🎙️ Medicaid Musical Chairs: What Happens When the Music Stops?

Guest: Karen Korotzer, CEO of ARC Oneida-Lewis

At Finding Common Ground, CDPAP was a spark—but not the full story. That crisis reminded us how fragile our systems really are. What brought people to our platform wasn’t just one bad policy, it was the toxic mindset behind it, and the fear that mindset would spread. Families needed a safe space to process how it was affecting them. Together, we created that space—a community where people uplift one another, even if their views don’t always align, because we know how to find our common ground and honor where our values overlap.

We are carrying that same energy, strategy, and determination into every system that touches our lives. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on Medicaid’s shifting foundation and what happens when the music stops for those who rely on it most.

Special guest Karen Korotzer, CEO of ARC Oneida-Lewis, joins Heather and Steve for a candid, eye-opening conversation about how disability services have survived—not because of strong systems, but often in spite of them. With federal Medicaid reforms looming and New York’s long history of budget manipulation, this episode breaks down what’s really happening behind the scenes and why families should never be gaslit into silence.

We asked families: “What keeps you up at night?” The answer echoed loudly: caregivers. Whether it’s a professional who chose this work or an unpaid family member doing it out of love, caregivers are undervalued, unsupported, and trapped in a system that labels them essential while treating them as expendable. It’s time we call caregiving what it is: a profession that deserves Department of Labor recognition, an occupational code, and real protections that reflect real respect for this honorable career.

Karen doesn’t just describe the problem—she shares real examples of what’s working, what’s broken, and what comes next:

• Why Medicaid “reform” always sounds better on paper
• How the disability sector survives on budget scraps and why that must change
• What really keeps DSPs in the field (hint: it’s not just the paycheck)
• Why exhausted parents often make the most powerful advocates
• What you can do right now to shape what happens next

If you’ve ever found out about a major policy shift after it was already decided—without your input—this episode is for you.

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