5/20/25 - Work requirements, college accommodations, and the toxicity of "wellness"
Good afternoon!
Today I'm sharing three great explainers – articles that I think could effectively explain three current disability-related issues to non-disabled people and others new to disability experience. They are probably also helpful to those of us who are deeply embedded in these issues, but sometimes have trouble describing them to others and offering persuasive arguments.
By the way, yesterday I forgot to mention another addition I made to the newsletter. I've added a one-time donation button. So now there are two ways you can help support the newsletter financially ... with a monthly or annual subscription, or with a one-off donation. The buttons for both are down below. If you can help out, I would really appreciate it!
Medicaid Work Requirements Are Cruel and Pointless
Matt Bruenig, New York Times - May 16, 2025
"Many Americans are intrigued by the idea of conditioning benefits on work. A recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health research group, found that over 60 percent of American adults supported such requirements, probably influenced by persistent myths about widespread unemployment among public assistance recipients."
Health care shouldn't be treated as reward for work. For disabled people especially, it is necessary foundation for work. Most Medicaid work requirement programs say they don't include disabled people. But lots of people with very real disabilities don't actually qualify for or get official disability benefits, and so would be subject to the kinds of work requirements being proposed. And the paperwork burden Bruenig discusses in this piece would be a very real threat to disabled people's health care stability – again, something that's absolutely essential for disabled people to be able to work. Work requirements seem to make sense to a lot of people. So it's important that we are prepared to explain why the don't make sense at all, particularly if you actually care about encouraging disabled people to work and aren't just trying to cut Medicaid without admitting that's what you're doing.
College Students With Disabilities Are Being Abandoned by the Trump Administration
Mia Ives-Rublee, Teen Vogue - May 19, 2025
"The Trump administration has made the situation even worse by eliminating some of the tools disabled students rely on to ensure we can transition successfully into college and graduate. Nearly half of the Department of Education’s staff have been laid off, including many who worked within the Office for Civil Rights, where discrimination complaints are investigated and resolved. This is happening as we're also seeing an increased number of disabled college students. Experts, including current and former agency employees, say that, essentially, the department no longer has the staffing capacity to process student complaints, negotiate settlement agreements, or enforce consent decrees."
College is one of the most powerful steps up for disabled people. But it can be a fragile undertaking. And disabled students with tremendous promise still don't necessarily know how to adjust to college and obtain the accommodations they need. They need help. And realistically, they need credible legal backup from a federal government equipped to fight for disabled students' needs and equal opportunity. It's awful to think of the wasted and thwarted potential of disabled students who are coming up during this administration – which appears to despise the whole notion of college, and obviously sees disabled students' rights as a trivial extravagance.
Why The New Surgeon General Pick Might Be The Most Dangerous One Yet
BROADWAYBABYTO, The Disabled Ginger - May 13, 2025
"Quote"
This is the best explanation I have seen so far of why the "wellness" movement, currently championed by Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr., is such a problem specifically for disabled people. The piece does a great job of distinguishing between the most basic and sensible things we can all do to be more healthy – including those of us with disabilities – and the much deeper and insidious that our health is entirely within our personal control. And either appropriately or ironically, there's nobody better equipped than disabled people to remind us all that there are many illnesses and disabilities that aren't caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, and negative attitudes.
There's a push on today to make calls Congress on Medicaid. Click below to get started.
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