Fred Riccardi, President of the Medicare Rights Center, issued the following statement in response to HHS’s recent announcement.

New York, NY — Just as you cannot slash billions from Medicaid or close Social Security field offices without harming older adults and people with disabilities, you cannot curtail CMS capacity, dismantle the Administration for Community Living—the only federal agency charged with maximizing the independence, well-being, and health of older adults, people with disabilities, their families, and their caregivers—or otherwise weaken critical HHS programs, services, and functions without causing irreparable damage.