In 2004, I broke my neck and became a quadriplegic. I was 24 years old and completely paralyzed below my shoulders. Without Medicaid, I wouldn’t have survived those early years — let alone gone on to earn a law degree. But I also wouldn’t have stayed poor as long as I did.

That’s the problem with how Medicaid currently works for people with disabilities. To keep Medicaid, you often have to stay below poverty-level income and asset thresholds. Want to work? You risk losing your coverage. Want to save for a car? Not so fast.

We need a Medicaid model that guarantees coverage for vulnerable populations and recognizes both the dignity of independence and the value of work. Here’s my proposal: shift the primary responsibility for funding Medicaid to the states, while the federal government rei

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