As the world changes, so does our progress toward a hopeful, inclusive community. Read about recent updates to issues affecting caregivers, disability rights, early care and education, healthcare, and veterans and military families. You are our biggest advocate for change, and we need your help today!
Don’t Let Work Requirements Put Medicaid Coverage at Risk
Congress explicitly exempted people with disabilities and serious health conditions from new Medicaid work requirements.
However, the federal agency that administers Medicaid — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — may force people with disabilities to prove not only that they have a qualifying condition, but also that it significantly limits their ability to work.
That could leave people with serious health conditions stuck in an impossible situation: They need Medicaid to manage their health and stay employed but could lose coverage because they cannot prove they are unable to work.
Many of the people Easterseals DC MD VA serves have been automatically exempt from these requirements, but it will be critical to ensure states continue to properly apply those exemptions. Read Easterseals’ official statement on the issue.
Tell Congress to urge CMS to remove this added work requirement and implement the law as written.
Stand Up for Direct Support Professionals
Direct support professionals (DSPs) — including the Easterseals DC MD VA staff at our Adult Day Services centers — are the backbone of disability services, providing the support people with disabilities rely on every day. But right now, DSPs aren’t accurately counted in federal labor data.
The Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act is clearing its first hurdle in the U.S. Senate. If passed, this bill will deliver the workforce data needed to tackle low wages, high turnover, and the severe caregiver shortage. We need your help to keep the momentum going and ensure this bill becomes law.
Tell Congress to PASS the Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act.
Protect Home- and Community-Based Services
Medicaid-funded disability services — Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) — make it possible for more than 8 million people to live at home and stay connected to their communities. This means staying in your own home instead of a nursing home or institution. It means independence.
And that’s what Easterseals DC MD VA Adult Day Services (ADS) is all about. Providing a safe, home-like environment that gives caregivers peace of mind that their loved one is safe and happy all day long.
Now these services are under attack. States are having their federal Medicaid funding cut, and government officials are questioning the value of allowing care like ADS.
When access to disability services like ADS is reduced, families are stretched, caregivers leave the workforce, and individuals can lose the support they rely on every day.
Tell Congress to protect Home- and Community-Based Services.
Stand Up for Veteran Mental Health
The Recognizing Community Organizations for Veteran Engagement & Recovery (RECOVER) Act (H.R. 2283) — introduced by House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost (IL) in March 2025 — aims to expand and enhance mental health services for veterans. The bill would create a $20 million, three-year pilot program to distribute grants of up to $1.5 million to non-profit outpatient mental health facilities, such as the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Easterseals. On May 14, the bill passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee markup with bipartisan support and now heads to the full House for consideration.
Easterseals DC MD VA submitted a statement for the record in support of the RECOVER Act during Committee deliberations.
Contact your U.S. House representative to VOTE FOR the RECOVER Act.
White House Imposes Political Test on Federal Grants
A proposed rule by the Office of Management and Budget could apply Executive Order restrictions on federal grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and other previously identified policies.
Easterseals is working with the nonprofit community to oppose attempts to politicize the important community services that Easterseals DC MD VA provides every day.
