Memo: Americans Support Reforming SSI and Expanding Community Services for People with Disabilities and Seniors
By Ari Ne’eman and James Medlock
Bipartisan majorities support action on Biden campaign promises on Medicaid Home and Community Based Services, Supplemental Security Income
Americans with disabilities and seniors rely on public programs to live independently and on their own terms in the community. The coronavirus public health emergency has made clear the consequences of relegating those in need of assistance to nursing homes and institutions, providing a vivid illustration of the deadly consequences of institutionalization. In order to empower people with disabilities and seniors to live in the community, President Biden promised an ambitious expansion of Medicaid home and community-based services and long-overdue improvements to the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides cash assistance to the lowest-income seniors and people with disabilities. The time has come to act on those promises.
