Statement from Katy Neas on RFK Jr.’s Medicaid and HCBS Comments:

“Recent comments from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a House Committee hearing, and similar statements from CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, reflect a troubling pattern of mischaracterizing Medicaid and the essential role of home and community-based services (HCBS). People with disabilities want to live in their communities with the support they need, on their own terms. We can all agree that protecting the integrity of the programs that provide these supports is important. But making broad and unsupported claims that HCBS, particularly services delivered by family caregivers, are ‘rife with fraud’ puts adults and children with disabilities, and their families, at risk of losing the help they need to live in the community.

After decades of institutionalization, people with disabilities and their families fought for the home and community-based services necessary for their independence, dignity, and inclusion. Some people with disabilities prefer that help to come from family members. Some rely on direct care workers who help people get up in the morning, get dressed, take medications, and participate in community life. Both provide essential support. Like the majority of Americans, many family members need to work to make ends meet, but they’re also contending with a serious shortage of direct care workers. For many families, a family member is not just often a preferred caregiver. They are the only reliable option.

We urge federal leaders to distinguish clearly between documented fraud and lawful services, and to work in partnership with the disability community to strengthen, not weaken, Medicaid and HCBS.”