Across the country, disability advocates are concerned. Programs that help disabled people are falling apart. Earlier this year, Kansas ended the Money Follows the Person program. This is one example of a bigger trend nationally. States are either cutting programs or postponing efforts to support home and community-based living. Often they say this is because of budgets or problems with administration.
For disabled people to live independently, they often depend on various programs. When these programs aren’t funded, disabled people feel the impact immediately. When that support is no longer there, it’s not just an idea; it’s a tangible loss.
Disability advocates in Kansas are calling for the state to reinstate the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program. They say that its sudden suspension earlier this year has left nursing home residents without a clear path to community living. In May, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) canceled the program’s planned July 1 relaunch, citing uncertainty over federal funding. This abrupt reversal disrupted over 20 expected transitions and raised concerns about the timing and transparency of the decision.
For years, Money Follows the Person has served as a lifeline for disabled Kansans hoping to leave institutions. Federal data indicates that more than 1,700 people participated from 2007 to 2017. The program’s support, albeit modest, was crucial, covering expenses that Medicaid waivers typically overlook, such as rent deposits, utilities, household essentials, and home modifications. These things often determine whether a person can safely live independently.
Take Margaret Tomlinson’s story: after a traumatic brain injury, she worked tirelessly to rebuild her life and eventually settled into her own home in Wathena. Yet insurance didn’t cover all the necessary support that she needed to ensure that she could be independent. MFP would have filled in those gaps.
Kansas officially ended participation in MFP in 2020, promising that similar supports would be integrated into KanCare. However, disability advocates argue that these replacements have never fully come to fruition. When KDADS announced the program’s intended restart earlier this year, providers and residents began making transition plans. The sudden May cancellation suspended all those plans indefinitely.
For advocates like Mike Oxford, this goes far beyond money or red tape. It is fundamentally a matter of civil rights. People have the right to live in the community, to make choices, and to preserve autonomy. The disappearance of programs like MFP makes exercising those rights more challenging, pushing the state further away from the commitments outlined by the Olmstead decision more than 25 years ago. Oxford’s message during the August 12 protest at the Statehouse was clear and poignant: “People with disabilities are losing their freedom.”
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion stating that the federal government has interpreted the Olmstead decision more broadly than the Supreme Court intended. The opinion notes that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has encouraged states to move toward deinstitutionalization through injunctions, settlement agreements, and remedial orders based on the ADA’s integration requirement.
According to the Office of Legal Counsel, this degree of enforcement goes beyond what the Court outlined in Olmstead. Thus, adding yet another layer of uncertainty for disabled people who already feel their rights slipping through the cracks. For many advocates, the opinion felt like a warning that the systems meant to protect disabled people are themselves becoming unstable.
Unfortunately, the brunt of these cuts often falls on disabled people first. This spring, I experienced this harsh reality firsthand when MassHealth abruptly took away my nighttime personal care assistant hours without any prior notice. One day, I had the critical support I needed to live safely; the next, it disappeared. What followed was a two-month-long ordeal of paperwork, phone calls, and repeatedly explaining why overnight care is not a luxury but a necessity for me. The process was exhausting and dehumanizing.
My personal struggle reflects a broader challenge faced by many across states, like Kansas. When Medicaid funding is reduced, living independently in the community becomes an uphill battle. Unfortunately, these cuts are undoing years of progress.
This is not just a political discussion. It’s about real people’s lives. We continue to fight for our rights because we must.
Sources:
Day, Brayden. “‘We’re Losing Our Freedom’: Protests Spark at Kansas Statehouse Following End of ‘Money Follows the Person’ Program.” KSNT 27 News, 13 Aug. 2026, https://www.ksnt.com/capitol-bureau/were-losing-our-freedom-protests-spark-at-kansas-statehouse-following-end-of-money-follows-the-person-program/amp/.
Lynch, Sarah N. “States Aren’t Required to Provide Community-Based Care for People with Disabilities, New DOJ Opinion Claims.” CBS News, 18 June 2026, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-disability-opinion-community-care/
Siegel, Ruby, and Joe Caldwell. States Should Use the Money Follows the Person Program More to Improve Access to Home and Community-Based Services and Outcomes. Brandeis University, 2025. https://heller.brandeis.edu/community-living-policy/research-policy/pdfs/briefs/money-follows-the-person-policy-brief-2025.pdf
Schnelle, Rachel. “Kansans with Disabilities Got More Independence Through a Federal Program. Then the Money Dried Up.” KCUR, 5 June 2026, https://www.kcur.org/2026-06-05/kansans-with-disabilities-got-more-independence-through-a-federal-program-until-the-money-dried-up