Boston Disability Board Hears PCA Funding Warnings, Votes to Adjourn to December

BOSTON -- October 22, 2025, Boston's Disability Advisory Board hears warnings of federal Medicaid cuts threatening the state's $2 billion Personal Care Attendant program. Justin Graceffa, vice chair of the Massachusetts PCA Workforce Council and an 18-year PCA program consumer, told the board that federal funding is "under attack" and that every council meeting is dominated by talk of upcoming cuts, which could reduce services for the roughly 45,000 Massachusetts consumers with disabilities who rely on PCAs. Graceffa also described a new $3.25-per-hour complex care pay differential taking effect in January 2026 for PCAs supporting consumers with the most intensive needs, and warned that a new MassHealth rule ending retroactive back-pay for PCAs hired before paperwork is formally processed will create service delays. Dan Rosengard, Executive Director of Transportation for Boston Public Schools, reported morning on-time bus performance at a record-high 89 percent, but acknowledged uncovered trips have risen from 0.16 percent to 0.48 percent due to delayed bus deliveries and tariff-related parts shortages, with 47 to 76 students with disabilities daily still going without their required bus monitor out of roughly 3,000 who need one.