So many of us fell into the trap! We cried tears of JOY when Obama won the election. We BELIEVED the lies about Health Care For All. We BELIEVED the Democratic Party would repair the damage 12 years of GOP rule had done to Medicaid, Medicare, Access to doctors for everyone - whether you had private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare.
We BELIEVED that children and adults would no longer have to suffer, or even die, as one 12-year old did recently, from an abscessed tooth his parents couldn't afford to have treated by a dentist, or for an antibiotic and trip to a medical doctor. We BELIEVED there would be a chance, in what's left of our lifetimes that people, who's only wrongdoing was to be born poor, or to believe in lifetime jobs and employers that would always be there, would no longer be condemned to death for lack of "ability to pay" for illnesses that would have been survivable, if there had been someone who cared enough to put their lives ahead of the bank accounts of insurance executives or of campaign donations, the next election, or the GOP talking points.
We BELIEVED and we voted for the change that was promised, but as soon as the vote was taken and we won, we lost! The hope wasn't real. It was all smoke and mirrors. The first casualty was Single Payer. The second was a Public Option! The explanation that "The Public Option would Put Insurance Companies out of business because the "Competition" the GOP worked so hard for so many years to eliminate and so many people would flock to the better way that insurance executives couldn't survive is ludicrous. But, it seems the funding of the next election is much more important than the quality of life of the "underlings".
The "Democrats" have thrown us under the bus but use phony cries of "Bipartisanship" to hide behind when the heat rises.
Obama approved a stimulus package that was supposed to, among other things, include money to cover Medicaid funding and make it available to many recently unemployed and more children. But the governors hate the idea of helping poor, sick, and disabled people so they are taking the money but using it for pet projects that have nothing to do with health and - to add insult to injury - are making drastic and dangerous and downright cruel cuts to Medicaid instead.
The following is a letter I received today. This is only an example. Now I'm certainly not concerned about Podiatry care. However, many elderly and disabled who have Diabetes need this service. Many with vascular disease do as well. Personally, I am due for eye exam and probably will need new glasses. I went more than 20 years between eye exams and glasses. Looks like I will be making due with the glasses I now have for the rest of my life. But, thank God I don't need a hearing aid.
Dear Beneficiary,
Due to Michigan's budget problems, the State cannot continue to pay for some Medicaid covered services. These changes are a result of Executive Order 2009-22. This letter applies to all adult Medicaid beneficiaries in the household who are age 21 and older. This letter does not apply to children.
Beginning July 1, 2009, Medicaid will not pay for services from the following providers for Medicaid beneficiaries age 21 and older.
Chiropractors - all services provided by a Chiropractor will not be covered.
Podiatrists - all services provided by a Podiatrist will not be covered.
Vision Services - routine eye exams, eye glasses, contact lenses, and other vision supplies and services will not be covered. Eye exams will be covered if you hurt your eye or have an eye disease.
Hearing Aid Dealers - hearing aids will not be covered. If a hearing aid has already been ordered for you, Medicaid may still pay for it. You should check with your hearing aid provider to find out if Medicaid will still pay for your hearing aid.
Dentists - dental services will only be covered for emergencies (treatment of pain or infection). Routine dental exams, cleanings, fillings, dentures, or other non-emergency services will not be covered. If you have dental work that has been started, but not completed (such as dentures), Medicaid may pay to finish the work after July 1, 2009. Your dentist's office will know whether the services you need are ones that Medicaid will cover.
Medicaid will still pay for your doctor's visits, hospital services, nursing home care, medicines, and many other services.
If you have questions about this letter and are enrolled in a Medicaid Health Plan, call Member Services at your plan. If you are not enrolled in a health plan, you may call the Beneficiary Helpline toll-free at 1-800-642-3195.
If your services were ended because of this Medicaid change due to the Executive Order 2009-22, you do not have a right to a hearing.
If you believe your services were ended for a reason other than this change, you may request a hearing. Hearing requests must be made in writing to the State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules within 90 calendar days of the date of this notice. The written hearing request must be signed by you or an authorized person and include you or your authorized person's name, address, and telephone number.
capitol commons building • 400 South Pine • Lansing, Michigan 48909-7979 www.michiqan.gov • 1-800-642-3195
B 09-03
How ironic that the Governor's health care, eyeglasses, hearing aid (if she uses one), chiropractic services, and dental care, medical, hospital, and drug services, etc, are all paid for, by the taxpaers of the state of Michigan, who cannot pay for these services themselves, or for their children. So she can put the funds from the stimulus package meant for Medicaid into extremely life threatening projects such as painting fake bricks into the crosswalks, funding ice sculpture contests, beaitification projects around the state, or making plans to sell the Great Lakes' water rights to the highest bidder, much like the "governor" of Indiana sold the state highway system to foreign investors at the expense of hoosiers across that state.
We got punked! We, or at least I, believed in the silver lining for just a little while. But it was all a lie!
All is was was talk! A Pipe dream! And it's all over! We will have wealth care for millionaires insurance executives and suffering and slow, painful death for those left behind.
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