To prevent unintended consequences, people with disabilities must be at the table for welfare reform debate

The Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations reacted to the Governor’s proposed special session welfare reform proposals by reminding legislators that people with disabilities rely on key public assistance programs to live their daily lives; even minor changes can have major unintended consequences.

“We are concerned that the people who use these programs, many of whom have disabilities, were not consulted in the development of this legislation,” said Survival Coalition Co-Chair Beth Swedeen. “Major program reforms need to be developed with stakeholders.”

People with disabilities in Wisconsin are disproportionately poor – with working age individuals with disabilities experiencing a poverty rate of 25.2% compared to 9.1% for those without disabilities. As a result, many rely on public assistance programs like FoodShare, Medicaid and public housing.

“As policymakers think about ways to make Medicaid and FoodShare even more cost-effective, people with disabilities have ideas and should be at the table,” said Survival Coalition Co-Chair Lisa Pugh.

Survival Coalition is particularly concerned by proposed FoodShare photo IDs and Medicaid health savings accounts. Past FoodShare ID proposals had implementation costs as high as $7 million, and Medicaid health savings accounts would place new financial requirements on Medicaid recipients in addition to the premium and co-pay requirements released last year.

“We are greatly concerned by proposals that increase administrative costs within our public assistance programs without addressing the serious provider shortages that are leaving people without access to needed services,” said Survival Coalition Co-Chair Kit Kerschensteiner.

“We would like to see clear exemptions for individuals who are providing care to family members, or who are enrolled in a drug treatment program or experiencing other challenges related to a disability that make it difficult to work,” said Survival Co-Chair Maureen Ryan.