Special needs advocate speaks on Medicaid cuts

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The founder of a Virginia nonprofit that supports families with disabilities is speaking out about her fears and frustrations over recent Medicaid cuts — and what they could mean for some of the state’s most vulnerable communities.

Pam Mines, founder of the JP JumPers Foundation, said she’s worried the new policies will force caregivers back into the workforce and leave their loved ones without proper support.

“The biggest concern is how it’s going to affect those families,” Mines said. “There are several families who the loved ones who are caring for these individuals are possibly not working because they need to provide care. And Medicaid pays for that.”

“Without the—with these Medicaid cuts, a lot of those individuals are going to say that, well, you know, because you’re [an] able-bodied person, you need to go to work," she added. "But if that—that leaves their loved one, who’s going to care for them?”

While Donald Trump's administration claims people with disabilities won’t be impacted by the "big, beautiful" bill, Mines called that “a contradiction.”

“How do you even determine, like, what is the qualifications for someone with the disability?” she asked.

“It sounds like it’s able-bodied," she said. "So, unless you’re like in a wheelchair..."

Mines said the uncertainty is the hardest part.

“Right now, there are just so many unanswered questions," she said. "And people are very scared."

Her son, JP, has been stuck on a Medicaid waiver waiting list since he was 4 years old. He's 21 now and still waiting to get off it.

“We’ve been on a waiting list since he was 4 years old. So we’ve been waiting all this time,” Mines said. “Right now JP is not affected by Medicaid, but he’s on our insurance right now. However, when he ages out and he can no longer be on our—on our—he’s going to have to get his own insurance.”

She’s worried what will happen when that day comes.

“They’re going to say, okay, he’s an able-bodied person and he can work," she said. "But will he be able to work full time? Will his mental capacity be able to handle him working a full-time job and being able to get insurance?”

Mines said the potential for harm extends far beyond her own household. “It’s not only impacting the person with special needs, but those who care for them.”

And while she couldn’t name every cut in the legislation, she argued that many supports people don’t even realize exist could be stripped away.

“There are a lot of things that I don’t even know about that are going into the care for someone with special needs, that they are going to get cut because they don’t think that it’s important—but it is," she said.

Beyond the medical concerns, Mines is worried about food insecurity and mental health support.

“You’re no longer going to get a check because, you know, you’re no longer covered and we can no longer pay for you to watch or take care of your child, or you no longer going to get SNAP benefits,” she said. “So that special food that you can eat or that special food that your loved one—that’s all they eat—you can no longer SNAP benefits to be able to get the food.”

As a mother, Mines said the emotional toll is just as severe.

“I don’t understand how this even was a thought,” she said. “It’s just heartbreaking that this community was—wasn’t considered the one that we should protect the most. It was the one that we went after first.”

She said the disability community is one that anyone can join—through an accident, a diagnosis, or aging. “This community is one that continues to evolve because of circumstances,” Mines said. “So in one minute, one day, you cannot be a part of it and have no empathy. And then the next day you’re in it and now you want people to consider you.”

Despite her fears, she remains determined to share support for the special needs community regardless of the bill's impact.

“We’re going to stand together and we’re going to be strong and we’re going to build together and we’re going to support each other because that’s what we do,” she said. “The special needs community is a community. We are a community. And that’s not going to change because of this bill.”

These cuts to Medicaid will start next year but the full impact will stretch over a decade.