Maryland pauses developmental disability wage cuts the day before they were set to start

Maryland told community providers and families to warn staff that developmental-disability wages would drop on July 1. Maryland Matters reported that on June 30 those cuts were postponed, leaving people who had already delivered the bad news trying to explain a reversal.

The wage reductions are part of a $126 million cut in state funds to the Developmental Disabilities Administration, which runs the Medicaid waiver serving about 19,000 Marylanders. The package includes lower community provider rates, the end of some pay bumps for self-directed staff, and limits on hours when family members are the paid workers. Some of those changes need federal approval before they can start.

Disability Rights Maryland said the new self-direction budget method, and the state’s plan to pay financial-management costs directly, are now aimed at January 1, 2027. The state health department has said wages and provider rates can stay at June 30 levels until the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services acts on the waiver amendment. CMS has 90 days to review.

The delay is not a repeal. Families who spent June planning for a smaller paycheck are being asked to plan again, on a later date, with the same cuts still on the table.