In his fiscal 2026 budget proposal, Governor Wes Moore recently called for a $200 million reduction in funding for the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). If you witnessed the unprecedented denials and other actions taken by the Department of Health (MDH) over the last twelve months, it will not surprise you that individuals in the Self-Directed service model (SDS) are targeted for the brunt of these cuts, with proposed reductions of Reasonable & Customary wages and a rescission of wage exceptions effectuated in new “documentation standards” in the new Self-Direction Manual(November 2024).
In testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on January 16, 2025, MDH-DDA implied that the $500 million increase in DDA spending over the past two years was due mainly to the growing popularity of Self-Directed Services (SDS). However, DDA’s discussion of provider overpayments and other accounting missteps in the transition to LTSSMaryland, combined with an accelerated rate increase in fiscal 2024, painted a more accurate picture in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee briefing held January 23, 2025. Links to these meetings can be found below.
Self-Direction (SDS) provides significant cost savings to the state, while also supporting your right to self-determination and to live where and with whom you want to live—and to receive support from the people you choose. MDH data provided to lawmakers shows that in FY 2024, average Self-Directed budgets were funded $10,737 (5%) less, and expenditures were $23,859 (20%) lower, in comparison to the other service model. DDA’s total fiscal 2024 expenses would have been nearly $86.7 million dollars higher without Self-Directed Services.
As lawmakers begin to unpack the budget issues that MDH-DDA has presented to them, each of us must put a human face to the cost of $200 million in proposed cuts. As we’ve experienced, DDA is already implementing widespread denials, reductions of SDS wages, and many more restrictions in this current fiscal year—if we can’t convince lawmakers to support us, it’s only going to get worse.
Mark your calendars for the dates below. Visit the SDAN website and view our training meetings on creating your personal one-pager and building relationships with lawmakers for effective advocacy. Reach out to your elected officials and tell them why you chose SDS and how proposed funding cuts and MDH-DDA’s newly repressive policies are eroding the services you need. It will take all of us to ensure that massive cuts do not disproportionately hurt individuals who self-direct their DDA services.