Last month, the American Health Care Act, or “TrumpCare” passed the House of Representatives by only four votes. The bill, written as is, would eliminate insurance for millions of low-income Americans, but there is one aspect of the bill that no one is talking about — how the AHCA will impact Medicaid’s programs for people with disabilities.

If it passes, the AHCA will cut more than $800 billion from Medicaid over the next decade. These caps and cuts will devastate Medicaid-funded services that people with disabilities need to live, work and participate in their communities.

People with disabilities rely on the Medicaid program for home and community-based services because no private insurance policy will pay for them. This important network of providers perform life-sustaining assistance on a daily basis and make it possible for people with disabilities to be in their communities, attend school, church and have jobs.

TrumpCare would cap the funding and put the responsibility on states to pick up the tab.  There is already a workforce crisis providing these crucial services for people with disabilities and seniors. Putting greater strain on states will inevitably mean fewer services for people who need them the most.

Those who support AHCA say that they are not intending to hurt people with disabilities, but the evidence already shows that its rates for disabled populations are not sufficient,  and there is no guarantee in the law that the rate set this year won’t change next year with the next budget. Most importantly, there is no guarantee the funding going to states will be used for the disabled.

In the last two legislative sessions in Georgia, there has been no new state funding for the more than 10,000 people languishing on Georgia’s waiting lists for Medicaid waiver programs. This is in direct opposition of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision, which made unnecessary institutionalization illegal, and there are hundreds of people being segregated from society in nursing homes who would rather be living in the community with support that is less costly to taxpayers.

In 1990, when the Americans With Disabilities Act passed, the following was entered into law: Title 42, Ch. 126, Sec. 12101: “... the nation’s proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals.” Caps will eliminate these freedoms for thousands of people with disabilities and seniors who rely on Medicaid.

The bottom line is that the AHCA fails people with disabilities. The services they rely on to live will be used to pay for tax cuts, and that is just wrong. I know Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue can do better, and I urge them to fight for people with disabilities and #SaveMedicaid.

Justin Pressley is a Hall County resident and president of Gainesville’s Access to a Better Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization that provides independent living support to disabled residents.