The Importance of Preserving Medicaid

[Carolyn Marie]

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/09/06/807641/why-medicaid-matters-for-gay-and-transgender-communities/

Carolyn Marie

[Bulldog1948]

Carolyn

Thank you so much for posting this most important article.

The sheer importance of the Medicaid program can not be understated to the trans community. It is a "life saver" to many of us; myself included.

Ah yes, shame on me- I am on Medicaid and if I wasn't I would probably end up dying a whole lot sooner. I have COPD, CHF and also get my T through this program. And, within the past few months I have been able to get my night time oxygen machine and then my day time outfit so I can breathe when I' am out working and doing things. Yes, I do beleive in working but it's a bear when you can not breathe. I figured up my medicine costs at about 600.00 a month and that doesn't include the oxygen costs. I am not at home now, but when I get home I will give an exact figure not including the OXY costs as I have no idea of what it costs; but I know it isn't cheap. Then there is also my intersex issues, so this just adds more fuel to the coverage fire.

You see, due to my prior medical history of a heart attack, stroke and 2 bouts with the Big C- NO insurance company would touch me. I did try and it was a flat out NO!!!!!!!! from them.

I do a spend down, so my Medicaid is not a free bee. I just Thank God each and every day that I do have medical coverage. So, I will fight to keep Medicaid coverage for any and all of those who so desperately this medical safety net.

I have revealed more about myself then I had planned on, but sometimes it is necessary in order to get ones point accross.

Mike

[Carolyn Marie]

Thanks so much for sharing some of your personal story, Mike. It really brings these issues alive in ways that statistics never can. You are a very brave and determined man, and you have my respect and admiration.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

[Ravin]

I live in Arizona where they've kicked as many people off medicaid as they could. My girlfriend makes too much money working part time at walmart to qualify. My legal spouse and I and the kids have it at the moment, but because we're both students they may drop one of us at the next review--hopefully me as I can get student loan increases to cover necessary medical expenses, but DH as an undergrad can't. People without kids are pretty well screwed, which includes most trans folks, especially young ones. Also they cover as little as they can get away with. It's scary, and disproportionately impacts GLBT people.

[Guest LizMarie]

Soapbox time... medicaid and medicare need to be preserved but they cannot be preserved with things as they are now. It's not the idea of medicare or medicaid that is the problem, it's the entire messy system we've constructed over the last 40 years or so that is causing prices to rise 9% per year while GDP grows at 1-2% per year. That sort of "growth" just can't continue. People complain about "free market" pricing but look at SRS. Everyone told me that it would cost me $75,000 or more, based on how they understood existing insured care costing. Then I showed them sites like Dr. McGinn, Dr. Leis, Dr. Bowers and they were stunned. "How can they do this for $20,000 to $30,000"?

Recently I watched an episode of Capital Accounts on YouTube. You can look them up there, They have a channel. A recent show was about the problems in the medical system and included an interview with Dr. Kevin Smith, co-owner of a surgery center (not trans, just general surgery) in Oklahoma City. They are a cash only operation and their prices are lower (often far lower) than so many other places that even Canadians come down there for surgery. He explained some of the perverseness of the existing system. Why does the hospital charge you so much then settle for less from the insurer? Two reasons. First, the hospital claims the unpaid difference as a "loss" and second, that loss then gets partially reimbursed by the government anyway. So the more they charge, the higher the loss and the higher the government reimbursement. What this shows is that this problem is not "Obamacare" which had good intentions. Instead, this problem has been going on for decades and is systemic. Obamacare didn't cause these kinds of problems so claims that repealing Obamacare fixes anything are false.

To fix the healthcare system requires removing these sorts of subsidies that directly encourage inefficiency and it requires removing anti-trust exemptions that have been granted to health care over the last 60 or so years. Remove those two things and health care prices would fall dramatically, and Medicare and Medicaid could continue to exist, covering even more people, while spending even less in total.

Unfortunately, the Republicans refuse to talk about this, and only a few Democrats dare talk about this because too many other Democrats support the bloated healthcare bureacracy because of the "jobs" it provides (never mind the cost of these jobs).

Ok, enough soapboxing for now.

[Guest DanD]

almost jumped off-topic by straying a slight bit, nevermind that...

If there were no medicaid i would have died years ago, and its not even a question, or a guess, i would have.

I know how to do a budget and im not stupid about money. I know how to handle a checkbook.

Our govt doesnt know how to handle a checkbook or stick to a budget. and I wouldnt mind that that if the things that hurt our budget were necessities for the people or the country. we need road, we need schools, we need police, and firemen, and medical care sometimes too.

But you see them going on vacations galore, and blow tons and tons of money as if it were not hurting a damn thing or a single person, then they dont have anythiung left and blame it on the people who werent even at their stupid party.

When youre hurting for money, you do not go out and write more rubber checks because youre depereesed because you dont have anything. you dont go out and get tons of useless nonsense on your credit cards, because you know you cant afford those things. but its ok, we'll just print up more mo9ney! they say and that has NEVER EVER worked, it only devalues the dollar down to nothing and thats something you do not want either.

in 1966 Johnson signed a bill that lets them take money from the Social Security accounts for things that have nothing to do with social security... it became the Federal Govt's "Petty Cash" fund. businesses often have petty cash in the offices, to pay for stupid little things they often dont want on the books.

Its Taxation without representation, and its unconstitutional and should be illegal, and discontinued. they had surplus of extra money in the fund before they gave themseves permission to syphon all they want from it at whim, adn no accountablitily for it.

even still they have found billions of dollars extra in the Social Security funds every few years or so, since reagan got in. they found extra money at differen times, found it three time while clinton was in whe whit ehouse4, found about 4 billion extra in there when bush was in too. so then what they do it they have a meeting about it and decide what to do with it, like they got holes in their pockets so they can t just let it sit there like its supposed to do.. they vote on it, and viola! they give themselves a big raise of course then take anothert 6 month vacation on the US tax payers.

funny how they can find millions and even billions to do campaigning for themselves but they cant figure out how to keep medicare going or medicaid going, and pardon my cynicism when i dont believe they even want to. ths new Obamacare thing is crap, its got very little to do with actually providing medical needs for anyone in a realisitc plane. if you give donkeyrap a nice name everyone will be buying it. I'm rather worried and depressed about the whole situation. the obamacare laws not only deal with a lame excuse for a medical peorgram but also reach into everyone's medical care and every doctors office too.

it is rationed care with the bottom line being the main purpose. Nobody i know has bothered to read it or tried to, but everyone pretends to know it all, which is foolish. I find it very troubling that these new halthcare laws limit the total per year per person to $10,000, and its less as you get older. If you got cancer or need surgery ten thousand doesnt go very far.

and basicly, i missed out on my chance to have the rest of my surgery done. I could have got it all done anytime in the 1990s or even most the 2000's.

i talk about medicare the same time as i talk about medicaid, because some of us rely on both those, and they are supposed to work together.

I feel sorry for the states because they run on a 6 year budget and the feds run on a 4 year budget. o they do something on one level and the states adjust to cover the slack, but then midway thru that, feds go around again and change everyhting on them again, so then the states have to do things but they didnt even contemplate it, now they have to implement more changes. Its like playing a bard game but everytime you go around the rulles change.

anyway i also hate politics. i just have to learn all i can and roll with the punches and try to stay alive, no matter what they do to make it hard and mess things up for everyone.

[JJ]

It has really surprised me how little paperwork and red tape there has been for me to get on medicare and medicaide. Not have I had one moments problem with them so far.

I feel that if something went wrong medically I wouldn't have to die now. For the first time in almost 15 years because before with Lupus I could not get insurance. Period. At any price. And until I was on Social Security from age and Medicare the hurdles to get on disability Medicaide were formidable. In fact I was told I had too many assets for disability and had to wait till those assets were gone-which can happen in a hurry with medical costs though that only played a part in my case-before I could get any kind of assistance.

For most Americans from what I have read, there are serious health problems by the time they are on Medicare or Medicaide that could have been avoided or treated much less expensively had they had access to medical care and treatment earlier. Medicare gets slammed when people turn 65 and can at last get help.

Johnny

[Guest MsGsptlsnz]

Medicaid has become my medigap policy for my medicare A and B. It works great for me. I make very few copays. All I need to do is pick up the Medicare Part B cost and I've got the best insurance in America. What I don't get is why we can't just kick the Medicare contribution up to where everyone is paying in enough to put the whole country on Medicare. The private insurance industry can provide Medigap policies and still earn their filthy lucher, I mean legitimate profits... Medicaid can exist to provide the Medigap for those who are below a certain income level.

Next problem...