Today's Wall Street Journal has two articles that, combined, point out what persons with disabilities have to face in regards to health care, even under the health care reform.
In the article, "Defining ‘Essential’ Care", http://on.wsj.com/gsFPE6, it’s made clear that "essential" means one thing to regulators and another to persons with disabilities. In these cases, the private insurers get to determine what is essential. Anything that doesn't fit into that definition will not be covered. When you realize the low expectations that people have of persons with disabilities and the perception of low quality of life, this is incredibly frightening. Right now, our options are pretty limited to impoverishing ourselves and going on Medicaid.
That brings us to the second article, "Governors Scramble to Rein in Medicaid", http://on.wsj.com/exfTNH, which addresses the pressures that state governments face in regards to Medicaid costs. Since the only option for persons with disabilities has been to impoverish ourselves to go on Medicaid, how do you expect these cuts to affect us?
It is really time for a radical change in disability policy. If this doesn't happen soon, persons with disabilities will just have to go into nursing homes and other institutional settings, causing an even further drain on budgets. So much for equality.
Annette Bourbonniere
401-846-1960
Fax: 401-846-1944
Twitter: @AccessInclude
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