APSE is a strong and vocal proponent of Medicaid, and with good motivation:

• Medicaid’s health and medical services are essential in helping individuals with disabilities remain at or achieve the needed level of sufficient health to be successfully employed.
• The investment of Medicaid dollars in employment-related supports helps ensure that individuals with disabilities can maximize their incomes through work, fostering greater independence and better health and decreasing reliance on public benefits.

Medicaid increases access to preventive and primary health care and provides support for serious diseases, illnesses, and injuries. Medicaid has improved the health of millions of Americans (including individuals with disabilities).[i] Medicaid is important specifically for people with disabilities for several reasons:

• Individuals with disabilities frequently have limited access to private insurance.
• Medicaid covers a full scope of services that often individuals with disabilities need and that are not covered by private insurance or Medicare, even when private insurance or Medicare is available.
• Private insurance and Medicare do not provide the same level of financial protection as Medicaid.
• Many people with disabilities need long-term services and supports. Medicaid is the only source of funding for these long-term services.

Home and community-based services (HCBS) provide opportunities for Medicaid beneficiaries to receive services in their own home or community rather than institutions or other isolated settings. These programs serve a variety of targeted populations groups, such as people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and/or mental illnesses.