What’s at Risk: Potential Cuts to GCDD and Medicaid

Information shared in this article current as of May 21, 2025.

As federal lawmakers debate sweeping budget cuts, Georgia’s disability advocacy leaders are working hard to get critical information to our community. What is at stake: the future of Medicaid including vital community-based services, and the network of organizations that have fueled decades of progress for people with developmental disabilities, including the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD).

A coalition of advocates, including the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO), the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), and the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC), recently gathered for a public briefing to share what’s at risk and how Georgia’s disability community can take action.

Medicaid Breakdown

The latest federal budget proposal, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, includes $625 billion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years. That reduction could eliminate healthcare coverage for 13.7 million Americans, per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

In Georgia, Medicaid supports over 2 million residents, including more than 200,000 people with disabilities.

Medicaid is a complex program, and a federal cut can have a big impact on Georgians with disabilities, even if it is not targeted to do so. Because Medicaid is a joint state-federal program, the exact impact of federal Medicaid cuts will vary by state. States make a lot of their own Medicaid budgeting decisions, but certain rules apply everywhere.

Some Medicaid services, like skilled nursing facilities, are mandatory, meaning the government has to pay for them. Others, like Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), are optional.

Georgia’s Disability Services by the Numbers

$625 billion nationally in proposed Medicaid cuts over 10 years

2 million+ Georgians covered by Medicaid

200,000+ people with disabilities in Georgia rely on Medicaid

< .0000001% of the federal budget supports GCDD

“When states are struggling to balance their own Medicaid budgets, one place they can cut is waivers and HCBS,” said D’Arcy Robb, Executive Director of GCDD. “Look back at the Great Recession in 2009, when federal Medicaid was cut. Every single state, including Georgia, cut their funding for Home and Community Based Services.”  

The federal House of Representatives passed the budget on May 22, 2025. Budget work continues in the U.S. Senate, where Senators have already said they want to see changes to the House version of the budget.

Bottom line – no decisions are final. Members of Congress continue to hotly debate the Medicaid budget.

Budget Leak – No More Funds for GCDD?

In early April, a big federal document leaked. That document appears to be from the Department of Health and Human Services. It proposes the elimination of the federal funding that is specifically for GCDD and its sister agencies.

GCDD is a part of the Developmental Disabilities (DD) Network, which comprises disability organizations across the country. In Georgia, this includes GCDD, the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO), Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) at Georgia State University (GSU), and the Institute for Human Development and Disability (IHDD) at the University of Georgia (UGA).

Together these organizations fund vital projects and provide independent oversight, legal advocacy, public policy and information, and inclusive education and employment programs.

Seventy percent of GCDD’s funding is federal. The agency receives $2.2 million in federal dollars each year, which is less than .0000001% of the federal budget. Two long-term examples of GCDD’s value are Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) and Project SEARCH. 

Over a decade ago, GCDD started both of these programs in Georgia with its federal funding. These programs have grown dramatically over the years and are now supported by other funding sources, offering education and employment experiences every year to hundreds of young Georgians with intellectual or other developmental disabilities.   

GCDD’s current federally funded projects include:

• The UnlockGA coalition to drive positive changes to Home and Community Based Services;
• The Supported Decision Making project that promotes alternatives to guardianship and has been recognized nationally, and;
• The technology training initiative that has educated hundreds of Georgians on skills that boost independence, safety, and life in the community.

GCDD staff also serve as expert policy advisors to state leaders, and have served as technical advisors over the past two years on successful legislation, including Georgia as Model Employer (GAME) for people with disabilities, the Dignity in Pay Act that ends subminimum wages in Georgia, and House Bill 123 that ends the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities in Georgia. 

“These aren’t just programs,” said Dana Lloyd of the Georgia Advocacy Office. “They’re lifelines.”

Read more about the work of GAO, IHDD, and CLD in another article, The Impact of Georgia's Network.

What Can Advocates Do?

Disability advocates have already had a major impact on the federal budget. Various changes have been taken off the table in response to the public. It is a long process, but it is a critical one and it is far from over.

Georgia’s DD Network leaders strongly encourage constituents to keep contacting their Congressional representatives, share their thoughts about potential budget cuts and changes, and spread the word through social media and community networks.

“This is our moment to speak up,” said Charlie Miller, GCDD’s Legislative Advocacy Director. “The work of building inclusive communities isn’t done.”