Living at the Whim of Bureaucracy

Tonight I decided to listen to the State of the Union, can’t explain why, just did.  So much talk about how wonderful our economy is and how the tax breaks have helped many.  There were the prerequisite feel-good stories, some which left me with more questions such as the police officer who adopted a drug-addicted homeless woman’s baby. I wondered if the mother was helped too. I looked the story up, the woman is still homeless – living in a tent.

Then came the military spending. as a mother of a veteran I would have no qualms if the additional money went to help our soldiers, again my thoughts turned to what we could do for those least fortunate here at home with $598.5 billion (2015 figure). Could we end homelessness, improve our schools, provide medical care for all.

Again, I heard God mentioned many times.  Most Christians follow the new testament and the teachings of Jesus.  In Matthew 25:40 it reads “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these my brethren, you did for me’.  Catholic school sticks with you. 🙂

So did I hear tonight how those with the ability to help those least able to help themselves were going to provide that help?  If you call increasing technical schools (which you will need money to attend), then I guess I heard one solution.

Let me tell you a story. I was born with Muscular Dystrophy and for the majority of my life didn’t need any special medical costs. Six years ago I had to start relying on a wheelchair and today must fully rely on that chair for all mobility.  I have Medicare to cover my medical needs. Every five years I can submit a claim for a piece of equipment and (was told) it would be approved.  How it works is if I needed a wheelchair, and a lift to move me to that wheelchair the insurance would pay for one and I’d have to wait five years to receive the other.

Those of us who need appliances to move around our homes figure out the costs of each and then pay out of pocket for the lower priced item, if we can afford it.  If you receive Medicare due to a disability you can only earn a limited amount of income before you lose your insurance so saving money for appliances is difficult, and we can’t afford to lose our insurance because having a “pre-existing” problem the cost of purchasing insurance would be sky high.

 

I didn’t not submit a claim on the fifth year but after six my wheelchair stopped working and was becoming more expensive to repair and unreliable if I wanted to keep living independently.  I started the process in June 2017, completed all the required appointments (doctor, physical therapist and home inspection) by the end of August. Medicare denied my claim stating I hadn’t proved I needed a wheelchair.  So began the appeal process.

If I have the existing chair repaired the appeal process will be permanently denied. So I wait.

I wonder if the booming stock market is worth my being trapped in my home for the last four months? How would any one in Congress feel if they could trade places with me?