The Arc of Philadelphia

07/01/2025

An Update on the Fight to Protect Medicaid

What happened?
The Senate just passed the budget bill, and it’s bad. The bill includes:
Nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. That’s about 20% of the federal Medicaid budget. It would cause nearly 17 million people to lose coverage. Nearly $200 billion in cuts to SNAP. Less food assistance means more people will go hungry, including millions of kids. A new private school voucher program that redirects public education funding to private schools. This will make it even harder for children with disabilities to access essential special education services. Take action now to help us protect the very foundation of care and services!

What’s next? The Senate and the House must agree on a final bill to send to the President for his signature.

This isn’t over yet, but this is serious, and we need your help!

Don’t stop calling and emailing your members of Congress. We still have time to reach the hearts and minds of members of Congress on what these cuts will mean to people with disabilities and their families.
Click the link below to ACT NOW!

https://action.thearc.org/hIwNgo4?p2asource=email-2025-0701

06/30/2025

A dangerous budget bill is moving fast, and we need to act now!

The Senate is voting any day on a bill that would cut $1 trillion from Medicaid—a reduction of nearly 20%! The House of Representatives has already passed a version of this bill, and the Senate’s plan makes even deeper cuts.

Can you please take 2 minutes today to contact your members of Congress?

If this bill becomes law:
Nearly 17 million people could lose health insurance over the next 10 years. States simply won’t have the money to fund the care and services that people with disabilities need. More people will go hungry, including millions of kids. This is not about line items in a budget. It’s about real people—children, people with disabilities, older adults, and families who need health care and food to live.

Call or email your members of Congress today and tell them to vote NO on any budget that cuts Medicaid or SNAP. Click the link below to take action today!

https://action.thearc.org/hIwNgo4?p2asource=email-2025-063

06/18/2025

Do you need help with an IEP? If so please join Presenter, Nancy Orsino, a Special Education Teacher from the area for an upcoming session in the 'Ask the Advocate' series hosted by The Arc of Philadelphia. This session is tomorrow, Thursday, June 19, 2025 from 7- 8pm

The topic for this session is 'Reading Programs for Students with IEPs'

Click the link below to register today!
https://bit.ly/49fz3Qd

06/09/2025

Do you need help with an IEP? If so please join Presenter, Nancy Orsino, a Special Education Teacher from the area for an upcoming session in the 'Ask the Advocate' series hosted by The Arc of Philadelphia. This session is on Thursday, June 19, 2025 from 7- 8pm

The topic for this session is 'Reading Programs for Students with IEPs'

Click the link below to register today!
https://bit.ly/49fz3Qd

06/04/2025

Action Needed!

We need you to help us contact US Senators from Pennsylvania and let them know why they should vote NO on House Resolution 1, the Big Beautiful Bill. Also, tell us your story about how Medicaid expansion helped you or your loved one, and what it would mean if you lose eligibility. Click the link to !

https://p2a.co/tIMaJ9n

06/03/2025

The Arc of Philadelphia's Director, Shane Janick and Legislative Advocate, Michael Anderson attended a rally in Philadelphia last Wednesday to fight against proposed cuts to Medicaid. Click the link to see Michael's thoughts on what this would mean to the Disability Community.

A rally in Philadelphia Wednesday to fight against proposed cuts to Medicaid. It's legislation that republicans say will only go after wasteful spending and fraud. Stephanie Stahl reports.

05/28/2025

Budgets shouldn’t cut people off from critical needs.
The House voted for massive cuts. The Senate is next.

Tell them to protect vital services!
Say No to Harmful Cuts
Last week, the House of Representatives voted to make the biggest cuts in U.S. history to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

They want to cut:
$715 billion from Medicaid
$300 billion from SNAP
Now, the bill is headed to the Senate. If it passes, millions of people with disabilities could lose health care, vital services, and access to food.

You can help stop this!

Contact your Senators now and tell them to protect Medicaid and SNAP from devastating cuts.

No one should go without the food or health care they need.
A woman with long blonde hair wearing a green sweater speaks directly to the camera. There is a white play button over her face indicating this is a video still. Text at the bottom of the image reads, "Here's the deal."
P.S. Thank you for taking action—every message matters. If you can, please chip in too. The next few weeks will be critical in our advocacy to save Medicaid and SNAP.

The House just voted to gut Medicaid and passed the biggest cuts to SNAP in US history. This is bad, and now is the time to act. We can still stop this—call ...

05/23/2025

*Action Needed!

Tell the Senate: No Medicaid or SNAP Cuts!
On May 22, the House of Representatives approved a budget bill that would slash $715 billion from Medicaid and $300 billion from SNAP. This bill now moves to the Senate.

Click the link below to take action now, it only takes a minute!
https://bit.ly/3Sizq5W

If this bill becomes law:
States simply won’t have the money to fund the care and services people with disabilities NEED.
Nearly 14 million people could lose their health insurance.
More people will go hungry, including millions of kids.
Any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will hurt people with disabilities.

This isn’t over—ACT NOW to tell your Senators to reverse course and act to protect Medicaid and SNAP. No one should go without the food or health care they need!

05/01/2025

It starts with a number: $880 billion.

That’s how much Congress is moving to slash from essential federal programs. Cuts this deep aren’t possible without gutting Medicaid—and people with disabilities will pay the price.

It ends with moments like these:
A child with complex medical needs suddenly left without care.
A young adult with Down syndrome is cut off from job coaching and dreams of independence.
A person with cerebral palsy is forced into an institution or becomes homeless because home support disappears.
This isn’t theoretical. It’s very real. And you can help stop it.

Donate now—because people’s lives depend on what happens next. Click the link to learn more.

https://bit.ly/42BZCyk

04/29/2025

Please see this important call to action from our friends at Disability Rights Pennsylvania. We Must Act Now to Save the Disability and Aging Service System.

There is a proposal circulating in Washington, DC to drastically cut funding for programs that protect the health, safety, and well-being of people with disabilities and older adults. To take action, click the link below

We need you to tell Congress to oppose cuts to disability and aging programs. These programs provide critical, life-saving services to people with disabilities and older Americans in our communities.

04/11/2025

Wrapping up a busy week at The Arc of Philadelphia with some photos from this week's Disability Policy Seminar in Washington, DC. The Disability Policy Seminar offered the opportunity for passionate advocates, self-advocates, experts, and professionals in the field to come together and learn about key issues that affect them most during this crucial time. Be sure to like and share if you agree that we need to !

04/08/2025