It is always a catch 22 because no one knows* when* a particular state or the government is going to "change the rules."
I was getting four hours a day via MediCARE (Federal) and in 1999 they decided to change the rules as to how they pay for home health agencies. To the detriment of the patient. Of course, according to the Federal government, they were making these changes to cut down on Medicare fraud. Only to make it worse than ever and run rampant! Whenever the government sticks their nose into anything it turns to sh*t. I am not eligible for Medicaid or welfare or the Medicaid waiver so I have been robbed of many hours. The other issue with me is that I never feel good unless I am warm. After moving to Arizona seven years ago I feel so much better than before when I lived in New York state. Even though New York state was better at giving me of the four hours I needed. HOWEVER ... since it was a federal change and not a state change ... going back to New York would not benefit me. I give you credit for moving to Canada where you only get about two months of what *I* would call SUMMER. The rest of the time I would be miserable unless I had a gas fireplace or wood stove to sit next to. Lori Michaelson Age - 44 C4/5 complete quad, 28 years post Tucson, AZ 2008/8/2 Dylan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > I didn't need a miracle, I just needed attendant care & housing. And here > they don't just give it to you, you have to go through a rigorous screening > process. In Fl I did all the research; either you're on medicaid waiver(the > waiting list for 2 years! and then they'd help me with 6hrs a > week(non-medical), IF I had a family member living with me and doing most of > the work. The other option was a nursing home, which gives me no life. When > I say 'don't care' I'm not talking about nurses, doctors, etc, I meant > healthcare policy makers, politicians responsible for healthcare. And > housing in Fl.. I'd be either in a home, with familly, or in a ghetto > neighborhood(necesarilly with a familly member) where I wouldn't be safe. I > don't know what you mean by 'socialized medicine', to me thats a US > political slogan to avoid a real functioning healthcare system. Here I'm > going through months of thorough evaluations and getting good housing, full > medical coverage, ac.. so if thats bad, well I'll take it over a nursing > home. One thing I will say is that my injury was in PA in '86 and I lived > there for 6yrs afterward and that state was very helpful to me and there > were similar measures in place to here. I tried to make Fl work because my > daughter lives there(I tried vr too and it was good until Geb became > governor and cut vr big time, so I'm thinking that his policies will move to > other states, alas. And if you think the medical system here somehow weakens > this economy, its just not the case. Canada's economy is at least as > functional as the US(I'm not sure whether there are differences in other > provinces). But believe me I wouldn't have left Florida if I could have just > gotten some functional care with a quality of life. A big difference I think > is that in Florida it became(after my first vr counselor was suddenly > replaced by a bearucratic ogre in '03) - everything I needed, > supplies/housing/ac - it was as if being disabled made you a leach and the > administrators weren't trying to help, but to hinder you so you'd get the > least they could do; thats the main difference, here they're actually able > to assist me to live functionally and possibly be productive. The medicaid > waiver nurse evaluater who assessed me in FL was really understanding and > nice, and she told me after finding out about my Canadian birth, that 'I > think you should move back to Canada. If I were you I would.' I'm not sure > how I even made it through 4 months of hotel beds and friends/families' > living rooms but my Dad who left his life to help me move, and I, were > desperate and willing to do whatever it took, even if it killed me. I'm a > c5/6 complete quad and I think the US is prosperous enough to give us like > 4hrs per day and a decent wheelchair-friendly apt in its housing policies. > I'm not saying every state is like Fl, because PA was very helpful to me > 20yrs ago. Truly, Dylan > > ps. I never first intended to write anything about this but when I saw that > post about 'US healthcare in crisis' I felt impulsively compeled to say > something due to my recent experience. I know there are many caring > healthcare professionals all over the US and my life has been saved by a > number of them. > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: John S. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Saturday, August 2, 2008 2:58:57 PM > Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Re: Check out our new website > > I believe it should be socialized so when someone needs a miracle, we can > dump them in Canada, like Canada does with their socialized system. If you > do not do volunteer time at a hospital or nursing home, you have no idea > what not caring really is. They just cut what doctors can get paid by > Medicare by 10%. The only doctors that care are the ones that do boob jobs > Best wishes > john > > > > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Dylan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, August 1, 2008 9:37:11 PM > Subject: [QUAD-L] Re: Check out our new website > > Yeah, they're absolutely right about US healthcare being in crisis. I > recently came back to Canada(lucky for me I have dual citizenship) and its > night and day compared to the US. The problem with petitioning down there in > my opinion is that they REALLY DON'T CARE. If there were some caring people > in power things would be done right, and judging from the evidence, caring > is furthest from their mind. Not that we shouldn't petition, just try to get > these people to have a heart. Excuse my rambling but I am shocked by the > difference between the people in healthcare here, and those in florida where > I came from. Dylan c5/6 23yrs 08/10/08 > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; > [email protected] > Sent: Friday, August 1, 2008 11:30:37 AM > Subject: [QUAD-L] Re: Check out our new website > > [image: http://www.familiesusa.org/] <http://www.familiesusa.org/> > > Dear Dana Wray, > > [image: http://ga3.org/ct/r7SxI371KYgk/] <http://ga3.org/ct/r7SxI371KYgk/>Our > brand new Stand Up for Health Care website is already making a big splash. > > Thousands of people have visited the site to learn about the health care > crisis and take action in support of guaranteed quality, affordable health > care for all. Together, we're going to make a major impact on the national > health care debate. > > But that will only happen if activists like you continue to come together > to make a strong, united call for real health care reform. > > You can do your part by signing our petition to John McCain and Barack > Obama. The petition sends a clear message that the American people will hold > the candidates accountable for improving our nation's health care system so > that no one is left out. > > Stand Up for Health Care by signing our petition right now: > > http://www.standupforhealthcare.org/signthepetition<http://ga3.org/ct/r7SxI371KYgk/> > > Looking at the comments from the thousands of petition signers so far, I > got a strong reminder of why this issue is so important for all Americans. > > Here's what some of our supporters had to say: > > "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" - these are fundamental > principles which form the basis of our Constitution. All of these aims are > dependent on access to affordable health care. > -- William from Arizona > > We need better health care for our citizens. I'm one of the lucky ones. > As a teacher I have good benefits. But many of my students and their > families aren't so lucky, and can't get the treatment that they need. > -- Meredith from Pennsylvania > > Because one is not in perfect health is no reason to deny health insurance. > After all, health insurance is for when you are sick and in need of it! > -- Jack from Oregon > > Adequate, affordable health care should be a civil right, guaranteed to all > residents of the United States. It is criminal that insurance companies can > cherry pick who they cover and what services they feel like paying for. The > frequency of bankrupcy caused by health care expenses is appalling. I > expect whoever wins the presidency to make health care a priority!!! > -- Carol from Pennsylvania > > > Join William, Meredith, Jack, Carol and thousands of others by adding your > name to our petition for quality, affordable health care for all: > > http://www.standupforhealthcare.org/signthepetition<http://ga3.org/ct/r7SxI371KYgk/> > > The movement for health care reform has been growing for years, and now the > time has finally come to get real results. > > Thank you for being part of this effort. > > Sincerely, > > Julia Eisman > eAdvocacy Coordinator > > p.s. *Special note to our longtime Health Action advocates*: We hope > you'll find the Stand Up For Health Care project exciting, but it's > important to mention that you will still receive the same legislative and > policy Health Action alerts that you are accustomed to. > > ------------------------------ > Visit the web address below to tell your friends to Stand Up for Health > Care! > [image: http://ga3.org/join-forward.html?domain=familiesusa&r=D7SxI37qvkc8] > > Tell-a-friend!<http://ga3.org/join-forward.html?domain=familiesusa&r=D7SxI37qvkc8> > > If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Families > USA <http://ga3.org/familiesusa/join.html?r=D7SxI37qvkc8E>. > > This message was sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit your subscription > management page<http://ga3.org/familiesusa/smp.tcl?nkey=wgkn7udro7dtb863&;>to > modify your email communication preferences or update your personal > profile. To stop ALL email from Families USA, click to > remove<http://ga3.org/familiesusa/remove-domain-direct.tcl?ctx=center&nkey=wgkn7udro7dtb863&;>yourself > from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in > the subject line). > > -------- > Families USA | 1201 New York Ave., NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005 > www.familiesusa.org | [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > [image: http://www.convio.com/] <http://www.convio.com/> > > > > ------------------------------ > Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews > on AOL > Autos<http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017> > . > > > > > -- Lori C4/5 complete quad, 27 years post Tucson, AZ
