Morrison Hosts Disability Rights Roundtable

Disability rights advocates recently met with U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison to voice their opposition to federal funding cuts to disability services. “Medicaid cannot be cut without destroying the people who depend on it,” said Samantha Lademann, who uses a wheelchair. Behind her are ICI's Mary Hauff (in a blue-and-white top) and Representative Morrison (in a black top, brown slacks, and high heels).

U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison recently invited disability advocates to share their personal stories of how deep cuts to Medicaid services in recent federal legislation would affect their lives and personal freedom.

“Medicaid cannot be cut without destroying the people who depend on it,” said Samantha Lademann, 43, a person with cerebral palsy. “This bill denies our humanity and will be devastating. I will have no other choice but to live in a nursing home, as I cannot afford to pay for [care from] my direct support professional.”

Lademann and other advocates fear that as states respond to federal Medicaid program cuts, they will further reduce Medicaid’s home and community-based services , a waiver program that allows them to receive support services outside of institutional settings.

“I was born disabled in this country, and that has shaped everything,” Lademann said. “I’ve been talked over, stared at, and made to feel invisible. I’ve heard leaders call people like me burdens. I’ve seen policies that treat my life as less valuable, but I still believe in a better future. Disability rights are not optional. Access is not a favor; it’s a right. Representation is not just a buzzword; it’s survival.”

She called out politicians who mock people with disabilities and called instead for creating communities where healthcare is not a luxury and where accessibility needs are covered.

“I think we can get there, but I’ve seen what happens when we move backwards. To be truly patriotic is to love this country enough to demand more from it, not just for myself but for every person with a disability who has ever been told, ‘you don’t matter.’ The fact is, I do. We all do.”

ICI’s Mary Hauff and Kristin Dean, both parents of adults with disabilities, also spoke at the event at Morrison’s Plymouth office. Several other advocates from Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional district were also included.

Hauff, who has an adult daughter, Jean, with Down syndrome, said the frequent Medicaid recertification requirements, which are required even for people with lifelong disabilities, are going to worsen an already overburdened system.

Like many other couples worried about how their adult children with disabilities will be cared for when the parents get older, Dean, who recently retired, said she and her wife are extremely concerned about the future for their daughter, Eva. Already, the instability in the direct support workforce is at crisis levels.

“Caregivers earn so little that many qualify for their own public benefits,” Dean said. “Eva’s entire safety and well-being depend on the competence and reliability of the people who care for her.”

Morrison thanked the group for sharing their stories, urging them to continue speaking out about how the legislation affects their lives.

“This law will cause hospitals and nursing homes to close, and ultimately it will hurt all of us,” she said. “Thank you so much for being here and for the incredible advocacy you do.”