By: Jeremy Lindenfeld

There is not much Josh Lockwood-Wewer loves more than Disney. The affable 33-year-old speaks almost exclusively in the voices of his favorite characters: Mickey Mouse, the Muppets’ Kermit the Frog and, above all, Goofy. He has watched The Lion King nearly every day since its 1994 release — well over 5,000 times, according to his mother. His family moved from Maryland to Anaheim, California, when he was in his early 20s just to be closer to Disneyland.

As an adult with severe autism, Lockwood-Wewer depends on around-the-clock support from multiple aides. His caregivers prepare his meals and watch as he eats to make sure he doesn’t choke. They drive him everywhere from doctor’s appointments to his favorite restaurant, a fast food joint called Paul’s Place where he orders two chicken tenders every time. And they administer his regimen of a dozen daily medications to control his psychosis, depression and anxiety.

Lockwood-Wewer can only afford that support thanks to publicly funded programs — In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and the Regional Center of Orange County — that fully cover his in-home care and community-based services, which would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.

But that funding may soon be at risk under a proposal by Republican lawmakers that could slash as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade. Cuts of that magnitude would impact millions across the country and could be especially debilitating to low-income people with disabilities like Lockwood-Wewer, according to Beth Martinko, his mother and primary caretaker. She is one of many health care advocates who are now pressuring Republican lawmakers across the country to vote against Medicaid cuts that could be devastating for families and politically unpopular.

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