Ohioans with Disabilities Sound the Alarm After Latest Attack on Home and Community-Based Services

May 20, 2026

Protecting program integrity should never come at the expense of human dignity, due process, privacy, or access to essential care. DeWine and other state officials MUST include people with disabilities in this process. People with disabilities and organizations working with us or on our behalf have not been asked to provide input or be involved in the process, though we are ready to work with state leaders.

"State leaders are grossly misrepresenting home and community-based services that so many people with disabilities depend on. Policymakers are undermining why someone with a disability would need assistance with activities of daily living. Secondly, this shows a fundamental misunderstanding on how caregivers are hired, how agencies and Independent Providers come into existence." Matt O'Nesti, Advocate & DRO Board Chair

"Ohio cannot afford policies that drive caregivers out of the workforce, discourage providers from participating, or treat vulnerable populations as potential criminals simply because they require care." Maria Matzik, Disability Rights Advocate

"No one that I know with a disability is using caregivers for companionship. We, including myself, rely on caregivers to provide care services we need to live for the day. These are life essential services. I would rather die than ever return to living in a nursing home." Jennifer Kucera, Advocate & Chair of the Ohio Olmstead Task Force

Our concerns with the misinformation being spread in this latest attack on Home and Community-Based Services:

• Any type of freeze on providers or payments is going to harm people with disabilities. In an ongoing caregiver crisis, this would disproportionately impact individuals who rely on support with daily activities for employment, community living, health and wellbeing when we are already in a care giver crisis.
• If policymakers continue to attack the HCBS system, Ohio will force people into institutions. These institutions are not prepared to offer a dignified setting for people with disabilities to receive care and remain in the community alongside their peers and neighbors.
• Comprehensive data hasn't been shown to support the allegations of 'rampant fraud' in the Medicaid system. Ohio MUST provide transparency regarding fraud and abuse before freezing or cutting services for people with disabilities.
• People should not have to choose between their privacy and getting services by requiring mandatory GPS tracking.
• HCBS services are not a way for family members to get paid to 'hang out' with their family members with disabilities. Such accusations are dangerous, grotesque, and extremely troubling, which highlight a fundamental misunderstanding about how home healthcare actually works.

Governor DeWine recently acknowledged that HCBS programs are more cost effective than institutionalized settings, yet these proposed actions will push Ohioans with disabilities into those more costly institutional settings. That is the wrong direction for Ohio. It is imperative that people with disabilities do not lose access to care, services, and their right to live in the community. In all steps of decision-making, people with disabilities must be at the table. "Nothing About Us Without Us ."

This release is a joint statement by the following:

The Ohio Olmstead Task Force
Disability Rights Ohio
Disability Advocates across Ohio
Breaking Silences
The Center 4 dis-Ability Empowerment
Kara Ayers
Kim Kelly - Parent/Guardian/Provider/Advocate
Independence Alliance
Sarah Davies - Parent/Owner of Davies Advocacy and Consulting, LLC
Access Center for Independent Living (ACIL)
Rajai Saleh - Advocate/MyCare Ohio recipient
The Ability Center of Greater Toledo
Matt O'Nesti, Advocate/DRO Board Chair
Western Reserve Independent Living Center
Amy Clawson - Parent of an adult who receives IO Waiver Services
Georgie Elson - Advocate/DRO Board Member
KK, Kristina Kapp - Individual, Advocate, and Activist