Friday, June 23, 2017

#SaveMedicaid Part I

Ok.  It’s time to get real.  I usually try to gloss over some of the healthcare, and advocacy stuff, but with things as scary as they are, that may be pretty much impossible.  I made a vow when I relaunched this blog, that it would encompass ALL parts of myself, and that’s a pretty big part, regardless of how well I may hide it.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that health care is in SERIOUS danger.  The proposed “health care” bill was unveiled yesterday with the new “administration,” and let me just say, I use the term care loosely.  Take a gander at the summary and make sure you have your barf bucket nearby, as it is basically a mass murder bill.

While it’s a dumpster fire all around, I want to discuss Medicaid.  Rachel Maddow spells it out perfectly, as really Medicaid is the country’s LARGEST insurance plan and covers 74.5 MILLION people- mostly women, children and people with disabilities. SEVENTY FIVE MILLION OF THE PEOPLE WHO GOT OFF THE TITANIC FIRST.  SEVENTY FIVE MILLION.  LET THAT SINK IN.

Medicaid is NOT welfare; it is one of the best insurance plans in the country that covers things that private insurance does not cover. Things that are essential for people with any “beyond average” health needs require to be alive… or be in their community instead of a hospital.  These can include wheelchairs, life sustaining IV nutrition, assistive devices or PEOPLE to help with eating, going to the bathroom, communicating, GETTING AROUND.  You know…. Those things most people do every day without batting an eye. 

So here’s where I get real.  This is the first time in my life I have NOT had Medicaid.  I have also had private insurance.  I have a rare genetic disorder, and I rely on IV nutrition to LIVE.  I get 7 bags of IV fluid delivered to my apartment every week.  My love, Owen Reese puts this in the fridge and helps me prepare it every night.  I keep a stock of medical supplies to administer said IV (these all cost money and are not available at Walgreen's).  The cost of my daily existence is roughly between $7,000-$10,000 every two weeks, and this is when I am at my very BEST health.

I could very easily end up in the hospital for an infection because of my disease.  I get frequent Iron infusions.  I get regular bloodwork that costs $1,500.  For now, my private insurance covers most of that (MOST).  Here’s the plot twist.  I work for our state Medicaid program right now.  I can’t get into that, BUT for the sake of irony, it’s important.  IF I lost my job due to Medicaid cuts, since this new bill wants to make blood thirsty $800 BILLION cuts to Medicaid, I would NEED MEDICAID.  If one of us ever had a medical crisis, we may need in home supports to STAY IN OUR HOME.   Here’s the thing I often don’t talk about.  On paper, I am "nursing home level of care," or “hospital back up.”  I would qualify for the program I work on. What that means, is, if all of a sudden, I didn’t have the support, or the ability to care for my own medical condition as well as I do I would need to be institutionalized. Yes, I said it.

When my sister and I were little, our parents wanted to take a vacation and because our needs were too high for “respite,” (which probably was not even a covered benefit under their plan, they suggested my parents “PUT US IN A NURSING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND.”







FOR. THE. WEEKEND.  Two, young, vibrant, independent girls who happen to have a few extra steps due to their medical diagnosis.  This story still grosses me out to this day, that was even suggested as a solution.  Needless to say, my parents did not go that route, and we were fortunate to have the natural supports that we found someone to stay with us so my parents could have some grown up time. 


But I digress.

The point of this is to say, the cuts to Medicaid would be life threatening to thousands of people.  This is not “lazy people living off the government.”  Once you are over the age of 18 this is NOT AN ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM.  You have to apply for it, you have to fight for it, and you have to justify your needs over, and over again.   It is not “free money,” it is not “disability.”  It is necessary healthcare coverage so people with disabilities, and other complex medical needs can maybe be CLOSER to achieving some sort of quality of life when our society is still riddled with obscene barriers every step of the way.

When I was little, growing up, with more medical needs than my family ever thought we could handle? I WAS ON MEDICAID.  When I was in college, trying to further my education so I could have a job, and a fulfilling life as an adult? I WAS ON MEDICAID.

When I was in grad school, working in public health and operating a small business?  GUESS WHAT? I WAS ON MEDICAID.  And guess what?  I pay taxes.  I pay a lot of taxes.  If my health care coverage is taken away so that I can no longer work?  Guess what…. Then I am “living off the government.”  And the government CHOSE THAT.

This is definitely just the beginning of how I feel about this entire debacle, but I needed to begin by setting the stage.  $800 billon cuts in Medicaid is just one terrifying piece of why the proposed bill is unacceptable.


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And my story is just one of 75,000,000 that will tell you why. 
#SaveMedicaid