In spite of tireless advocacy from all over the nation, the powers that be in Washington have made the decision to implement their long-sought attack on the safety net that creates and supports a meaningful quality of life for millions of people in our country, specifically individuals who rely on help to remain safe and successful in their communities.  It is no less than a shameful betrayal of the standards of dignity and inclusion that should be the hallmark of a society that claims to care about its most vulnerable citizens.  Make no mistake, cutting almost a trillion dollars from Medicaid over the next ten years will harm people living with disabilities and mental illness, as well as the professionals who help them every day.

It is appalling that programs supporting people in need always seem to be low hanging fruit when the government decides to make cuts.  This latest travesty is the most extreme and most selfish, but it is far from the only time that elected officials have chosen to leave people behind.  It was just three years ago when the government abandoned the entire social services industry by eliminating all proposed funding in the Build Back Better Act.  When it was released, it contained $450 billion to strengthen the fragile safety net, and when the bill morphed into the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, every single penny of that funding had been removed.  Again, people who need help were forced to just do the best they can.  This whole act has gotten very old.

We also can’t be fooled by the mantra that the gutting of Medicaid is only for the purpose of weeding out “Waste, fraud, and abuse”.  It’s a clever marketing tool, but last year in Massachusetts alone, more than 350,000 people were removed from Medicaid because they did not qualify for it.  Today, far too many in Washington have chosen to cut Medicaid in order to fund other priorities. Now that the harm is done, the least they can do is have the courage to acknowledge it.

It’s actually a little terrifying to think about what might come next.  The independent Congressional Budget Office concluded that the bill that ultimately made this huge cut to Medicaid will increase the national debt by a staggering $3 trillion.  When it’s time to deal with that debt, will the human services sector once again be low hanging fruit?  Will it be deemed acceptable to once again leave vulnerable people behind?  Venture and agencies like ours will continue doing everything we can to support those we serve, despite this immense setback. But sooner or later, the needs of those who rely on our help must be prioritized again.

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