Tag: disabilityscoop

  • Senate Seeks Deeper Cuts To Medicaid Amplifying Worries About Disability Services

    Senate Seeks Deeper Cuts To Medicaid Amplifying Worries About Disability Services

    Members of Little Lobbyists, a family-led organization that advocates for children with complex medical needs and disabilities, visited Capitol Hill last week to urge senators to vote against cuts to Medicaid. (Robbie Jeanne)

    “The Senate took a rotten bill and made it worse,” said Elena Hung, co-founder and executive director of Little Lobbyists, a national group advocating for kids with disabilities. “The Senate text cuts even more money from Medicaid and will result in even more harm to medically complex and disabled children.”

    by Michelle Diament  and disabilityscoop

    Just weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives approved billions in cuts to Medicaid, the Senate is considering chopping the program even more, a move that advocates say would have dire consequences for people with disabilities.

    Senate Republicans unveiled legislation last week detailing sweeping changes to Medicaid that are part of a broader effort to make good on President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. The measure includes more aggressive changes than the version passed by the House in May.

    Both chambers are seeking to impose work requirements on many Medicaid beneficiaries and mandate that states check individuals’ eligibility for the program more frequently, among other changes, but some of the Senate’s requirements would be more stringent. Read on at disabilityscoop…

  • After Tackling ‘R-Word,’ Disability Group Seeks To Erase Stigma Associated With ‘Special’

    After Tackling ‘R-Word,’ Disability Group Seeks To Erase Stigma Associated With ‘Special’

    Former NFL player Dale Moss, center, with Special Olympics athletes Madi Madory, left, and Joshua Olds wearing sweatshirts that are part of the new “Yeah, I am Special” campaign. (Special Olympics)

    by Michelle Diament | disability scoop

    With a new campaign, Special Olympics wants to take back the word “special” and other language that they say has been turned against people with disabilities.

    The international sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities is rolling out the effort dubbed “Yeah, I am Special” with a pair of New York City billboards and a video voiced by ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith.

    The group is also touting appearances by high-profile supporters like Milwaukee Bucks player Damian Lillard and former NFL player Dale Moss wearing apparel that says “special.”

    This is all a precursor to a global digital campaign planned for next year, Special Olympics said, to address the stigma that’s associated with the word “special” and other similar language used around the world to demean people with disabilities.

    Read on at disabilityscoop…