WASHINGTON—On April 16, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testified in front of the House Ways and Means Committee about the administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget request. During the hearing, the secretary made remarks regarding family caregivers and community-based services. Taken together with the recent statements from the president and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, as well as the proposed deep cuts to the HHS budget and elimination of key disability programs, community providers have voiced concerns for the future of home- and community-based services and the people with disabilities that rely on their support.
“The waivers allow people, family members, who are taking care of an elderly parent, to get paid for balancing the checkbook, for picking up the groceries, for driving somebody to a doctor’s appointment,” Kennedy said. “Today, the biggest job in New York, 650,000 people, the biggest employment niche is homecare. These are family members who are getting paid to do things that they used to do as family members for free. And this is rife with fraud, because we have no way at CMS to determine if they actually performed that duty or not.”
Kennedy said that fraudsters are taking advantage of these programs across the country, contributing to the growth of the Medicaid program budget.
In response to the Secretary’s remarks, ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill issued the following statement:
“Recent public comments denigrating critical home- and community-based services (HCBS) made by the federal leaders that oversee Medicaid programs are deeply concerning," said ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill. "The undervaluing of HCBS demeans the very real, complex and difficult work that caregivers—whether paid or unpaid—provide. Medicaid HCBS programs are much more than supporting an individual with the daily and essential needs that many of us take for granted, like getting dressed in the morning or traveling to a medical appointment. Indeed, for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), these services support skill development toward greater independence, community integration and employment that enable people with I/DD to forego expensive public institutions and live full lives in their homes and communities.
“During Care Workers Recognition Month, Secretary Kennedy repeated statements from this administration that Medicaid HCBS programs are simply paying for services that should be provided for free by family members—a viewpoint that woefully diminishes the crucial work of millions of direct care workers and implies that instead family members should remain out of the workforce to care for a loved one or relative," Merrill continued. "Such thinking also ignores the reality that many family members are themselves elderly, disabled or otherwise incapable of providing the type of support described by administration officials. For some people with disabilities, no family exists that could replace the services provided by community-providers and direct support professionals (DSPs)."
Merrill said ANCOR is a willing partner in ensuring the integrity of Medicaid-funded community-based services, and the organization called on Kennedy and the administration to seek input from providers, the DSPs they employ and the people with I/DD they support to better understand the true impact of HCBS in the lives of people with disabilities and their families.