Item 1: "I Can't Walk. What Job Am I Going to Get?" Nebraska's Medicaid Work Rules Hit a Cancer Patient
KFF Health News and NPR report that Eli McCreary of Omaha, newly diagnosed with kidney cancer, was told by a hospital he had lost Medicaid, and later that it was because of a work requirement. Nebraska, the first state to enforce the work rules since May 1, says he actually aged into Medicare at 65 and the rules were not the reason. Advocates say enrollees are confused and call-center waits nearly doubled.
Why it matters to our community: even when the state says the rules weren't the cause, a sick man cancelled a CT scan. Most states start this January 1. Source: KFF Health News, Nov. 10, 2026.
Item 2: SSA Pulls the Plug on Training for 900 Benefits Counselors
Sens. Warner and Kaine and Rep. McClellan wrote SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano after SSA declined on Oct. 2 to extend its contract with Virginia Commonwealth University for the National Training and Data Center and ordered work halted. It supports more than 900 benefits counselors in 74 WIPA projects, and Congress appropriated $23 million for the program in fiscal 2026.
Why it matters to our community: these counselors help SSDI and SSI recipients work without losing benefits by mistake. Source: Sen. Mark Warner's office, Nov. 9, 2026.
Item 3: Missouri Gets a Reprieve After the "Medically Frail" Ruling, With a Catch
KCUR reports Judge Richard Stearns ruled CMS improperly narrowed who counts as medically frail, which attorneys say could affect more than 100,000 Missourians. He upheld some restrictions, including rejecting frailty proof if the diagnosis is over a year old, and the administration has signaled it wants to appeal.
Why it matters to our community: the exemption exists on paper; the fight is over how hard we must work to prove it. Source: KCUR, Nov. 9, 2026.
Item 4: Law Firm Says Don't Expect DOJ to Get Tougher on ADA Anytime Soon
Seyfarth Shaw's ADA Title III blog expects no new Title III regulations and no sudden return to aggressive DOJ enforcement in the administration's remaining two years, after attorneys left the Civil Rights Division. It says advocates can still gather complaints for a future administration.
Why it matters to our community: file your ADA complaints anyway. A record built now matters later. Source: ADA Title III (Seyfarth Shaw), Nov. 9, 2026.
Mr. Wheels take
Talking point: a work requirement is a paperwork test, and disabled people fail paperwork tests that have nothing to do with ability.
Take action: call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask your senators to demand SSA's answers on the WIPA training cut. If you're on Medicaid, check your exemption status now.
Real voices. Real impact. Real change. — Mr. Wheels