29 months in limbo
I got a call from a panicky woman the other day, not knowing what to do about her mother, who is 53 years old, very ill and has lost her health care.
Once I calmed her down a little, I got the story. Her mother finally got Social Security Disability three years after she stopped working because of serious vascular problems and other health issues.
A few days after her first check arrived, she got another letter saying her Medicaid was cut off because her income from disability put her $39 over the income limit.
The letter said she will be eligible for Medicare in two years.
It’s a little glitch in the system that leaves thousands and thousands of people who can’t work because of a health problem without any access to health care.
Elizabeth Lunsford, who I met yesterday, has stopped taking some of her medications because she can’t afford them. She needs a heart catheterization and a bone density test. She also needs a colonoscopy because her first one found pre-cancerous polyps and she should have one every year.
But she can’t afford any of it because of a little-known law that makes people wait five months after approval to get their first disability check and another 24 months after that to become eligible for Medicare.
Part of the reason this happens is because Medicaid — the federal insurance plan that covers people with little or no income — has lagged behind cost-of-living increases by the Social Security System.
Historically, disability income was below the threshhold for Medicaid eligibility, but because Medicaid is administered by the states, it’s up to them to set income eligibility and they haven’t kept the same pace as disability benefits.
Now, most people get less than $1,000 a month in disability. If they have a spouse who’s working and insured, the two-year gap isn’t a huge problem.
Nor do people who have never been able to work for whatever reason.
But people like Elizabeth, who has worked hard all her life, sometimes 16 hours or more a day to provide for her family, get left without any health care for two years.
Elizabeth’s daughter, Angel Taylor, doesn’t have a computer so she can search for help for her mother. The only thing she could think of to do was to call the newspaper.
There are bills before Congress now to eliminate the two-year gap; most people don’t know why it was put there in the first place.
But no one is really pushing the bills. I guess they’re hoping it will get fixed when health care reform comes up.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Lunsford and tens of thousands of others are waiting, without access to health care for their serious health problems. Many will die. Unless something changes, Elizabeth likely will be one of them.
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
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