Wyndham Neighbors Fear Medicaid Cuts

Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is under parliamentary review in the Senate, which will likely delay debate until next week and may push the vote past the arbitrary 7/4 deadline set by President Trump.

In its current form, the bill makes roughly $600 billion in cuts to Medicaid. Two Wyndham families are watching the bill closely and fear they would be directly affected by the cuts.

Deb Gribben has a 38-year-old daughter with severe intellectual disabilities who is on Medicaid and a Medicaid waiver. “We are very worried,” says Deb.

Deb’s daughter, Beth, has lived in a group home for almost half of her life. They fought for years to get the Medicaid waiver. To Beth, the group home is home. She lives there with four other women and has round the clock supervision. Deb said, “Day to day, she gets up, gets dressed, has breakfast. Then she and her housemates make their lunches for the day. Then a van comes to pick them up and take them to day support programs.”  Medicaid covers all of these services.

Beth is verbal and can read and write, but she can’t comprehend things. “She’s basically a three-year-old in a thirty-eight-year old body.”

Deb fears the potential cuts to Medicaid and what that could mean for Medicaid waivers. “We are terrified about what we’re hearing, things are changing day to day. Even though they say not to worry, we still worry. Because if it’s cut, she’s back here, and we can’t afford it. Here I am thinking, okay she’s set for life, she has a house that she loves, she has day support programs, she’s set and then all of a sudden we get this president, who’s changing things, not thinking about people – who actually makes fun of people like my daughter.”

Deb admitted they would have to sell their house and downsize if Beth is forced to return home, and she isn’t sure how they would manage that. Beth requires twenty-four-hour care, which includes someone to monitor her during the night because she’s at risk of wandering off.

Kelly D. (who asked not to use her last name) is a mother in Wyndham with a similar challenge. Nicholas, her twenty-four-year-old son, has been living in a group home since age eighteen because he has autism and severe intellectual disabilities. “They love Elmo, they love Blue’s Clues. Mentally, he is 2 years old.” He is non-verbal and requires constant care. “He needs help with toileting, bathing, brushing his teeth; he can’t make a simple sandwich, you have to help him eat if it’s on a fork or spoon.” Kelly said.

Kelly spoke about the challenge of obtaining a Medicaid waiver for Nicholas’ group home placement, a process that took thirteen years. There are thousands of Virginia families on the waiting list.

Kelly calls Medicaid their lifeline. She shared that “I have not slept well since the election; it’s terrifying to me, and it’s terrifying to a lot of us. Even if you sit there and tell me it’s not going to affect those with disabilities, I’m not sure how it is not going to. I feel like they are doing things very quickly, and not very systematically and not very thoughtfully when they make cuts to things.”

Much like the Gribben family’s situation, if Medicaid cuts forced Nicholas to return home, he’d be devastated and confused. Their lives would look drastically different, including the loss of one income. “I can hope and pray that it doesn’t happen,” Kelly said, “but we have to think about it. What are we going to do? Which of us is going to quit our jobs? How are we going to do this? And then long term, what happens to him? It’s a lot to worry about.”

Both Deb and Kelly agree that their biggest fear is what will happen to their children down the road. Kelly says of her son, “He is a sweet, sweet boy. He is a man, but he’s like a boy. He doesn’t understand, he can’t take care of himself and I’m not going to be here forever.” Medicaid is their safety net.

As both families monitor the progress of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” Deb Gribben has a strong message for the Republicans who voted in favor of it: “Shame on you, shame on anyone who’s had blinders on about the big picture and what is best for the people in this country. They took an oath of office that they are not adhering to. They took an oath to the constitution, not to one person.”