I am the parent of a 34 year-old autistic intellectually disabled child. He receives services through the Medicaid waiver program. This has been a life saver for us as it allows us to take care of him at home as we want without having to place him in a group home or institutional care. However, we are getting old and our ability to secure in-home support has become extremely difficult. This is because the state pay rate for in-home support is 12.88an hour and the minimum wage is 12.41. And in today’s economy when thee de facto minimum wage is $15-$20 an hour, we just can’t find people able to take care of him. anymore. The wage rate the Commonwealth pays for for in-home aids is a disgrace. We are behind most every state in the country. It does no good to provide Medicaid waiver slots if we can’t fund the service providers at a rate that is barely above minimum wage. A situation has gotten much worse since Covid. So our Medicaid waiver program is becoming meaningless in this state due to insufficient funding. This is the major issue the general assembly needs to address so that hopefully I can be able to maintain my very handicaped son at home and not place him in an institution. Thank you

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Our daughter, age 36 has Down Syndrome, and has benefitted from Medicaid supports from her public school years to the present to learn, achieve, and thrive in her community, rather than in an isolated, 'separate but not equal' setting! With the support of Medicaid, our daughter was able to obtain and work a job as a mail clerk in the D.C. FAA building (to the director's office and elsewhere) which gave her such pride and purpose! She has received life saving medical treatment for her DS Regression Disorder assisted by Medicaid, and continues to learn and thrive in a meaningful work training program offered in the community. Our families, school districts and community programs for individuals with disabilities depend on Medicaid to help ALL individuals achieve to their highest potential - to learn life and work skills that empower them to live with dignity and meaning! Please do not cut Medicaid! It is critical support that helps the most vulnerable of Americans to strive to achieve the American dream - a meaningful life, employment, and support for good health. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THESE DAMAGING CUTS TO MEDICAID!!

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Holly is a 50 year old mother who has worked in long term care for more than 20 years. She has an adult daughter with Autism that lives with her. Her daughter receives In-Home support through Medicaid Waiver to help her with being more independent and to remain in her family home. Holly fears she may lose her job as a result of cuts to long term care services. If she does make the cut, then she fears that her daughter will lose her services and forcing Holly to quit her job to stay home with her daughter.

Lucy is a 35-year-old mother of 4. She works hard often having a second job to keep her kids fed and clothed and pay the bills. Her children fall under the Medicaid Expansion program making health care accessible for her children. She is facing the possibility that the expansion program will be dissolved and her children will no longer have health coverage. She can opt for adding her children to her company health plan, but it will cost an additional $900 per month. She feels her options are limited to not adding her children on her health insurance and hope for the best, or buy into family coverage and not have the money needed to pay for housing or food.

John is a 21-year-old young man with Cerebral Palsy. John had received in-home support with his grandfather as his primary caretaker. When his grandfather’s health began to decline, he moved to a group home with 24-hour support. John is a very smart young man who is difficult to understand and needs full physical supports to meet all of his needs. He relies on Medicaid Waiver and Medicare to supply his wheelchair and for routine adjustments, Physical Therapy, Home Health, Skilled Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and to provide him with 24-hour care in his group home. John is concerned that if Medicaid and Medicare are cut, he may lose access to these therapies and services that he will need for the duration of his life. He does not want to live in a nursing home with people not his age. Even if he had to, he is still uncertain if cuts would continue to limit access to services.

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I rely totally on Medicare/Medicaid for my health. I had a severe break recently, and without this insurance I couldn't have the necessary surgery that put my elbow back together and provided the necessary physical therapy that I received. There are many more examples of instances where I have needed this dual insurance. I am 74 years old, and live on a very limited income as a blind person.

Hello - I am Rose. I’m 35 years old and just started living in my own place two years ago and I love it. I have intellectual disabilities and epilepsy. I have a great job I love and volunteer in the community. I swim and sail with Special Olympics Virginia. I could not live on my own with Medicaid and the waiver. Because of my epilepsy and cognitive disabilities I need a lot of tech support and people support. I worked hard to get this far and so many people have helped me too. I don’t want to go backwards. Please help make sure my friends and I can keep Medicaid. Thank you so much.

Thank you for accepting comment for this important meeting. My name is Andrea Carpenter. My 18-year-old daughter Lila has multiple developmental disabilities including intellectual disability and autism and a complex mental health profile. She has not yet received a medicaid waiver, but became eligible for medicaid health benefits this month after being approved for SSI. I picked up some of Lila's medications this week and my copay was $0 instead of $50. What a relief in these times economic times. Medicaid will help with doctor copays and dental costs as well while Lila is still on our health insurance, which will add up and help us get our finances back to healthy. Lila has to be sedated for dental procedures. Sedation is not covered by our insurance. Our out-of-pocket expenses for her dental care last year were over $7,000. When Lila ages off our health insurance medicaid will be her only option. I believe it unconscionable and immoral to cut health insurance for our most vulnerable citizens.

My son is severely disabled by autism and has medical co-morbidities. He is living a happy and healthy life thanks to the supports he receives through Medicaid. I am currently his primary caregiver, and also the primary caregiver to my mother who has Alzheimers and lives in my home. My mother's time on this planet is short, but has been greatly improved by the supports she receives through Medicaid. My son can expect a normal lifespan and has many, many years ahead that he will require supports in order to survive. He is likely to outlive me and his future survival also depends on his Medicaid waiver services. It is literally going to kill people to remove these supports. Imagine a future in this country where everywhere disabled people are begging in the streets. America will become like a third world country. It doesn't have to be this way. Medicaid is a very cost effective way of keeping disabled people in their homes and communities as productive citizens. Millionaires don't need more tax breaks at the cost of social supports for people who depend on it through no fault of their own.

Medicaid funding is the scaffolding that supports the providers who support my son, Kevin, which means every aspect of his life. Kevin could not maintain life without Medicaid, and I am asking you to do everything you can to preserve it for him and for everyone in the disability community. Kevin is 50 years old, significantly disabled since birth with autism, intellectual disabilities, and visual and communication challenges. He has a Community Living waiver, for which we are grateful. Kevin lives inside a disability system where he can thrive in his own community and remain close to the family he loves. This system is almost completely dependent upon Medicaid, which is the funding source for: the nonprofit provider who owns and operates his group home and employs and trains the caregiving staff who work there; the nonprofit provider that operates his day support program, the only one of its kind in our area because it is designed around significantly disabled people who also have behavioral challenges; and the nonprofit provider that drives him to and from his day program. Medicaid also supports Kevin’s medical care. Medicaid, in short, supports Kevin’s entire world. Without it, he has no caregivers, no group home, no day program, no transportation, and less medical care. While he does not understand the risks to Medicaid that presently exist, everyone who knows, works with, and cares about Kevin and others like him do. We are all horrified by the current climate that has put Medicaid at risk and terrified by the possibilities of Medicaid cuts. We are all asking you to do everything you can to save Medicaid and/or consider new ways to fund disability services. Thank you for your attention, your hard work, and for representing all of us.

I am writing to express my deep concern that cuts in Medicaid will harm my 37-year-old son, Patrick Skelly, who has severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and seizures. He lives in a group home and attends a day program in Springfield, Virginia—both services funded by the Virginia Developmental Disabilities (DD) Medicaid Waiver. Patrick is unable to work and has no income except for his monthly SSI. As a young adult, he had severe behaviors, including aggression and elopement, which were a danger to him and to others around him. After many years of careful programming, Patrick is happier and his behavior has improved; however, he still needs help with nearly all life activities, as well as a stable, consistent environment. Increasingly, his nonprofit service providers are struggling to give him the support that he needs, due mainly to the difficulties of hiring and retaining front-line staff. I am very concerned that any cuts to Medicaid, even small ones, will force these agencies to close their doors. If Patrick loses his Medicaid waiver-funded services, he will have to live with us, his parents. We are in our 70’s and my husband has mobility limitations. On our own, the two of us could not provide the services that Patrick currently receives, services which have been successful in keeping him engaged and preventing the recurrence of unsafe behaviors. And it is very likely that, within the next 5-10 years, old age, health problems and/or death would force us to look for an alternative placement for him. Lacking community-based services and given his intensive support needs, Patrick would have nowhere to go except an institution. Thank you so much for your interest in this issue. Carol Skelly

Good morning/afternoon,Distinguished Representatives: My name is Candace Alamilla.I recently had a birthday,and am nearing 60. Each day I am the loving caregiver for an adult with autism. There are always so many things to be done: doctor appointments,dental care,medication refills,and helping him with his daily grooming. My son also just had a birthday.He is now age 25. As much as I do not want to admit it,it is getting harder to do the caregiving I've always "just done".Thank God for the Disability Waiver which provides support. Please protect Medicaid Waivers,Medicaid healthcare,and the care and services for the disabled.Families and lives depend on it. Respectfully yours, Candace Alamilla Fairfax County

My name is Sheila McLean and I live in Vienna, VA. I write to urge you to please assure that federal funding cuts do NOT affect Medicaid or other programs serving people with disabilities. Our 28-year-old son is devolopmentally disabled, autistic and bipolar. He spent most of his childhood in and out of hospitals, eating with a feeding tube and struggling. Since he began receiving Medicaid waiver services we've been able to stabilize him and get hime the help he needs. Now 28 he is off the feeding tube and has not been hospitalized for 2.5 years. He works part time stocking shelves at a clothing store, volunteers at church and helps with household chores. But he could do none of these things without Medicaid, which allows him to stay on the very expensive drugs that keep him stable and contributing, and attendant and respite support that allow him to remain in our home. As my husband and I get older, we dream of a time when he might be able to live more independently, with these waiver supports. He's lost so much ground already, coming out of Covid, that we fear losing this much-needed help will cause him to spiral and send him back into a psychiatric hospital, or worse to the streets. And our son is lucky. Thousands of others remain on waiting lists for waiver services. Please do all you can to preserve federal funding for Medicaid.

My 43 year old son is "living his best life" (his words) since he became eligible for community-based supports via the Home and Community Based waiver. Without this Medicaid-funded program, he would not have services available that in the past year has aided him to lose over 100 pounds, become active at his local gym, and gain the independence that helps him have pride in himself. Medicaid also helps him to maintain his health. My son has autism and a mental health disorder. Being able to live in a sponsored home setting has helped him to learn skills and manage his emotional health that was simply not possible while he remained dependent on his parents. But Medicaid cuts will also impact our general welfare throughout the state, kicking many working adults off of Medicaid and leaving them susceptible to bankruptcy if they experience a catastrophic health emergency. In addition, hospitals around the country will face closure without being able to bill Medicaid. This program should be strengthened, not eliminated. But people with disabilities who have relied on Medicaid funded services will be impacted the most. the HCBS waivers have provided adults with developmental disabilities the services needed to live alongside their neighbors. Families who have children with serious health or behavioral health problems also receive much-needed support including respite care. Do not cut Medicaid.

Please Protect Medicaid for Virginians with Disabilities – My Son’s Life Depends on It To Members of the Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions: My name is Dennis Findley. I am a father living in Fairfax, Virginia, and I’m writing to urge you in the strongest possible terms: do not allow federal funding cuts to jeopardize Medicaid and the critical services it provides to people with disabilities. My son is 29 years old and has a lifelong intellectual disability. He lives in a group home in Falls Church and receives round-the-clock care through Virginia’s Medicaid waiver program. This care is not optional. It is not a luxury. It is how my son survives, receives support with daily living, and finds meaning in life with structure, companionship, and dignity. Without Medicaid, his world would collapse. There is no “backup plan.” No private insurance would cover what he needs. No family could afford it on their own. If Medicaid is cut or destabilized, my son and thousands of others like him will be at immediate risk — not in theory, but in reality. For families like mine, Medicaid is not just a safety net. It is the lifeline. Please ensure that any federal workforce or funding reductions do not come at the expense of Virginians with disabilities who depend entirely on this support. We are counting on your leadership to protect those who cannot advocate for themselves. Thank you for your time and your service to the people of Virginia. Sincerely, Dennis Findley

To Whom It May Concern: My son Randall is 56 years old and is totally disabled, functioning at a very low intellectual level. He uses a wheelchair and needs support in all areas of daily living. He is frequently in the hospital, most recently for kidney stones. He depends on the Medicaid Community Waiver for his residential, day and health care services. I am 86 years old. At my age it would be impossible for me to take over his daily care. And I'm not the only parent with this concern; the waiting list for the Medicaid Waiver is very long. With the closure of the Norther Virginia Training Center, there are few community alternatives that are able to provide the supports needed for my son. Please ensure that Federal funding cuts do not impact Medicaid and other care and services for people with disabilities. Thank you for reading this letter and taking action on behalf of Randall and other individuals with disabilities. Sincerely, Jessica Burmester

Comments Document

My plea for Medicaid is not about politics. It’s about survival. I am writing as the mother of a medically complex, profoundly disabled daughter. Her life depends—literally—on Medicaid. It is her only insurance, her only path to care, and the only reason we are able to keep her safe, stable, and alive at home. Let me be clear: cutting Medicaid will cost lives. It could cost my daughter’s life. She has epilepsy. Not the kind people picture when they hear the word—but silent seizures that come without warning and cause even more damage to her fragile brain. She also has a long history of early childhood trauma including intentional starvation and abuse before we adopted her, trauma that irreversibly altered her neurological development. We are doing everything humanly possible to give her a meaningful life. Her medications alone cost nearly $4K a month. That’s just the start. She requires constant care, therapies, and supervision—some of which we pay for out of pocket. Medicaid for our daughter is also economically a sound investment – why because we can keep her safe at home instead of institutionalization which would cost FAR more. We don’t take vacations. We don’t eat out at restaurants. Instead we are scraping together over $17k to pay for her next service dog, who is being scent-trained to detect seizures before they happen. Her current dog is nearing retirement, and without this next dog, her safety is at risk every night. Every time we close our eyes, we worry we’ll miss a silent seizure that could cost her a future—or her life. We’ve already paid two thirds of the cost-remaining balence due Nov. We are cutting every corner, saving every penny, and praying nothing unexpected happens in the meantime—because if it does, we could lose everything we’ve built to keep her safe. We are doing this alone. I work full-time, and my retired husband is her full-time caregiver. We don’t have a team. We don’t have backup. My next birthday is this month, and I will be what most consider OLD. But I will keep working until I am carried out feet first, because I love her. I work not for leisure or luxury, but because we need the income to keep our daughter safe and alive. We’re not asking for a handout. We are asking for justice—for the bare minimum level of humanity. Medicaid is not a luxury. It’s not an entitlement. It is the single thread holding families like mine together. Without it, we would not be able to sustain her care without liquidating our retirement, selling our home, and still falling short. And we are the lucky ones. We have a home. We have some retirement. But those will vanish in a blink if Medicaid is gutted. And for what? Cuts that won’t solve the deficit but will break families – all for the wealthy to get a tax cut? I urge you to consider this: What message do we send if we abandon our most vulnerable citizens? What kind of society are we becoming if we tell children like my daughter that their lives are too expensive to protect or that they don’t matter? Please—do not be complicit in this cruelty. Protect Medicaid. Not just for my daughter, but for the thousands of Virginians whose survival depends on it. Don’t let budget lines erase human lives. Don’t let political games destroy what little security we have. We are not asking for special treatment. We are begging for basic decency. For protection. For a future that doesn’t require sacrificing our entire lives just to keep our daughter breathing.

I am writing to express my deep concern about proposed cuts to Medicaid and to urge you to stand firmly in support of protecting this vital program in Virginia. Medicaid is not just a safety net; it is a lifeline for millions of Americans, especially individuals with disabilities and their families. Any reductions in Medicaid funding would have devastating consequences, particularly for Medicaid Waiver programs, which are essential in providing long-term care and support for some of our most vulnerable citizens. The Medicaid Waiver program is optional, thus particularly at risk to cuts. Medicaid Waivers are the cornerstone of care for individuals with disabilities, enabling them to live at home and in their communities rather than being placed in institutional settings. Home- and community-based services funded through Waivers are not only more cost-effective but also far more desirable for individuals and families. These programs allow people to live with dignity, independence, and a higher quality of life. Cutting Medicaid funding would jeopardize these critical supports, leaving families in impossible situations and forcing many individuals into costly institutional care, which is both less effective and more expensive in the long run. Furthermore, reducing Medicaid funding would undermine Governor Youngkin’s important initiatives, including his landmark plan to serve the entirety of the Priority One Medicaid Waiver Developmental Disability waiting list and his "Right Help, Right Now" program. These efforts aim to address the long-standing backlog of families waiting for Waiver services and to expand access to care for those who need it most. Cutting funding at this juncture would be a direct setback to these crucial initiatives, leaving families stranded without the services they desperately need. Medicaid Waivers also play an integral role in supporting the economy and our communities. They create jobs for caregivers, allowing individuals to earn a living while providing essential services. They help families remain in the workforce by ensuring their loved ones receive the care they need during the day. Additionally, they enable public schools to bill Medicaid for the therapies and services that Waiver users receive, relieving financial strain on school districts. In short, Medicaid and its Waiver programs are not expendable. They are a lifeline for individuals with disabilities, a critical support for families, and a smart investment in our communities. Cuts to Medicaid funding would devastate families, overwhelm institutional care systems, and undercut the progress made in ensuring access to care for all who need it. I urge you to protect Medicaid and its Waiver programs from funding reductions. Doing so is not only the compassionate choice but also the fiscally responsible one. Please continue to advocate for the individuals and families who rely on these programs to survive and thrive. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. Sincerely, Lucy Beadnell Director of Advocacy The Arc of Northern Virginia Lucy.Beadnell@thearcofnova.org

Recently Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) was notified that the $307,000 Americorps grant that we have been receiving for the past fifteen years would be terminated immediately. All 24 employees of which 19 work in CCPS were notified that day, their positions were to be terminated at the end of the day. This program provides a living wage and an educational supplement to its participants. We have utilized this program over the years to assist recent graduates that are enrolled in local community and four year colleges. This program provides a training ground for many high school graduates to work as aides alongside teachers in classrooms across our county. This experience allows them the opportunity for hands on training as they pursue their degree in education or other field. We feel this is just the tip of the iceberg as many other grant funded programs including Communities in Schools and 21st Century Learning Centers that provide after-school tutoring programs for at-risk populations will be next. We have concerns about our Title programs, ELL and Special Education programs and our Community Eligibility Provision program that provides free lunches for students in our division. We fear cuts to Medicaid that affect many of our special needs population and other service related programs that serve our most at-risk student population are targeted by the Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions. Thank you for your time. Respectfully, Mark A. Burnette, Ed.D Superintendent, Carroll County Public Schools

Dear. Committee, I am very concerned with federal funding regarding the Virginia Creeper Trail cleanup and restoration from the Hurricane Helene damage in Washington County. I took my dog and my family hiking on a normal basis on the Creeper Trail section, north/east of Damascus to White Top. Currently, all of the trestles and trail are wiped out from the flooding damage. I did not have to worry about my dog running into the road and getting run over by cars when I hiked and walked this section of the Creeper Trail with my family. I enjoyed the solitude and nature surrounding me and saw various wild birds, deer, and other wildlife. But currently, my backwards Congressman Morgan Griffith cedes all concerns to Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE. Trump and Musk’s DOGE is cutting federal funding in my area, and for the Creeper Trail in particular, the outcome of rebuilding the trail/trestles remains uncertain according to Cardinal News. Since my Congressman is indifferent to my county’s concerns (as he doesn’t even live in the 9th congressional district), I am appealing to this committee to help Washington County, and in particular, funding for revitalizing the trail and trestles. I am a federal and state taxpayer, and I rely on the Creeper Trail to be well maintained for the benefit of myself, my family, and my community to enjoy. Please consider the loss of federal funding by Musk, Trump, and DOGE when having a hearing on this matter in Wytheville. I unfortunately will not be able to make it because I work during the day on Mondays. Is there any way to pressure Congressman Griffith to get the Creeper Trail restoration funded since he has ignored my and other constituents’ requests to obtain federal funding for these projects? Thank you.