Disability and Progress-May 8, 2025-Medicaid and Medicaid Cuts .

[00:00:00] Speaker A: KPI. [00:00:32] Speaker B: It. [00:01:00] Speaker A: Thank you for joining Disability and Progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Charlene Dahl is my research PR person. Hello, Charlene. [00:01:12] Speaker B: Hello, everybody. [00:01:14] Speaker A: Erin is my podcaster. Thank you, Erin. And this week we're speaking with easterseals CEO Kendra Davenport. Kendra will be talking about Easter, a lot of the latest cuts, Medicaid and Medicaid cuts and what it could mean for you. Thank you for joining me, Kendra. [00:01:34] Speaker B: Thanks for having me. [00:01:35] Speaker A: All right, well, can you start out by telling me first? Please tell us and anybody who doesn't know a little bit about Easter Seals and what they do. [00:01:48] Speaker B: Absolutely. Easterseals is the nation's oldest and largest provider of support services and programs for people with disabilities, people of all ages, with all disabilities. We also support seniors, helping them go back into the workforce to lead really productive, full lives. And we support veterans, their families and their caregivers, and have since just after World War II. [00:02:15] Speaker A: Excellent. And how is Easter Seals funded? [00:02:20] Speaker B: We are funded by both government resources. Medicaid plays a big part in the services and supports we provide people with disabilities. And other government agencies, such as the Department of Labor helps us provide job training for seniors. Department of Veterans and Housing provide services and supports for veterans and seniors as well as people with disabilities. So large portion of our funding is derived from government sources, but we also raise quite a bit of money from the private sector, private individual donors, supportive foundations, and of course, corporate donors. [00:02:59] Speaker A: And how did, how did you come to easterseals? [00:03:05] Speaker B: I have been in the nonprofit sector since I graduated from college without cessation. I love working in the nonprofit realm because of the immediate impact on helping people. It's different from proprietary company in that all of the money we raise, benefits, programs, it goes right back into the services and supports we provide. And I think that's very gratifying about a little. Three years ago, I joined Easter Seals as the national CEO and president and really feel that my entire career, which I've spent working for domestic and international nonprofits, largely in the social service industry or, you know, area of the non profit world, led me and prepared me for this role. And I just really feel honored to be leading Easterseals, which is 106 years old. Oh, my gosh, yes. And we're national in scope. We have 70 Easterseals affiliates, each of which are separately incorporated. We're a federated model. They operate their own programs. And we like to say if you've visited one Easter Seals. You visited one Easter Seals. They're all different and unique in nature, and they employ about 37,000 people. The impact that they make nationally in terms of providing service and support to people with disabilities is that they touch 1.5 million people every year who have a disability. But that's a gross undercount when you consider that the support they provide enables people who, who have a disabled child or a disabled family member to work, to go to school, to live life fully. And in that regard, I think our services support far more than 1.5 million people. [00:04:54] Speaker A: So would one expect that? I mean, do all Easter Seals cover the same things? [00:05:06] Speaker B: No, they don't. So some of our affiliates provide, for example, early childhood education and care. Many operate Head Start programs. Others provide adult day care for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities or both. Others do both of those things and also provide services and supports for veterans and their families. Everything from mental and physical therapy to respite care and job training. Workforce integration. Helping veterans make the transition from active duty into private sector jobs is in fact, a large part of what we do to support our veterans. And then we have our seniors. Some. Some affiliates have very robust programs under the auspices of a Department of labor run program called csep. That's the acronym and it's a long acronym. We didn't coin it, but it stands for Senior Community Service Employment Program. It helps us identify seniors from low income areas who need and often want to go back into the workforce. Not just to make ends meet, though. More and more Americans are living longer lives and in many cases, outliving their means, and they have to go back to work. But in speaking as I have with many CSET participants, they often say, well, I started out working with Easterseals CSET program to get a job, to get, you know, to derive more income and live more comfortably. But I found the sense of community there really helped as well. There's a tremendous sense of isolation for many of our seniors across the country. That was only exacerbated during COVID I think CSEP and other programs we operate that engage our seniors and help them live for their fullest lives at the end of their life are so important. [00:07:02] Speaker A: So how do the affiliates decide what they're going to cover? [00:07:08] Speaker B: It's really individual preference as well as need. Whatever the need is in their area is likely to bubble up to the top. It differs from state to state, affiliate to affiliate. And many affiliates start off operating one main program. Perhaps it's adult day, or perhaps it's workforce development. And then as needs emerge in their communities, they expand to cover more. So maybe they add an early childhood development program, maybe they add senior services, maybe they add services for veterans and their families. It is what is needed. It's largely based on what is needed in their community as well as the resources they can access. You know, if they, if they lack private sector resources, but they can acquire government funding to support a given initiative, then they will do that. [00:08:05] Speaker A: So Medicaid has been in the news a lot lately. [00:08:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Can you kind of give a brief description of what Medicaid is and who might be eligible for it? [00:08:20] Speaker B: With regard to the folks we serve via Easter Seals, all of the target populations we exist to support are dependent on Medicaid. Medicaid is a government health service support that really extends medical benefits and care to people in need. It's a misnomer that it only supports people who are low income, though Medicaid actually supports 40% of the births that occur in the United States. So it is where need exists. Medicaid fills those gaps in and with regard to the people we serve, Medicaid is absolutely critical, especially to people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for, in home care, for example, if they have physical disabilities and need assistance to get dressed, to get prepared to go to work or to just live day to day. Medicaid supports that and has for decades. And it is absolutely critical that we maintain Medicaid and not cut it because not just disabled people benefit, but our seniors benefit as well and our veterans. Medicaid is, is not just a social safety net. It really improves the quality of life and health. So for millions and millions of Americans, and we believe any cuts will, will really impact large swaths of the American population, but that they will disproportionately impact people with disabilities. Because if for example, someone who is reliant on a Medicaid home based healthcare worker, meaning they have someone come in, as I said earlier, to help support them, get them through their day, enable them to work or to go to school, or to get to medical appointments, provide transportation for them, and that all goes away. What happens? What happens? There's a massive human factor and impact. Obviously it will impact quality of life for millions of people, but it also will impact the independence of people with disabilities who, if they, they don't have Medicaid to support those in home health based care workers that facilitate their daily lives, many will have to go into institutions. That's another problem because when the Americans with Disabilities act was passed 33 years ago, it really opened new doors for people with disabilities to employment, to education. It leveled the playing field. And now millions, Millions of people with disabilities go to work every day. It's. I think it's 19 million Americans with disabilities are employed. So if a huge swath of them can no longer work because they lack the resources via Medicaid, that helps them get to work, helps them get online, if they're working from home, that will have an incredible economic impact on our country. That's the macro level. At the micro level, if I'm a person whose health is largely dependent on Medicaid, in other words, I derive medical services and support through Medicaid assistance, and I can't have those, then that may very well impact my ability to live. When we passed the Americans with Disabilities act, it really, again, as I said, leveled the playing field, but it reduced the need for institutionalization of people with disabilities, which was a good thing, because most people want to live independent, full lives. They don't want to be institutionalized. So there are fewer institutions available. That means what happens to millions of Americans who are dependent on Medicaid to live if they. If they don't have that support? They don't have that support. They don't have an institution or a family to take them in and help and fill that gap of need and support, what happens to them? I don't think people are really thinking through the long term, as well as the immediate consequences to individuals and to big swaths of the population. And I want to just make one more point if I could. 70 million Americans identify as being disabled. This is not a small population. This is a quarter of the American population currently identifies as being disabled. And that's a gross undercount as well. And we know that because people like me who have a disability or something that could be classified as a disability don't identify as being disabled. For example, I have epilepsy. I've had it most of my life, but I don't necessarily consider myself disabled. See what I mean? [00:13:07] Speaker A: Yes. And so I want to break some of this down because that was a lot, but I. [00:13:11] Speaker B: It was a lot. Sorry. [00:13:12] Speaker A: It's okay. I love the passion, and I think that is what is needed. I want to just step back for a minute and talk about how one applies for Medicaid because it is an adventure. I feel like there were several options of doing this. You know, some people would call up and have someone help them over the phone. Some people go to the. An office. Some people are savvy enough to be. And they do it there. But I think now there were, they were talking about limits and having you have to go in and I don't know where that is now. Do you know where that is in regards to that has. [00:13:59] Speaker B: Go ahead. That's been proposed and you touch on some really good points. Medicaid is really governed at the state level and it varies from state to state. It's also called different things. Many states have different names for Medicaid so it's a little tricky. And there are a myriad of ways you can apply for Medicaid. Sometimes people's physicians recommend they apply for Medicaid. Other times if they need supports and services through cms, the center for Medicaid Services they apply for. Medicaid can be done online. It can also be done in person. It can also be done through your healthcare professionals. It can also be done through potentially an Easter Seals or if there's another supportive service providing services and supports. So it varies and it also varies from state to state what Medicaid reimbursement looks like, how much it is at Easterseals. The other thing we're really, really concerned about that Medicaid cuts could induce is massive layoffs. So as I said, we employ 37,000 people. Roughly two thirds of those people are what we refer to as direct service professionals, DSPs. These are the folks that are on the front lines of disability helping people with disabilities do everything from getting to medical appointments to getting dressed in the morning to getting fed to participating in a class in an Easter seal center. Right now Medicaid offsets what we pay them and that that amount is different from state to state. But let's say for the sake of example, in State X, Medicaid reimbursement for a DSP is $10 an hour. That I think you would agree is not enough to make a living for someone who is working 40 or 50 hour week providing direct care to humans. So what Easterseals affiliates often do is, is cover the spread. I like to say they augment that $10 with another $10 getting that person to wage. But in many cases as we, as we started to talk about at the very beginning of our conversation, we have to raise that money. Our affiliates have to raise that money in the private sector to augment what Medicaid is paying to get DSPs to a living wage. If a significant cut is made to Medicaid, that's a bridge too far for many of our affiliates and that will result in immediate layoffs of DSPs. Okay? That affects thousands. If not millions of people, because we're not the only employer certainly of DSPs. But it will also have an impact on all of the people that, that they're serving. And it will have an economic impact because say, I have a child who needs round the clock care to live. And we're heavily reliant on a direct service professional or in many cases multiple direct service professionals. They go away now. My child doesn't have someone to care for them when I'm not work, when I'm working or caring for the rest of my family. So now what happens? Mom or dad, caregiver, partner, whomever now has to leave their job to care for the individual with the disability. We're not thinking about this, these cuts in, in the economic terms we need to, because the impact will be so great. [00:17:27] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really heavy on the brain and the heart. Kendra, I'm wondering, has Easter Seals been affected by any of the cuts so far? [00:17:41] Speaker B: That's a great question, Sam. We haven't been impacted negatively financially at this point. I will say when we endured a few months ago, feels like a lifetime ago now, but just a few months ago we all endured that day of the federal funding freeze where portals that our affiliates rely on to access funds, for example, that pay for Head Start or pay for other programs. Those that portal was shut off for several hours and immediately we went into overdrive to determine how long could we keep people before we had to implement layoffs, how long could we operate programs without the federal support we had competed for and won in years prior. And then fortunately for all of us, the portals were turned back on. As you know, that federal funding freeze was reversed. But it was a big wake up call, Sam, because it really showed all of us how quickly funding can be eliminated. And I think as we listen to so much of what is being proposed, we are gravely concerned that the work we've done for more than a century will be negatively impacted. And then obviously by default, millions of people with disabilities, seniors and veterans, will also be negatively impacted. Which is why we're advocating so strongly against cuts to Medicaid, against cuts to. [00:19:16] Speaker A: Head Start, so obviously we don't have to do this. Every presidency is there always a slight worry? Why isn't it that we have a basic amount that we know this is just what is going to be provided and, and then you, you rally for extra. But there should always be some support for this instead of a total freeze. So I guess I'm not understanding why that would happen. [00:19:50] Speaker B: That's the, that's the $64 million question, right. Why are we looking. Why are we even discussing major cuts to Medicaid, which is so, so supportive? So why are we discussing making it more difficult for people to access their Social Security benefits, make changes, etc. Why are we even discussing eliminated Head Start, which has helped tens of millions of children matriculate, participate in school, lifted families out of poverty, helped parents become employed and stay employed, keep families out of the judicial system? Head Start has been proven to do all of that. I think it's. I think all of these supports are taken for granted. Right? And while there are often cuts proposed, there has not in decades been the reverse, which is actually, why don't we augment Medicaid? If we augmented Medicaid, in other words, if we just raised the reimbursement rates, Easter Seals alone could employ tens of thousands additional direct service providers that would help our economy. It would also empower people with disabilities, more of them to be able to work. We're looking at these social service programs as drains on our economy, when in actuality, if we invested a little more or we protected them with more veracity, they could be economic drivers. They could empower more people to work. They could help more families have sustainable employment. They could ensure that more children graduated from high school and went on to college and gained fulfilling employment. Investing in them is investing in our economy. It's investing in the American population, which, by the way, is not replicating itself. So the workforce is going to only continue to shrink, which really calls into question, why aren't we doing anything, everything we can to empower people with disabilities to become employed? And then, if I could make just one more point, the other thing we overlook is that people with disabilities, As I said, 18 or 19 million of them, go to work every day. They. They wield $645 billion of discretionary income. Taking their employment away will diminish that discretionary income and eventually will have an impact on our economy. And I'm saying this, I'm harping on the economic impact of this because as you so beautifully articulated, this is a human interest. These programs help Americans. And morally, I think we should want to support them. But if we can't, if we can't get our mind around the morality, the humanity, of helping Americans live to their fullest capabilities, then maybe we can look at it through an economic lens and see it more clearly. [00:22:55] Speaker A: Well, I'm thinking about the discussion that you were talking about in regards to how many people actually work and their jobs may be affected. But the people with disability who work and their jobs may be affected, surely then. And they draw from A, unemployment or B, Social Security. And to me that would be a huge drain. Why aren't we supporting them to be employed? That, to me would be the no brainer of the bunch. I also think, I'm curious because you always hear this talk from the, from the side that is doing all the cuts about, oh, so much millions of dollars of fraud and for how much money flies back and forth. And it's a lot. I can't imagine that there isn't some fraud somewhere. But nowhere do I believe, in no way do I believe it's millions of dollars. What does Easter Seals do to kind of ensure that things are on the up and up? And how do you guys make sure everything is going as it should? [00:24:16] Speaker B: You know, I think, I think most of the American population that is unfamiliar with disability or unfamiliar with how nonprofits operate and access government support is pretty surprised when they learn the rigor involved, the steps we need to take to even compete for government funding, let alone maintain it. Many government grants are forward funded, meaning the nonprofit that receives that grant actually has to pay up front before they can be reimbursed. Oh, and by the way, they have to make sure that a myriad of benchmarks and parameters and regulations were met before they can even access the reimbursement they won in the first place. It is not as simple as I think, you know, just getting a check or turning on a faucet and getting government funding. There are a lot of things nonprofits have to do to qualify to even compete for government grants. So, no, while I, I want to be really clear, we all support rooting out waste, fraud, you know, and anything. [00:25:27] Speaker A: Else that would be, whatever terminology they're. [00:25:30] Speaker B: Throwing around to, you know, would really be, be illegal or, or make programs that are so important put them in jeopardy. And, and I'm certain there are ways of tightening up, you know, the federal belt so that we don't waste money, but I really don't believe that programs like Medicaid or Social Security or Head Start are a good source of, of that fraud waste. And I just don't. And I really think, again, it has a lot to do with the way we look at disability in America. Disability impacts everyone. It isn't something that just happens to other people. We're all the other people. [00:26:16] Speaker A: I like that mindset. And I think somebody who just thinks, well, it's not going to happen to me. I'm a healthy person. There's no One in my direct family that has a disability. And I think that that's common. And I think nobody can see themselves who doesn't have a disability. They don't see themselves with a disability and they don't know how they would live. I remember hearing, you know, with a visual impairment, having somebody say, I don't know what I would do if I had a visual impairment. And I felt like saying, well, then go sit in the corner and curl up and die. Because, you know, it's like, of course you would go on. You would do what you would do, right? You would, you would do the best you could. You would try to be out there and giving back to the community. You hope that they would do that. But there's this weird mindset that. And I don't know where it comes from, and I feel like maybe it comes from so very long ago when people with disabilities weren't necessarily respected or thought of as much and they never quite broke that mold completely. So I'm not sure what the magic answer is because I feel like there are so many people with disabilities employed and I get told often, you're so amazing. No, I'm just living my life just like you are. And I didn't get dealt a fair hand. So I'm doing the best I can with the hand I'm dealt and try to be on as equal a playing ground as I can. And I think that is what people who have a disability, I hope try to do. I want to step back a minute and talk about. You talked a little bit about home based care. I mean, that is one of the things that could be threatened, which would of course force people to either have direct home care, you know, like their partners or spouses, their, you know, parents, whoever would have to take care of them all the time, or they may be institutionalized. And I'm feeling like this is so much more of an expensive care rather than staying at home and having caregivers assist with those things. [00:29:03] Speaker B: 100%. I mean, by continuing to treat disability as if it's an anomaly rather than an intrinsic part of being human, really just hurts everyone. It's shortsighted, it's non pragmatic, it's unwise, because in doing so we really fail to consider the economic impact. A quarter of the American population contributes to our economy and our society. And by empowering people with disabilities to work with the assistance of direct service providers, the home based care workers, we're fueling our economy, we're fueling the workforce. Eliminate those and we're shooting ourselves in the foot. We're making it difficult for multiple segments of the population to work. Not just the DSPs, but the people they support and the families. Listen very carefully, as you just said. Well, if, if they lack the home based care, then it falls to a parent or a family member or a friend or. And you said, whoever. And I thought that's it. That's the issue right there. Many people with disabilities have a family member who can step out of the workforce or give of themselves to take care of the person. Many others do not. And yes, some may go into institutions, but that's only where institutions are capable and available for them. I think if, God forbid, everyone reliant on Medicaid to cover those costs were set out on their own and told, okay, you gotta figure this out yourself now, we'd be in a. It would be really debilitating nationally because there are not enough services and supports around that are provided and maintained by the government. And that brings me to another incredibly, you know, I think, blatant point that most people overlook. While nonprofits are imperfect, just as the federal government is, while nonprofits don't always get it right, I, as somebody who, you know, has been in the nonprofit world for almost 40 years, I can attest they often serve as a massive extension of the services provided by the government. And it's not just what Easterseals does. It's other massive, steeped, traditional nonprofits like the ymca, like Feeding America that fill really massive, gaping gaps in support for Americans. If Feeding America shut down tomorrow, you would see hunger insecurity, food insecurity, rise exponentially. If Easter Seals were just to shutter its doors, stop supporting that 1.5 million people with disabilities, the ripple effect it would have on our economy, on their families, on, you know, communities across the country, would be felt immediately. And I think to your point, it makes more sense to support the work we're doing than to let it just wither or to put all the onus on nonprofits to continue to raise these funds from the private sector when the government has the money. Right? We're talking about making massive cuts to Medicaid to ensure that the wealthiest segment of our population gets a tax break. That, to me, is inhumane. It's inhumane, but it's also very short sighted economically. [00:32:48] Speaker A: Excuse me. Everyone knows that if you put a lot of this to the states, some states are richer than others, right? And so some states may do kind of okay, others may do quite well, and some will do very badly. And so there will Be a huge difference with how people are treated, what kind of help they get, what kind of support they get, what kind of education they may get. And I don't know why you'd want such a difference. You know, you see differences in countries. I would think to me, you'd want your country to be strong, all of the country, not stronger in some states than others. I'm wondering, and I do think that as it is, we wouldn't have enough institutions. Let's say that direct home based care people were cut. We wouldn't have the institution space to put people there anyway. And so to me, there would be a huge. Then it, then, then what happens? Then we fall back to a big homeless population. I don't know what happens there. [00:34:06] Speaker B: I think 100% and I think that's the quiet part that people aren't talking about. Make these cuts. You know, we'll, we'll manage to a degree. But that that segment of the disabled population or community that doesn't have anyone to fall back on will either become institutionalized or they will become homeless. And that's just a fact. Right now in many states, there are waiting lists of people who are waiting for services, waiting for services to become available so that they can go to school, so that they can have transportation, so that they can have someone come into their home and help them get ready for the day, maybe taking that, you know, the need that maybe a family member or friend or partner is fulfilling off their shoulders so that that person can then go pursue a job or pursue education or just take care of other siblings or family members. Those waiting lists will increase exponentially. You'll see them skyrocket. If we have a significant reduction in Medicaid. [00:35:20] Speaker A: Kendra, I'm sure that you have. You know, there's a lot of talk about people being on the Hill and in these meetings or listening to the Senate and stuff on these cuts. And I'm guessing you've heard some of this. What is that like listening to these cuts and the proposed cuts and what, what actually really happens? Can you give us kind of a little bit of an outlook of what it's like actually being there? [00:35:52] Speaker B: Well, Easterseals just participated in what we refer to as Advocacy Week. We spent all last week in Washington. Many of our affiliates, 120 folks from our affiliates were there with us, meeting with legislators, actively meeting with legislators and their staff to discuss exactly what we're discussing today and to raise concern over some of the proposed cuts to Medicaid, to Social Security, to head start to other programs, early intervention, that are going to have a really deleterious and outsized impact on the communities we exist to serve. Again, people with disabilities, seniors, and that's anyone over 55, and veterans and their families. And I think what always gives me hope, and I am definitely a cockeyed optimist, is that people in Washington truly do care about their jobs. When you speak with staff of a sitting senator or other member Congress, you can't help but be struck by how seriously they take the meetings, how copiously they take notes, how carefully they pay attention to what it is we're saying, to the questions they pose. It is an avocation. It's not just a job for many of them. They take it very seriously. The other thing that gives me hope is that laws are made by people, and they're made by people based on information they garner and glean from other people in conversations. There's no mysterious science to legislation, to policymaking. It is about relationships. It's about establishing relationships with your lawmakers, and it's about cultivating those relationships so you're not just going to them in the final hour before a budget is actually approved with this hail Mary, please don't make cuts. Please don't make cuts. And they don't even know who you are. If distort these relationships. Nonprofits have to get in the game and not leave it up to chance. We have to speak up and speak out with courtesy and with respect, understanding that regardless of someone's political affiliation, they want what's best, I believe, for the American public, or they wouldn't be in public service. No one in public service is getting rich. No one. Not from their public service. That is. So I'm encouraged by the conversations we have. I'm encouraged when people on both sides of the aisle, from both political parties, Democrats and Republicans, say, thank you, thank you, Easter Seals, for speaking out. Thank you for educating us. I did not know you the breadth and scope of your programs was as large and wide as you're describing. I did not know, you know, how many children benefit from Head Start or that Easterseals was one of the country's largest providers of Head Start. I did not know that Easterseals is the largest provider of child care for children with disabilities in the nation and has been doing that for 100 years, more than 100 years. And I. I'm encouraged by the fact that it's not just lip service. We follow up with legislators, and that process needs to be ongoing. It really does take commitment on both sides, and I Again, I can't stress enough how important it is for nonprofits, regardless of what. What area of disability they work in, to have those conversations, to do that outreach, to continue to cultivate relationships with members of Congress, senators and their teams. [00:39:47] Speaker A: So I hear what you're saying. I'm about ready to jump to the other side here. But why are we even here? I mean, if they take this so seriously, surely this is not the first time that these things have been brought up to this extreme. Yes, I feel like, at least in my lifetime, that I remember. But here and there, different programs have been brought up to talk about being cut or eliminated or lessened. But why not this extreme? And why are we here if they really, truly care? Like, why would. Go ahead. [00:40:34] Speaker B: Sorry. I think the president ran on a platform of, you know, reducing fraud, waste, and abuse. That was part of it, you know, really tightening things up. And this administration set monetary goals that are almost impossible to achieve in terms of savings unless you're going to make cuts to massive programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Head Start, and Head Starts on the smaller end of the spectrum. So that's what's driving this. We've been here many times before, and I do, again, I am optimistic that the noise and the conversations organizations like Easterseals and many others are having about the negative impact such cuts could have will give legislators pause. It will force them to get consider. Wow. I don't know if I want to do this, because regardless of the color of the state, red, blue, or purple, people are in every state dependent on Medicaid, and it will have an impact. And so I think what we're seeing here is not all that unusual, Sam. You know, I mean, we go through this every administration. When budgets are put together, there are apt to be proposed cuts that are not appetite or at all savory to many populations within our larger population. So I don't think this is all that unusual. I do think that some of the cuts proposed are so significant that you're seeing cause for alarm, and I think done in conjunction with other things, such as the elimination of 11 pieces of guidance from the Americans with Disabilities act, really makes people stop and say, wait a minute, what's going on here? And could these things impact negatively people with disabilities to such an extent that we might. Maybe we should get involved. Maybe we should ask some questions, and maybe we should start to try to educate legislators about the impact those cuts will have. [00:42:46] Speaker A: How might local communities and nonprofits like Easterseals be expected to fill in the gap if federal funding is lost. [00:43:00] Speaker B: I think that expectation exists, but there are absolute limits to it. As I said, if, for example, Medicaid sustains significant cuts, Easter Seals just will not be able to identify, secure, and implement private sector funding to offset the money that we aren't receiving. It just won't be possible. So what will happen is we will cut people and we will cut programs. And the people that will really suffer the most are the people arguably who need services, supports, and programs the most. The most vulnerable populations in our society. It is. People with disabilities represent the largest minority in the United States. That is including, if you put all other minorities together, it is still outsized by 70 million Americans who identify as being disabled. To ignore the needs of that population, to me, is just. It's just absolutely unbelievable that to your point, we're talking about this, we're having to fight so hard just to maintain, when in actuality what we should be doing is really augmenting. But it has to do with the mentality I think we talked about a little bit earlier. Disability is always about someone else. If you're not disabled, our country in the United States, and we're not the only one, I see this everywhere. In other parts of the world, we have a hard time talking about disability, and I think it's out of fear. I think you talk about it, you make it real, and then all of a sudden it could impact you. So better to avoid the topic altogether and think of disability as something that impacts other people. That's just very short sighted. We are all the other people and all of us in our lifetime will be impacted in some way, shape or form by disability. And if it's not physical or intellectual disability, we will be impacted by someone else, either in our circle of friends or our family who becomes disabled. You know, if you're speaking, as I often do, to a large crowd and you say to that crowd, raise your hand if you know someone with Alzheimer's. Myriad of hands go up. Raise your hand if you know someone with a physical disability or an intellectual disability. Raise your hand if you know someone who's been in a car accident and now they use a walker to, to mobilize. By the end of, you know, four or five questions, Sam, half the room, if not more, has their hand up. Disability is part of the human condition. And until we start to regard it as so, we will continue to have to have these conversations, preserving protections, rights, and funding that support people with disabilities. [00:45:55] Speaker A: So what can we tell the public that they should be doing to advocate against These proposed cuts, should we worry now? Should we what? What would you say? [00:46:10] Speaker B: I think we should all be concerned. Should we worry? Maybe worries too strong. I think we should express our concern. And expressing your concern is as simple as calling your legislator. All of their phone numbers and email addresses are readily available. You don't even have to know their names. You can go to your state and say, type in, you know, legislators, senators, congresspeople, representatives for my state, say I'm in Illinois, say I'm in Indiana, wherever. And immediately it's populated with who those people are and how to get in touch with them. And all you need to do is send them a message, pick up the phone, leave a message. Please do not cut Medicaid. Please do not cut Head Start Start. I want you to support Social Security. I do not want my secure Social Security offices cut. I want to preserve the opportunity to be able to speak with someone at the Social Security office on the phone. [00:47:06] Speaker A: That's a big deal, isn't it? [00:47:08] Speaker B: Yeah, all of those things are important. And again, when I say cuts that are being proposed or even some which have been already made, reducing the number of Social Security offices people can access, insisting that people go physically into their Social Security office to make a change to their bank account makes it harder for someone who is not mobile, who cannot get in a car and drive there if they have a physical disability, really makes it difficult for them to make those changes that they could have maybe previously done online or on the phone. [00:47:45] Speaker A: Right. [00:47:46] Speaker B: And I just think some of these changes are being made without keeping in mind that a quarter of the population is disabled. [00:47:55] Speaker A: Is it really a bipartisan thing? Are there people, do you see a lot of working across the aisle with this or is it kind of along party lines thing? [00:48:08] Speaker B: That's a loaded question, Sam. [00:48:09] Speaker A: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. [00:48:12] Speaker B: On that is that disability itself is nonpartisan. It impacts Republicans, independents and Democrats, and we need to be thinking that way. [00:48:28] Speaker A: So I guess I ask that because I feel like there are so many people out there that say, I support these cuts. We may have to hurt a little bit, but I support this. And what they don't get is if you have a family member with a disability or if you have a disability, you're going to be feeling the pain a lot of bit because a cut is a cut and then you're going to wait a long time to see when and if it gets re established and what are you willing to lose in order for, you know, a small amount of money to be saved? Really not that Much. [00:49:10] Speaker B: Yeah, you're not wrong. But I really resist the temptation to say this is a Republican issue. It is not. And if you look back and you say, okay, Ada was passed 33 years ago, what has happened since then? There have been several Democratic administrations where there's been no movement, not a whole lot, to support or help people with disabilities. This is not just the Republicans being difficult or making to, you know, wanting to make, you know, what I consider really disastrous? What will be disastrous? Cuts to certain programs. It's not just the Republicans. The Democrats have had the wheel for a long time. And even in the Biden administration, what supports or services did you see augmented or improved? What programs were really heavily invested in in the past four years that benefited people with disabilities? I would argue that there aren't many at all. This is not a bipartisan issue. This is an American issue that is nonpartisan. Regardless of your affiliation, your political affiliation. People with disabilities have been waiting for change, waiting for more support, waiting for greater accessibility, waiting, waiting for more protections, waiting for more policy that would mandate employers look past someone's disability and hire more people with disabilities. All those things are still on the table. They're all still able to be done. And again, back to my optimism. I think the current administration could take quantum leaps in supporting people with disabilities and be remembered for those leaps for decades to come. It's within their power to support the disabled community, but I think they, we have a long way to go to get them to understand, to get this administration and even previous administrations to understand what's at stake, what's possible, and why it's important that they support people with disabilities rather than make it harder for them to go to school, harder for them to live full lives, harder for them to become employed, harder to get around transportation wise. [00:51:27] Speaker A: So I guess my takeaway from a lot of this, and I've often felt this, was, don't just expect your parent or family member or someone who knows you in the community to stand up for you. If you have a disability, you need to get involved and you need to speak up and you need to say, because no one knows it like you do. And if you don't, it's like saying you're okay with everything. Is that would I be saying correctly? [00:52:00] Speaker B: I couldn't agree more, Sam. I think advocacy in general is something that all of us should have a stake in. It's everyone's responsibility. People say, you know, America is the greatest nation because so many Americans for so many decades have been actively involved in pursuing things that would benefit humanity. We all have to get engaged in that. Democracy is a contact sport. This is our democracy and it's up to us to engage and make sure that we remain a great country. And we'll only remain a great country if we support all Americans, including those with dis disabilities. [00:52:44] Speaker A: Any final departing thoughts before we end? [00:52:48] Speaker B: No, I just really thank you for the opportunity to talk about this. Encourage everyone to contact their legislators. If you believe in supporting Americans with disabilities, now is the time to engage. Now is the time to make your feelings known in a courteous, respectful way. That is democracy. You're a participation patient is critical. [00:53:09] Speaker A: You are tuned to KFAI 90.3 FM, Minneapolis, and KFAI.org you're listening to disability and Progress. My name is Sam and Charlene Dahl was with me as well, and we've been speaking with Kendra Davenport, CEO of Easterseals. And thank you so much for being on Kendra. I really appreciate that. Thanks for your time and keep advocating. I can't say it enough. I won't be able to be in Washington, but I hope shows like this touch people. And, you know, my thoughts are if you wouldn't eat food that you can't stand day after day, why do you tolerate laws and rules that you can't stand day after day? So speak up and get out there and do your part. Thank you again. [00:54:03] Speaker B: Thanks, Sam. Thank you. [00:54:07] Speaker A: This has been Disability and Progress. The views expressed on this show are not necessarily those of KFAI or its board of directors. My name is Sam. I'm the host of the show. Thanks so much for tuning in. If you'd like to be a part of the show, know someone who should be part of the show or have a topic that's good for the show, please send us an email to Disability, Disability and [email protected] that's disability and [email protected]. charlene Dahl is my research PR person. Erin is my podcaster. Thank you so much for listening. We were speaking with Kendra Davenport, CEO of Easter Seals. Thanks again. Take care.