The American Disabilities Act & How the Big Beautiful Bill Will Affect It

The American Disabilities Act, ADA, was signed into law in 1990, amended in 2008, with Congress passing the ADA as public law to make it more widely available. The ADA, a major civil rights law, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. To be covered under the bill a person must have a disability or have a relationship or an association with someone who does. Employers with more than 15 employees can not discriminate against anyone who is disabled. The ADA requires state and local governments to give a disabled person all the same opportunities as anyone else in: employment, transportation, recreation, healthcare, social services, the courts, voting and town meetings. They are required to follow specific designs in construction and the altering of buildings to make them accessible for everyone. The ADA states that public accommodations must be made on all private and nonprofit services that operate transportation, private schools, doctors’ offices, restaurants, stores and anyplace else a person might go. The ADA also addresses phone and TV access for people with hearing and speech disabilities, requiring telecommunication companies to establish telecommunication relay services, TRS, 24/7. TRS enables callers with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate using a 3rd party communications assistant, as well as requesting closed captions on all public service announcements. The ADA also protects older adults with diabetes, hearing loss, cancer, HIV, mobility issues and depression.

The bill was passed because existing nondiscriminatory laws only applied to places with federal funding. Disability rights advocates in the 1980’s asked congress to expand protections in order to cover those with disabilities in all settings, but the history of this fight is a long one. In 1930 the League of Physically Handicapped organized and fought for employment during the Great Depression. President Truman formed the National Institute of Mental Health in 1948. And from 1960-63, JFK organized several planning committees to treat and research disabilities. The 1975 Education of All Handicapped Children’s Act guaranteed children with disabilities a right to a public education.

In 1990 protestors gathered on the US Capitol steps, awaiting the passing of the ADA, which was stalled due to transportation companies fighting against the bill's strict regulations. The protestors threw down their walkers and canes, some even crawling from their wheelchairs, and crawled up the Capitol steps in an action of solidarity known as the: Capitol Crawl. In a quote by Michael Winter, former director of the Center for Independent Living, in Hawaii and Bently, CA:

“Some people may have thought it was undignified for people in wheelchairs to crawl in that manner, but I felt that it was necessary to show the country what kind of things people with disabilities have to face on a day-to-day basis. We had to be willing to fight for what we believed in.”

Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will cut federal spending on Medicaid and children’s services by 1.02 trillion, eliminating at least 10.5 million people from the program by 2034. It will also redistrict the states’ abilities to raise revenue for their Medicaid programs, forcing states to either reevaluate their budgets or cut the services that many depend upon.

Over 20 percent of disabled people rely on Medicaid coverage, with an increase of 53% for those over 65.

The BB bill will make it harder to fund home and community services, such as Meals on Wheels and home aides. And the new Medicaid paperwork requirement will cause eligible people to lose coverage. Although the GOP claims otherwise, only 8% of adults between the ages of 19-64 who have Medicaid are not working. The BB bill requires individuals to prove they are working, doing community service, or receiving training for at least 80hours a month, or that they are enrolled in school part time. Enrollees who can’t find a job, or lack reliable transportation will be penalized under this requirement. This includes 2.6 million adults with disabilities that have difficulty working.

The BB bill includes a 50 billion in relief funds for rural hospitals over 5 years to reduce the bill’s impact of 1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. “As of May 2025, there were approximately 2,086 rural hospitals receiving 12.2 billion a year in net revenue from Medicaid.” Any cuts will lead to closures.

If congress does not act the BB bill will cause a 490 billion dollar cut to Medicare, from 2027-2034, just as the last of the baby boomers are set to be signed up. Close to 16 million Americans will be left uninsured. Yet, the Republican led congress continues to make unprecedented tax cuts for the wealthy, while leaving children, seniors, the disabled and many other vulnerable people at risk. If the BB bill is left unchecked, this country will in all likelihood be headed for a healthcare crisis.

In a related issue, Robert F Kennedy, Jr, acting US Secretary of Health and Human Services, appointed by the Trump admin, just cut 500 million dollars from mRNA vaccine development. mRNA is the company responsible for the development of the covid vaccine which saved countless lives during the pandemic. Kennedy’s reasons for cutting their funding have no medical or scientific bearing. In fact, all his baseless claims are contradictory to actual scientific evidence. This issue will be the subject of my next article. Until then, stay safe and keep informed.

Cites: ADA.gov, Guide to Disability Rights, National Council of Aging, National Parks Service, CAP, Associated Press