In Minnesota, we look forward to the summer months all year. For those living with disabilities — and those of us who deeply believe in their rights to live in and contribute to inclusive communities — the summer is also a commemorative time.
On a hot July day in 1990, with widespread bipartisan support, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law, landmark legislation that comprehensively defined discrimination based on disability. On a sunny June day in 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Olmstead v. L.C., which built on the ADA and committed to the rights of people with disabilities to receive support in their communities.
We entered the summer of 2025 ready to celebrate the 35th and 26th anniversaries of those watershed moments but instead, on a cloudy July day just weeks ago, a massive federal bill was signed into law. Many of us are still unpacking and seeking to understand the full implications of what the nearly 900 pages in this behemoth legislation include.
Related: How Medicaid cuts threaten disabled Minnesotans
What we know today is the bill includes significant, sweeping cuts to Medicaid. History has shown that when federal leaders chop away at these critical public healthcare programs, people with disabilities are among the first and hardest hit, directly and indirectly.
For the past four decades, I’ve dedicated my career to working with people with disabilities, advocating alongside them for the resources and services needed to live the best possible life. I’m part of Living Well Disabilities Services, and over the course of all those years, we’ve endured the erosion of federal and state support for people with disabilities.
We’ve always found a way to keep our services going. In the past, disability service providers have innovated to rebuild what was stripped away and take steps forward, like with the ADA and the Olmstead ruling. But make no mistake, what is happening today isn’t an erosion of support. It’s a mudslide, an avalanche, a washing away of support unlike any we’ve experienced in recent history.
To put into perspective what these cuts will mean in real terms, 100% of the people we support through Living Well Disability Services depend on Medicaid. Many people served by similar organizations are also dependent on these programs. Cascading from there, reduced budgets will limit the development of new services, the availability of housing opportunities and, most significantly, the number of staff available to support the people we serve. Dedicated staff are the most critical part of any organization empowering people with disabilities. These cuts will make hiring, retaining and paying fair wages to support staff a daunting task, at times perhaps impossible.
We have used our voice to clearly share with each person representing Minnesota in Congress the cruel outcomes this bill will likely have for people with disabilities. Cruelest of all, when we remove opportunities from people, we remove their hope.
We are asking each congressperson to be accountable for what they voted for in this bill. I urge you to call them, email them, meet with them and ask questions of your own.
For most of us, summertime in Minnesota has been synonymous with the good life for generations. What’s happened this summer will have a profound negative effect on that quality of life. Not just for people with disabilities. Not just for those who stand beside them. For all of us. Communities and local economies lose when we remove opportunities and take hope away from our neighbors. The cost for all of us will be so much more than any money these cuts have clawed back.
Rod Carlson is chief operating officer of Living Well Disability Services, Mendota Heights.
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