Disability Rights Under Threat
Even after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which was signed into law by then president, George H.W. Bush, it was still common for people with disabilities to be institutionalized, either in nursing homes or group homes. This practice was often forced upon families by the lack of government assistance and community-based services. The 1999 Supreme Court decision in the case of Olmstead v. L.C. deemed the practice of unnecessary confinement of disabled people as discriminatory. This decision pressured state and federal governments to provide the funding necessary to allow people with disabilities to remain in their homes or with their families and the opportunity to contribute to their communities. This funding helped expand financial assistance programs, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance, to people with disabilities, as well as aided in the creation of community-based services. The 1999 Olmstead ruling highlighted the mental and emotional harms to people with disabilities by being separated from their loved ones, by limited opportunities for healthy social interaction, and by the inability to contribute to the larger society.
The progress made in the area of disability rights over the past 26 years is now in jeopardy. In April 2025, HHS Secretary Kennedy cut the staff at the Administration of Community Living (ACL) by 50%. The ACL administers the funds for the programs that facilitated the implementation of the 1999 Omstead ruling. These programs include disability protection and advocacy agencies, independent living services, and disability research. One of the programs placed in jeopardy by these staffing cuts actually oversees the health and safety of people still confined to long-term care facilities. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Trump in July 2025, significantly cut funding to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The OBBBA also added strict work requirements for Medicaid eligibility. Since people with disabilities experience greater difficulty finding and maintaining employment than those in the broader population, they are disproportionately impacted by these changes. Medicaid helps fund many of the community-based services that allow people with disabilities to remain in their home or to live with their families, services such as access to assistive technology, in-home nursing care, personal care aids, and adult day programs.
The funding for financial assistance programs is also under threat. The Trump administration's proposed FY2026 budget calls for cuts to the Homeless Assistance program and to the State Rental Assistance block grants. These programs provide older adults and people with disabilities with much needed housing support. The FY2026 budget proposal also calls for the elimination of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, which provides aid to not only cover energy costs but to cover energy-related home repairs and weatherization projects, making the home more energy efficient. This type of energy support is especially important for disabled people, as they are more likely to suffer exacerbation of certain health conditions during extreme heat events, which are becoming an all-too-common occurrence in many parts of the country. Disabled people with certain health conditions may also he need the use of life-sustaining medical equipment, for which a sustainable energy source is required. Finally, the Trump administration has proposed a rule change to the eligibility criteria for SSI benefits that could result in significant cuts to those benefits for disabled people who live with their families, even if their families' total household income is still low enough to qualify for SNAP benefits.
If all of these rule changes and funding cuts are allowed to take effect, disabled people who currently live at home or with their families while also working in and contributing to their communities could be pushed back into institutionalized care. Not only would the re-institutionalization of these individuals be inhumane, but it would also be substantially more expensive for taxpayers than to simply continue funding government assistance programs and community-based services. Currently, over 25% of the U.S. population lives with at least one disability. As for the rest of us, if we live long enough, we will more likely than not eventually count ourselves among that number. Everyone deserves to live their best life with the people who love them and to have the opportunity to contribute their unique gifts and talents to the communities in which they choose to live. Those who work in public health strive to provide the tools and resources each person needs to live their best life. The public deserves a public health workforce that is well-funded and adequately supported, so that each one of us can gain access to the tools and resources we need when we need them.
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