Diverse Elders Coalition

06/11/2026

In Feb. 1982, Gov. Lee Dreyfus signed the nation’s first law banning based on sexual orientation. David Clarenbach, an LGBTQ activist and Democrat in the state Assembly, spearheaded the bill. Despite conservatives’ last-minute efforts pushing Dreyfus to veto the bill, he approved it in February 1982.

It took 9 years for another state to follow. Progress should not be this fragile. Decades later, we should be expanding protections, not watching hard-won rights be rolled back.

https://buff.ly/Nsjo0h9

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus signed a law that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, the first of its kind in the country.

06/11/2026

’s trust fund is now due to run low on money beginning in 2032. And in announcing that new date Tuesday, the government acknowledged that the Trump administration’s immigration policies and tax cuts are expected to contribute to the insolvency.

The trust # fund that pays and benefits is expected to reach depletion by the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than projected in last year’s annual report.

The shortfall will be driven in part by a drop in immigration and Trump’s tax cuts, trustees say, resulting in trimmed benefits.

06/10/2026

Federal agencies responsible for enforcement are set to receive tens of billions more dollars after voted to fund them not just for the year, but through the rest of President Trump's term.

Through this legislation, Congress is giving more than three times its last annual budget. Though technically this is meant to cover three years, unlike a traditional annual funding bill, the money comes with few stipulations on how and when it should be spent.

The measure passed by a vote of 214 to 212.

The bill provides roughly $70 billion for immigration enforcement and highlights a GOP caucus continuing to endorse Trump's immigration agenda as Democrats warn Congress has ceded its oversight role.

06/10/2026

Few things are more feared than a diagnosis. Now people living with the condition are fighting against damaging and demanding proper medical .

When Maxine Linnell, 78, a retired psychotherapist living in Leicestershire, learned that she had dementia four years ago, the diagnosis proved less challenging than some people’s reactions.

“What was striking was how many people’s attitudes changed almost immediately … they stop seeing you as a person and see only dementia, some professionals included. Like this is the end and everything after will be devastating.” https://buff.ly/4qh2pMs via The Guardian

Few things are more feared than a dementia diagnosis. Now people living with the condition are fighting against damaging stereotypes and demanding proper medical support

06/09/2026

Republicans backed away from one of the most pieces of their overhaul Monday, language that would have family from as paid .

The change, which was made less than a week after the restriction was added to House Bill 795, came as state lawmakers on Monday heard repeated warnings that Ohio doesn’t have enough caregivers to replace paid family members.

Advocates also testified that removing them from the system could force some elderly and disabled Ohioans into nursing homes or other institutions. A win for unpaid family caregivers in Ohio!

Republicans removed one of the most controversial parts of Ohio's Medicaid overhaul, but disagreements remain over how to fight fraud without creating new barriers to care.

06/09/2026

The 40 plus states that expanded under the Affordable Care Act thought they knew what to expect when Republican’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act outlined last year which low-income residents might be shielded from work because they are too “medically frail.”

Last week they were hit with a big surprise with the final rule saying Medicaid recipients exempted from the employment requirements for medical frailty must prove every six months that they remain too ill to work.

“Having a work requirement for patients with cancer, frail or not, puts them in a precarious position,” said Ben Pezeshki, a primary care physician and medical director of the clinic Sequoia Quality Health in Los Angeles. “Sometimes they can’t keep a job because of their illness and if they lose their job and their coverage, then Stage 1 becomes Stage 4.”

https://buff.ly/2FsQgNb via POLITICO

Trump administration wants ill recipients to prove they can’t work every six months. Doctors, advocates and state officials wonder how.

06/08/2026

Amid allegations of fraud in ’s home healthcare system, Republican state lawmakers are considering Medicaid to members for their loved ones.

Republican suspicion of payments for family caregivers is now reflected in the anti-fraud legislation Huffman hopes to pass before lawmakers leave for summer break on June 10.

Amid allegations of fraud in Ohio’s home healthcare system, Republican state lawmakers are considering banning Medicaid payments to family members caring for their loved ones.

06/06/2026

The Trump administration is counting on work to save the government billions of dollars. But well before the rules formally go into effect Jan. 1, they’re already-strapped millions or tens of to .

State health departments are having to funnel into hiring more staff, paying for overtime, and upgrading their aging technology systems so they can determine which low-income residents are working, volunteering, caregiving, or studying enough hours to keep their Medicaid coverage. They are also building new systems to determine who is sick enough to qualify for an exemption.

https://buff.ly/yLlWRxL

06/05/2026

After a marathon 18-hour vote, Senate Republicans advanced roughly $70 billion in for agencies that had been carved out of an earlier funding deal to the rest of the Department of Homeland Security.

The package now heads for a vote in the House of Representatives, which could happen as early as next week.

After a marathon 18-hour vote, the Senate has funded immigration enforcement. The GOP bill funds ICE and the Border Patrol for three years.

06/05/2026

Advocates for people with serious illnesses, like and , say the strict work rules that the Trump administration released this week are likely to put ongoing in jeopardy. At stake is health coverage for 68 million Americans

States must put the work requirements into effect by January 1. That was already a tight timeline, says Adrianna McIntyre, assistant professor of health policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

At stake is health coverage for 68 million low-income Americans on Medicaid, the health system jointly funded by states and the federal government.

https://buff.ly/9cmuI2r via

Adults on Medicaid will be required to work 80 hours per month. The Trump administration says people who are sick will have to prove they are too sick to work to be exempt from the new work rules.