On March 27, 2025 the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would be cutting its budget by $1.8 billion and cutting its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. They will also be creating a new division, the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), to address the priorities of HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. You can read the HHS press release here.
Among the key concerns for TASH are:
1. Splitting up the Administration for Community Living is a step in the wrong direction
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) was established in 2012 to consolidate functions of the Administration on Aging (AOA) and Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (since seniors and people with disabilities often face similar issues of access and isolation). The Administration proposal undermines the purpose of ACL, which was created to foster efficiencies and prevent duplication of efforts among aging and disability networks, and would essentially reverse a positive reform and split up the functions and disperse them to a variety of agencies. We are especially concerned about the potential implications for the Developmental Disabilities (DD) network programs whose funding flows to the states, including the DD Councils, the Protection and Advocacy Programs, and the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) that play important roles in supporting the broader disability community. ACL plays a vital role in advancing research that leads to improved quality of life outcomes, greater independence and community belonging, and this too is at risk.
2. Cuts to Medicaid and other programs will hurt individuals with disabilities
Thursday’s HHS statement says that the cuts and reorganization will be “making the agency more responsive and efficient, while ensuring that Medicare, Medicaid, and other essential health services remain intact.” But with DOGE-related budget and personnel cuts already affecting the ability of the Social Security Administration to perform basic services, and with the House majority proposing up to $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid, as well as massive cuts to the Department of Education, we must conclude that these drastic changes and cuts to HHS will only further harm individuals with disabilities, their families, and others who provide vital supports and services. These regressive changes could take us backwards to an era where institutionalization, segregation and lower expectations were the norm, and at higher costs to taxpayers.
3. The Administration for a Healthy America Will advance discredited ideas that will hurt individuals with disabilities
While Secretary Kennedy has spoken about some legitimate concerns regarding increasing chronic disease and mortality, he has also and alarmingly promoted discredited ideas about vaccines that aren’t backed up by scientific research. TASH is especially concerned about the appointment of David Geier to head a study on the relationship between vaccines and autism. Dr. Richard Besser, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting CDC director, told NBC News that Geier is a “deeply irresponsible choice” to lead this effort as he has “no medical degree and a long history of pushing discredited theories about vaccines and autism.” This would set us back by decades at a time when vaccine hesitancy and infectious disease are both spreading at alarming rates. This plan will harm autistic people and the health of all Americans with or without disabilities.
Contact Your Congressional Delegation
TASH urges its members and allies to contact your Members of Congress in the House and Senate, to tell them to oppose reductions in funding and staffing for programs critical to advancing the lives of individuals with disabilities. You can use the links on TASH’s Advocacy Tools & Resources page to find the contact information for your Congressional delegation or you can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to Congressional offices.
About TASH
TASH is a leader in disability advocacy. Founded in 1975, TASH advocates for human rights and inclusion for individuals with significant disabilities and support needs – those most vulnerable to segregation, abuse, neglect and institutionalization. TASH works to advance inclusive communities through advocacy, research, professional development, policy, and information and resources for parents, families and self-advocates. The inclusive practices TASH validates through research have been shown to improve outcomes for all people.
To learn more about TASH, visit tash.org.