April 18, 2025 | Vol. MMXXVVVIII | Issue 108

Read Joint Statement from Leading Autism Organizations

On April 17, AUCD and 15 other national organizations dedicated to advancing the wellbeing of autistic people released a joint statement to push back against attacks from the Administration against the autism community. Read the statement here.

Plain Language

The President and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., have said and done things that show they are not supportive of autistic people. AUCD and other organizations have written a statement to push back against these harmful statements.

House Republicans Send Letter to Leadership in Support of Medicaid

On April 14, twelve Republican Representatives sent a letter to House Republican leadership, expressing their strong support for Medicaid. The Members wrote that they are in favor of making reforms to Medicaid and fixing issues with the program “that divert resources away from children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and pregnant women,” but say they “cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.” The Representatives cite potential risk of closure for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers, should the Medicaid program sustain cuts.

Key Takeaways

As Congressional Republicans plan to make cuts to Medicaid, it is a positive sign that these Republican Members of Congress are showing their support for the program. However, we need to continue educating Members of Congress on how detrimental any cuts to Medicaid would be. These cuts might be proposed as a “reform” or in the guise of addressing “waste, fraud, and abuse,” but in fact, they are cuts. They may be in the form of work requirements, per capita caps, decreasing the federal match, and beyond—they would all have negative consequences for people with disabilities. Read AUCD’s Medicaid fact sheet and talking points here.

• Action Item - Protect Our Care has an easy tool to find your elected official and some advice on what to say - https://www.protectourcare.org/hands-off-medicaid. Call your Member of Congress and educate them on the importance of Medicaid for people with disabilities and their families and caregivers. Reminder: AUCD Network members should educate rather than lobby when talking to Members of Congress and their staff. Learn more here.

Plain Language

Twelve Republican Representatives wrote a letter and said they are in support of Medicaid. This is good because they are showing that even though Republican leaders in Congress want to cut Medicaid, some Republicans do not want to do that. There are many ways that Members of Congress talk about cutting Medicaid, but sometimes they use different words like “reform” or “fix.” Sometimes they say they want to stop “waste, fraud, and abuse.” All of these different words still mean “cut,” even if they say it differently. Cuts to Medicaid would be bad for people with disabilities.

• Action Item – People should let Members of Congress know how important Medicaid is for people with disabilities and their families. They can use this link to call them and talk about how Medicaid helps people get home and community-based services, employment support, and more. If you have a personal story, it is really helpful to share! Here is some more information about Medicaid in plain language.

President’s Budget

On April 16, a draft of the President’s budget was leaked, showing proposed budget cuts of $40 billion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

All of the following are Disability programs that are proposed for elimination in the President’s budget.

Preventative health services, elder falls prevention, lifespan respite, long term care ombudsman, chronic disease self-management, elder rights support activities, and elder justice/APS, ADRCs, SHIPs.  Developmental Disability Councils, Developmental Disability Protection & Advocacy, Projects of National Significance, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and UCEDDs, paralysis resource center, limb loss resource center, and HAVA (accessible voting),  Autism and other disorders (LENDs, Development and Behavior Pediatric training programs), TBI (moved from CDC), Newborn screening for heritable disorders, Newborn screening for heritable disorders, Universal Newborn hearing screening, Hansen Disease clinics, Adverse Childhood, 39 separate mental health programs, ALS, Childhood Lead Poising, HIV, Head Start.

Key Takeaways

The President’s budget proposal is not legislative text, but is required by law to be submitted annually. It communicates the Executive’s policy priorities and budgetary goals to Congress, and is a set of recommendations that Congress can follow, but is not required to implement.

This budget calls for dramatic cuts that would decimate the safety net as well as disability and research programs in America. It is a sign of the Administration’s ongoing assault against people with disabilities. While Congress contemplates stripping Medicaid bare, agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Education, and Social Security Administration are under attack, and now this draft of the President’s budget makes clear that these attacks will not only continue, but escalate. Eliminating programs like University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Programs, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRCs), and so many others listed above will do immeasurable harm to people with disabilities and their families.

• Action Item - Call your Members of Congress—your Representative and Senators—and reach out to your state officials, such as the governor’s office, to educate them on the important work that UCEDDs, LENDs, and IDDRCs do to support people with disabilities. You can find AUCD’s talking points here. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Plain Language

The President writes a budget that they have to send to Congress every year. This budget shows how much money they want to give to different parts of the government. It is not a law. The Administration wrote a draft budget, which means it is not final yet, that shows they want to make $40 billion in cuts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They want to take money away from many government programs that support people with disabilities and their families. Some of the programs they want to take money from or get rid of are the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Programs, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRCs).

• Action Item - Call your Members of Congress—your Representative and Senators—and reach out to the government officials in your state, such as the governor’s office, to educate them on the important work that UCEDDs, LENDs, and IDDRCs do to support people with disabilities. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Release New Autism Data

On April 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report that showed that among 8-year-old children in 2022, one in 31 had autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The report reveals that autism prevalence among children of that age increased from 2020 to 2022 and that children of color and multiracial children continued to have higher prevalence of ASD than white children.

Key Takeaways

This data likely demonstrates that doctors are improving their ability to diagnose and identify autism, and that awareness of autism is increasing. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has been describing increases in autism diagnoses as an “epidemic” to be cured, but autistic people do not need to be eliminated or cured. Government agencies dedicated to promoting health should work to support autistic people and better understand the autism community.

Plain Language

There is new data about autism that shows more children have autism in 2022 than 2020. This is probably because more children are getting diagnosed and doctors are improving their ability to diagnose autism, which means to figure out if someone has autism or not.

Disability Policy for All with Liz

Join Liz on Instagram Reels, where she provides plain language updates on policy, highlighting current issues and hot topics in federal disability policy.

Liz Weintraub is AUCD's Senior Advocacy Specialist and the host of “Disability Policy for All with Liz.” She has extensive experience practicing leadership in self-advocacy and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations, including the Council on Quality & Leadership (CQL) and the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council.

Watch Liz’s most recent video on Medicaid.

Words to Know

Safety Net

When people talk about the “safety net” in America, they are talking about government programs that help people who have challenges in their lives. These challenges usually include things like being poor, not having a place to live, having a disability, or being a victim of a crime. The safety net includes Medicaid and Medicare. These programs are all designed to “catch” the people who need some support, which is why they are usually called a “safety net.”

Vulnerable

Vulnerable means at risk. People with disabilities and other challenges might be at risk of losing health care, not being safe in their communities, being bullied or treated badly, or other things that might happen to them.