Statement on the passage of the budget reconciliation bill

We are saddened and truly disappointed with the passage of the budget reconciliation bill. For months, we have worked alongside people with disabilities, their families, and community advocates to convince Congress to vote no on this bill. The damage that will be done to people with disabilities and those living paycheck to paycheck will be unthinkable.  

We want to thank the self-advocates, families, community organizations, and members of Congress who fought and continue to fight for people with disabilities. We also want to thank Senator Thom Tillis for standing with people with disabilities and speaking about how this bill will hurt North Carolinians.   

Our Advocacy team continually received feedback from state and congressional leaders regarding the strength of North Carolina’s advocacy efforts. We will stand together, continuing to fight for fairness and justice for this community. As we move forward, we will need to work with our state legislators on the changes people with disabilities will face.

Many of the cuts are projected to happen after the 2026 midterm elections. The bill will cut billions of dollars from the Medicaid and SNAP programs. Here’s how North Carolinians will be affected:

• North Carolina rural hospitals will see a $3 billion cut in Medicaid funding; only a third of this number would be offset by the Rural Healthcare Provider Fund. Many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) living in rural areas of North Carolina need access to rural hospitals for emergency care. Cuts to Medicaid funding will lead to more hospital closures, leaving people without critical medical care, and hospital employees out of work.

• The combination of Medicaid work requirements and the freeze on provider taxes will trigger the North Carolina law that ends Medicaid expansion. The trigger law requires the state to cover the Medicaid costs for the expansion population, should the federal portion drop below 90%. If North Carolina chooses not to fund Medicaid expansion, more than 600,000 people would lose health insurance. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and some direct support staff would be among them. As more people go without needed health insurance, the existing health costs rise for everyone else. This would affect coverage and hurt the state’s economy.

• With proposed cuts of $300 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), each state would be responsible for paying some of the costs for the program. This means North Carolina will be responsible for paying an estimated $420 million every year for SNAP. If the decision is made to not pay that amount, it could result in cuts to SNAP benefits or changing the eligibility so that a smaller number of people would qualify for SNAP, or both.

We look forward to working with our state leaders, and members of the NC House and Senate on solutions to these problems. We are hopeful some actions can be taken to help mitigate the looming crisis facing people with disabilities.

The bottom line is individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families will struggle even more to have access to reliable health care, nutritious food, direct support professionals, and employment. Parents will be forced to leave their jobs to care for their children. Healthcare professionals will be out of work.

Our state’s economy and the health of our communities will suffer.