Carol Chapin's son joins a protest in Madison to oppose cuts to the Medicaid program. (Photo courtesy of Carol Chapin)

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives and Wisconsin’s Republican members — U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, Glenn Grothman, Scott Fitzgerald, Tony Wied and Tom Tiffany — are supporting a budget that would slash federal Medicaid funding by $790 billion, according to the latest Congressional Budget Office estimate. 

For my family, this isn’t just a number on a budget sheet somewhere in Washington. For us, it is deeply personal. These cuts have the potential to devastate our lives.

My son Liam lives with a developmental disability. Thanks to Medicaid — and more specifically, a category known as Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) — he’s able to live independently in his own apartment. He receives support each day to help him manage meals, take his medications, and safely get to his two part-time jobs using paratransit.

He volunteers at a local food pantry. He makes art. He participates in community programs for people with disabilities. He takes community college courses and continuing education classes, and his goal is an associate’s degree in architectural technology. He’s proud to call Madison’s Eastmoreland neighborhood home.

All of this is possible because of Medicaid. But the Home and Community-Based Services that make his life possible are considered “optional” under federal Medicaid law. They’re on the chopping block if Congress moves forward with the proposed cuts.

If the federal government cuts its share of Medicaid funding, our state will face a painful decision. We will either use more state dollars to fill the gap, or make cuts — fewer people covered, fewer services, lower provider pay. For Liam and others, that means less support, fewer community programs and a greater risk of institutionalization. 

Even with Medicaid, it took our family years to find a supportive care agency with an opening. These services are already stretched to the limit. Some Republican members of Congress are advocating for hard caps on Medicaid costs which would further degrade these essential programs.

Medicaid is not just an insurance program. It is the infrastructure that makes independent living possible for people with disabilities. And it is already under strain. Here in Wisconsin, some disability advocacy organizations have gone months without federal funding due to administrative budget cuts. The signs are all around us: The safety net is fraying. 

If Congress ultimately cuts federal Medicaid spending, we will witness the unraveling of vital support systems: most critically, Home and Community-Based Services. For thousands of people like Liam, this would mean being forced from their homes, with many facing the possibility of institutionalization.

Keeping people in their homes has been a bipartisan issue for decades. Home and Community-Based Services are both significantly cheaper and more empowering for our community-members with disabilities. 

I urge our elected officials — especially those who have said they want to protect “the vulnerable” — to stop these irresponsible cuts to Medicaid. Liam’s life, and the lives of so many others in Wisconsin, depend on it.