions by imposing new documentation requests.
But advocates fear that people who are eligible for coverage will be cut from coverage due to paperwork or reporting issues rather than because they no longer meet the requirements.
Disability is a full-time job as it is. The week includes doctor visits, physical therapy sessions, prescription renewals, transportation, coordinating caregivers, medical equipment, benefit renewals, and insurance companies and government agencies. Those responsibilities are separate from employment, education, volunteering, or monthly reporting.
For several months, I created extensive documentation packets, requested medical necessity letters, documented care needs and daily activities, attended evaluations, and challenged decisions for personal care services I need. After months of advocacy, I was finally approved for 60 hours of PCA services each week. That win paid off, but it also captures some of the things disabled people already do to get the treatment they need.
Experience has shown that work requirements are not effective. Arkansas implemented them in 2018. Subsequent data from the Arkansas Department of Human Services shows that over 62,000 people had to follow the new rules. By December 2018, more than 18,000 had lost their coverage.
Too many eligible people were without health insurance because of paperwork, reporting systems, or administrative procedures, not because they didn’t work. There is limited evidence that work requirements have any significant effects on employment, but they may also lead to eligible people losing important health coverage. There have also been recent reports of the difficulties even disabled people with exemptions might have in determining their eligibility in light of the new regulations.
Losing Medicaid means more than just losing insurance coverage for disabled people. It can mean losing access to home healthcare, therapies, medications, wheelchair repairs, and other services that allow someone to live in the community. These supports, known as home and community-based services, are the very ones that allow disabled people to work, go to school, volunteer, and be a part of their community. Taking them away doesn’t make someone’s disability disappear, but it can be a matter of life or death.
Medicaid represents freedom for me. It lets me visit with family and friends, go Christmas shopping, watch The Middle, Inside Out, or The Big Bang Theory, and listen to The Beatles. I can make choices about how I want to spend my time.
I live in my own apartment, so I enjoy privacy and autonomy. I have the freedom to make my own decisions like what I want to eat and what time I go to bed. For disabled people, those decisions are nothing extraordinary. However, Medicaid is what makes that freedom possible.
As this lawsuit moves forward, I hope policymakers will keep in mind that Medicaid is not just another government program. It helps millions of people stay healthy. Because of Medicaid, I can live in my apartment. It is vital for disabled people’s freedom, and it’s worth protecting.
Sources:
Diament, Michelle. “Trump Administration Sued Over Medicaid Changes.” Disability Scoop, 6 July 2026, https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2026/07/06/trump-administration-sued-over-medicaid-changes/32070/.
Froelich, Jacqueline. “In Arkansas, Thousands of People Have Lost Medicaid Coverage over New Work Rule.” NPR, 18 Feb. 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/18/694504586/in-arkansas-thousands-of-people-have-lost-medicaid-coverage-over-new-work-rule.
Métraux, Julia. “HHS’s Medicaid Work Requirements Could Create a Paperwork Nightmare for Millions.” Mother Jones, 4 June 2026, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/hhs-medicaid-work-requirements-health-care-federal-rule/.
Whitehead, Sam. “States Face Another Challenge With Medicaid Work Rules: Staffing Shortages.” KFF Health News, 9 Apr. 2026, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medicaid-cuts-work-requirements-state-staff-shortages/.