Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008

H.R. 6331 To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to extend expiring provisions under the Medicare Program, to improve beneficiary access to preventive and mental health services, to enhance low-income benefit programs, and to maintain access to care in rural areas, including pharmacy access, and for other purposes. Read more HERE.

Intellectual Oxygen!

We're still contending with oxygen issues. I found the website Portable Oxygen tonight which incredibly informative and translates the "medi-speak" into language that is meaningful.

Pete Wilson's summation of the Medicare rules of oxygen delivery were especially informative and I believe will be very helpful to our case.

If you or anyone you know needs to learn more about O2, I highly recommend checking out Portable Oxygen!

The charges...so far.

I don't know if they'll add more charges for lack of insurance or reckless endangerment or resisting arrest or fleeing the scene of an accident...I sure hope so!

Rude Awakening by a guy who was NOT sober at any party!

Keith's PCA Ken knocked on our door at 6:30 this morning and said "I think my truck has been stolen and Ruth's car is totaled" I went outside and I was speechless. Apparently, a drunk driver had jumpe d the curb, hit the back of my car and rammed into Ken's truck with such force that it was knocked into the street. His truck wasn't stolen, it had been towed by APD. With the insulation of the house and the noise of the machines back here in bedroom, we didn't hear a thing. Here's the story from the neighbors: This guy was speeding down the street, jumped the curb, lost control and wiped out the cars. After he saw what happened, he jumped out of his car, ran down the street taking his clothes off and tried to get into his house which is just around the corner. Our neighber down the street, chased after him, grabbed him and held him for the police. The driver is booked into Travis County Jail. He has a whole slew of charges including possession of marijuana, driving while intoxicated and failure to stop and give information. Oh, yeah, he also doesn't seem to have insurance. We're waiting for Progressive to call back. Here are some photos of the damage, thank God none of us was hurt.

Oxygen deprivation

Keith got a call from Walgreen's Home Healthcare yesterday. Apparently Medicare has informed Walgreen's that only one delivery of oxygen per month will be covered. Currently, the liquid oxygen is delivered weekly.

Yeah, you heard me right, Medicare has declared that Keith can only get oxygen once a month.

Some solutions:

• Get a detailed explanation & prescription from the doctor as to why Keith needs an average of 3L/minute of liquid oxygen. [Um, because it's the only way to stay alive on this planet?]
• Fill the garage with oxygen canisters and store a highly flammable liquid during the hot Texas summer.
• Find a spare $2000/month to pay for the other 3 weeks of oxygen

Naturally we're working towards the first choice, lol.

I'll let you know what happens!

Ruth

Thank you for shopping at Mayo...

My friend Margaret  just got back from the Mayo Clinic. You can learn more about why she went on her facebook group page To Find the True Cause of My Crippling Fatigue Crazy.

Here's her report on what happened:

just prior to going to the mayo clinic, my symptoms exacerbated: i had a mylar rash, felt like i had a fever (sometimes chills, too), and once experienced warmth in my legs.

Mayo reminded me of that movie Gattica. There were no sick-looking people, or people w/ oxygen or no hair; just old people. The first physician I saw promptly told me he would not accept my saliva or other samples, indicating low sIga, b/c they were not deemed accurate. He then interrupted me as I began my symptom list and told me neither chronic fatigue or another new bodily symptom I cited "would be addressed." He then handed me a 2-year old printed-off-the-internet article (not even the Mayo article) on Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (really!?). Then he made me an appointment with the psychiatrist. Due to an emergency, he was unable to meet w/ me the following day, but a different, and very kind physician did. I asked if my new & weird symptoms had an explanation (shogren's, as my current doctor thought, Lupus, due to the rash, etc.), and he said, "yes, chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome." I asked if this meant my immune system was more susceptible, and he said, "no." I asked how I was supposed to take care of my children if I can't lift my head, and he said, "I'm so sorry." I get that there's little interest in helping tired women, but 10 vials of blood later, armed with only a high iron content and possibly a low Vitamin D level (again), they were content to send me home (kick me out). They didn't even have the results of my circadian pee test (everyone holds a GAP drawstring-looking bag w/ a jug that holds their pee in it). That was the highlight: the nurse who handed me the bag with the jug said, "Thank you for shopping at Mayo."

Health Care in Rural America

I received this HHS update newsletter today. Reading this report reminded me that as stressful and overwhelming as it has been learning about the healthcare options over the last year, we are fortunate that we are in an urban area with access to information, great support and a range of options. Keith and I are actively working to transfer our experiential information into accessible formats which will be available later this year. We are uniquely positioned to bring solutions to market and we are taking full advantage of those opportunities so that others can continue to live productive lives despite healthcare issues.

I hope you have the time to read the report, and I recommend subscribing to the HHS newsletter to learn more about what's happening at the federal level.

Ruth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services <subscriptions@hhs.gov>
Subject: Health Care in Rural America
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 8:26 AM

Dear Friend,

Today, the weak economy is hurting Americans across the country. More Americans are losing their jobs, those with employment are seeing their hours cut back, and many are losing their health care or paying more out of pocket for the care they need.  Perhaps nowhere is the economic downturn felt more than in rural America.

Our new report, Hard Times in the Heartland: Health Care in Rural America, highlights the challenges facing Americans in small communities across the country.

Hard Times in the Heartland shows how millions of Americans in rural communities are struggling as health care costs and premiums skyrocket. The report notes:

• Nearly one in five of the uninsured – 8.5 million people – live in rural areas.
• Rural residents pay on average for 40% of their health care costs out of their own pocket, compared with the urban share of one-third.
• In a multi-state survey, one in five insured farmers had medical debt.

You can read the full report by clicking here or by visiting www.HealthReform.gov.

Later today, Nancy-Ann DeParle, the Director of the White House Office of Health Reform, will be meeting with rural Americans in the fourth in a series of White House Health Care Stakeholder Discussions.  At the meeting, she will listen to the concerns of Americans living in rural areas and discuss the challenges they face in acquiring, keeping, and paying for quality health care.  You can watch the discussion live at 10:00 am ET by visiting www.HealthReform.gov.  

Hard Times in the Heartland shows us why we must pass comprehensive health reform this year. You can join the effort to make health reform a reality by clicking here and signing the Statement of Support.  By signing the statement and encouraging your friends to do the same, you are adding your voice to the thousands of Americans across the country who know we cannot wait to pass comprehensive health care reform.

Sincerely,

Jenny Backus 

Department of Health and Human Services

PS.  While you are reading the new rural health care report on the site, check out our new Health Reform quiz.  Do you know whether this country spends more on health care or food?  Click here and test your health care knowledge today.  We will be updating the quiz every day.