Local agencies are concerned services to their clients could be drastically reduced if cuts are made to the Medicaid program by President Donald Trump’s administration.

About 3.9 million Illinoisans are enrolled in Medicaid. Of that total, 44 percent of Medicaid recipients are children, 9 percent are seniors, and 7 percent are adults with disabilities, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. More than 72 million people are covered by Medicaid across the entire country.

House Republicans in their efforts to pay for Trump’s tax cuts have called for cutting the federal government’s share of Medicaid spending. It could cut between $72 billion and $190 billions of federal funding from 2026 to 2034.

“We’re very concerned. We don’t see what the path is right now,” Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities CEO Josh Evans said. “And so, our mission is to continue to educate our members of Congress that this is not just a program that is ripe with payments, it’s serving people.”

IARF is an association of community-based providers that serve children and adults

with intellectual and developmental disabilities and serious mental illnesses in Illinois. Community providers focus on inclusion in a smaller community that offers more independence when providing care and some community providers help their residents find employment.

Matthew Lanoue, director of development for Corner Stone Services in Joliet, said cuts would be detrimental to the communities the agency serves.

“People on disabilities really depend on Medicaid,” he said.

Last year, Cornerstone, which also has offices in Kankakee and South Holland, served more than 1,000 people with disabilities, provided homes to more than 200 homeless and found jobs for 172 jobless.

Cornerstone Services provides progressive, comprehensive services to people with disabilities promoting choice, dignity and the opportunity to live and work in the community, according to its Web site. Since 1969, Cornerstone has met the needs of people with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.

Lanoue said if cuts are made, it will be a complicated process as it is not known which programs would be on the chopping block. But he said it would not mean an end to Cornerstone.

“It is something we are concerned about,” he said. “The continued resolution (passed by Congress) does keep things in place, but we are in talks with state legislators like (Dick Durbin and Lauren Underwood) and they are doing everything they can.”

Lanoue noted Cornerstone relies heavily on Medicaid funding for its clients.

“About 71 percent of our budget comes from Medicaid operated by the state,” he said. “Approximately 100 percent or 1,500 of the people we serve are on Medicaid.”

Since some private insurance companies manage Medicaid, Lanoue said it creates confusion in some people.

“There are people on Medicaid, and they don’t even realize they are using Medicaid,” he added. “People need to be aware of where their insurance is coming from.”

Likewise, Riley Spreadbury with Disability Resource Center, a Center for Independent Living serving Will and Grundy counties in Joliet, said it is an uncertain time as the agency also receives state and federal funding.

“The services and resources we provide directly are free, but our referrals are for services that are covered by Medicaid,” said Spreadbury, an independent living advocate. “This would be a big issue with people we are serving.”

Spreadbury adds, “It is likely the services we refer our consumers to, will be cut.”

Every month, the Disability Resource Center helps 1,000 people who are predominantly low income and rely on Medicaid for their insurance. Spreadbury said the agency has less than 20 employees and they are stretched to the limit.

“We don’t know how to prepare for this, but we are trying now to tap into services that might not be cut,” she explained.

The Disability Resource Center provides services such as housing referrals, sharing key independent living skills, disability, deaf and visual impairment services. They also provide referrals for in-home care vocational rehabilitation services and other programs available at local agencies, like Cornerstone.