5/29/25 - Medicaid and work, UK benefit cuts, and disability in media

Hi there!

Here are your three disability-related links for this Thursday. Tomorrow's issue will be another Friday video ...

I am disabled but educated and ready to work — only Medicaid won’t let me

Carlos Gamez, The Hill - May 25, 2025

"I rely on Medicaid to cover a personal care attendant who helps me complete basic activities of daily living. There is no private insurance plan that will cover this need. Without this support, I cannot get out of bed, eat, or use the restroom safely. And yet, if I earn more than the narrow income limits set by Supplemental Security Income — which is often tied to Medicaid eligibility — I risk losing that care altogether."

If you want to understand the disability experience in the US you have to know about this contradiction – how Medicaid eligibility rules end up discouraging disabled people from working. It is possible to earn and save somewhat while keeping Medicaid. But you're always at risk of going over some limit or other and losing your eligibility. So, if you depend on Medicaid for your everyday survival, you don't have the option of deciding to work harder or longer to earn more money. That really does put you in a financial bind. Medicaid does need reform. It's needed it for decades. But as this piece argues, what they're trying to do with Medicaid now is the opposite of what disabled people need.

Disabled celebrities urge Keir Starmer to scrap ‘inhumane’ benefit cuts

Frances Ryan, The Guardian - May 27, 2025

"The letter raises concerns about the government’s rhetoric around its proposals titled Get Britain Working. “Framing welfare cuts as ‘incentives’ to work implies that disabled people must earn their place in society through productivity – a dangerous narrative. Disabled lives are inherently valuable – whether someone can work or not,” it says. The signatories add that the Access to Work scheme now has a backlog of over six months, preventing many from working, while cutting Pip will make it harder for people to stay in work."

I don't fully understand all the ins and outs of the UK's disability benefits systems. But then I don't fully understand the systems we have in the US either. And the issues discussed in this article do have a familiar ring – get to work or we'll take away your benefits, but if you work too much, we'll take away your benefits. The one part of the UK debate I wish was talked about more in the US is the fundamental assertion that disabled people shouldn't have to work and earn money to be valued. Somehow, we've all got to figure out a way for governments to make working and earning as feasible as possible for disabled people who want to work, without making it a matter of financial coercion or moral shaming. It's also interesting to see highly visible and known disabled British "celebrities" speaking out on a disability issue. I don't think that happens very often here in the US.

“I wish in most cases that they wouldn't be an afterthought”: Disabled people on media, mindsets, and the weight of being seen

Euan's Guide - May 6, 2025

"Our respondents asked for representation that doesn’t flatten their lives into cautionary tales or viral TikToks. They want to be seen in full colour - flawed, funny, ordinary, angry, brilliant. And yes, sometimes that starts with the smallest things - even a Lego tram set that gets representation right."

This is a good overview of how disabled people in the UK feel about how they are represented in media, and how that affects the way they are treated in everyday life. The answers aren't too surprising. But it's good to be reminded that some of the goals and ideals of "disability awareness," that can sometimes seem stale or even outdated, are still relevant and worth talking about.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe — for free, or with a paid subscription. A free subscription brings a newsletter to your email each weekday, and gives you access to Comments. Benefits of paid subscription also include:

• A monthly recap with links to all of the previous month's shared articles, organized by topic.
• Listing as a supporter, and a link to your website if you have one.
• You can recommend one disability-related article for me to share per month in a weekday post.

To to subscribe, upgrade to paid, or make a one-time donation, click one of the buttons below:

I am so grateful for your help and engagement, in whichever forms you choose!