Some 17,800 people with disabilities in Virginia's 5th District were on Medicaid in 2025, and John McGuire voted twice in 2025 for H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; its work requirement, starting by January 1, 2027, applies to Medicaid expansion adults and exempts among them those who are disabled as the law defines it.
In February and April 2025, McGuire's votes also decided the fate of the budget resolution, which demanded $880 billion in savings from the committee in charge of Medicaid. The home and community-based services that let disabled Virginians live in their own homes, services 14,422 Virginians were already waiting for in 2026, are optional for states and more exposed to cuts when budgets tighten.
John McGuire's Votes on Medicaid for People With Disabilities
- Disabled Adults in Medicaid's Expansion Group Need a Verified Work-Rule Exemption Under the Law McGuire Voted For in 2025. McGuire's May 22, 2025 vote helped the House version pass 215 to 214, and on July 3, 2025 John McGuire voted for the final law, which cleared 218 to 214. Adults in Medicaid's expansion group must show 80 hours a month of work or similar activity unless an exemption applies, among them for a person "who is blind or disabled (as defined in section 1614)," one "with a disabling mental disorder," one "with a serious or complex medical condition" and one "with a physical, intellectual or developmental disability that significantly impairs their ability to perform 1 or more activities of daily living." The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expects that under the requirement "enrollment would be reduced by 2.3 million individuals in FY 2027."
- Home Care for Disabled Virginians Grows More Exposed to Cuts After the Budget Plan McGuire's Deciding Votes Adopted in 2025. On February 25, 2025, H.Con.Res. 14 passed 217 to 215 with McGuire voting yes, and on April 10, 2025 its final version passed 216 to 214 with his vote again; either time, his vote alone switching would have meant a tie, and a resolution that ties fails. For the ten-year budget window, the committee responsible for Medicaid was told to "reduce the deficit by not less than $880,000,000,000". Medicaid's home and community-based services, which let people with disabilities stay out of institutions, are "largely an optional Medicaid benefit," and the Bipartisan Policy Center says that status makes them "more vulnerable to reductions during periods of state or federal budget constraints"; many policy experts expect the law to "slow or reverse recent HCBS expansion efforts" in the states.
What John McGuire's Votes Mean for Virginians With Disabilities
- McGuire's votes cut the Medicaid program that 17,800 disabled people in his district rely on. KFF's 2025 district data count 17,800 Medicaid enrollees with disabilities in Virginia's 5th District, part of 169,200 people on Medicaid there. Their wheelchairs, therapy, personal care aides and prescriptions are paid in part with the federal Medicaid funds the law reduces.
- 14,422 Virginians on the home care waiting list face longer odds as Medicaid budgets tighten. In KFF's 2026 survey, 14,422 people in Virginia were waiting for a slot in a Medicaid home and community-based services waiver. These optional services are more exposed to cuts when budgets shrink, so people already in line for an aide or job coaching stand to wait longer or go without.
Frequently Asked Questions About John McGuire on Disability rights
What is John McGuire's record on disability rights under Trump?
John McGuire voted for the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in May 2025, a vote it needed to pass, and for the final law in July, which puts Medicaid expansion adults under a work requirement whose disability exemptions states verify under the CMS rule. Federal Medicaid officials project 2.3 million fewer enrollees in fiscal year 2027 under the requirement. In February and April 2025 his decisive budget votes handed the committee over Medicaid, the program that pays for home care for people with disabilities, an $880 billion savings target.
Are disabled people in Virginia exempt from the Medicaid work rules John McGuire voted for?
The law John McGuire voted for on July 3, 2025 applies the 80-hour monthly rule to Virginia's Medicaid expansion adults, and among them it exempts several groups: anyone disabled under section 1614, anyone whose disability significantly impairs daily activities, anyone with a disabling mental disorder, and anyone whose medical condition is serious or complex. Under the CMS rule, the state must first try to verify those exemptions from information it already holds. Virginia must start the requirement "no later than January 1, 2027," and KFF counts 60,700 expansion adults on Medicaid in Virginia's 5th District.
How many people in John McGuire's district get Social Security disability, and what did his vote do to the program?
In December 2024, 22,629 disabled workers in Virginia's 5th District, and 180,371 across Virginia, received Social Security disability benefits, the Social Security Administration reports, and John McGuire voted for a law that adds to the program's costs. Social Security's chief actuary estimates the law raises the cost of the combined retirement and disability program by $168.6 billion from 2025 through 2034 and moves the combined trust funds' depletion from the third quarter of 2034 to the first.
Last updated: 2026-10-27