DAILY HEALTH CARE NEWS 1/28/2010
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Showing posts with label Medicaid Waivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medicaid Waivers. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, August 7, 2009
Mental Health Parity NOW!
Please! Mental Health Parity NOW!!!!
Mental heathcare is a disaster in The State of Tennessee. Only to get worse by the current re-certification of The Daniels Class: 140,000 More PEOPLE to be cut since Governor Bredesen received a federal waiver for to trim the working poor of Medicaid.
I want to work. I deserve to be a contributing member of society, and forgive me for saying so, but I do actually believe I do have something to contribute.
Otherwise that is a whole lot of graduate degrees in psychology and mental health law and policy down the proverbial shitter.
PUT ME TO WORK!
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
United States if America
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/
http://darknightdurant.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Work to Welfare: The Hardest Job I Never Had
Work to Welfare: The Hardest Job I Never Had
By Elyssa Durant - Feb 11th, 2009
(Previously posted online at:http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/elyssadurant)
I remember how difficult it was for me to obtain benefits when I first applied several years ago. I am deeply concerned about how the most recent decision to eradicate yet another class of TennCare / Medicaid recipients (the Daniels class made up of SSI recipients by way of a pending federal waiver) will affect the poor and disabled residents in Tennessee. Without my current level of benefits, I simply do not function.
Before my benefits were stabilized, learning to navigate the system consumed every waking moment of my life. I was unable to work or attend school on any substantial level and I am frightened to see at might happen if I were to stray from my established, stabilized, treatment plan. If I lose my benefits, will I still be able to work? To function? To be productive?
Any new public program requires careful planning if it is to be effective. Recent discussions have not focused on the true impact these changes will have on the "street-level."
Has anyone asked recipients how they feel the new program (safety- net) should be designed, implemented, or evaluated? How will this impact the community and other social service or welfare agencies??? I want access, quality, and outcomes. I want... I want... I want!!!
The massive number of people being dis-enrolled or limited in their access to medical care and other social services will no doubt create significant anxiety, confusion, and chaos for everyone involved in the social service and health care industries.
I remember when Mr. Brian Lapps was somewhere very high up on the corporate TennCare ladder in 1999 when they adjusted the prescription formulary over Memorial Day in 1999. I see Mr. Lapps quite frequently since he now works at the local gas station down the street from where I live.
To this day, he insists that cell phones and TennCare are somehow contraindicated. Perhaps he knows nothing of the population he claims to know just all-too-well... housing conditions that may or may not have electricity, broken families-some riddled with community violence and domestic disturbances. In the hood, your cell phone is your very best friend. 9-1-1.
These people plagued by domestic violence and community instability makes a cell phone the only logical option. How can you find a job with out a phone? How can you find a home with out a job? Yet even 6 years later, Mr. Lapps uses cellular phones as an example how the TennCare program is being abused by lazy, cheap, and unscrupulous second hand citizens who are just shiftless lazy bums waiting around for their next free hand-out.
Anyone who has EVER applied for or relied upon any kind of government subsidy to have their basic needs met, e.g., food, shelter, medical care, dental treatment, etc... let me personally assure you that there has never been a single time where I felt I was "pulling one over" on the government. I am not just one of the poor saps who believed what they told me they in school, I bought it hook, line, and sinker for the mere price of $179,982.00 and not a shred of financial security to show for it.
Even after consolidating my student loans, the interest alone is $10 less than my monthly income from social security.
Tennesseee is in the process of applying for yet ANOTHER federal waiver to eliminate the "Daniels" class of Medicaid recipients-- the poorest and sickest of all. SSI Recipients. Can you live on $623.00 / month? Can anyone?
So what happens now that the state of Tennessee will begin to cut off social security recipients from TennCare? I honestly do not think I can survive yet another re-certification process-- God knows the first one almost killed me. After three years of appeals, my condition had deteriorated so severely that I was forced to drop out of school, lost my home, lost my sanity, and lost hope. In short-- I lost my dignity and my belief in the social welfare system.
By the time my benefits were approved, I had already checked myself in to NYU Psych Ward because simply could not cope with the reality of what my life I had become. I weighed 94 pounds and suffered in excruciating pain that has only gotten worse with time. My extremities were ice cold, and my hands were numb since I went without medical treatment for the spinal injury that was first discovered when I was 22.
I am now 36 years old. My spinal cord is now damaged from years of delayed, sub-standard medical treatment. I owe the federal government $179,982.00 in student loans and when I am able to work, I make $10.46 / hour as a substitute teacher in an urban school district. That job comes with no security and no benefits. It does however offer the flexibility I need to receive the bi-monthly epidural injections and other procedures necessary to manage my pain and alleviate the numbness I feel because of the damage to my nerves. And even though I cannot afford the gas money to get my appointments, pay for all of my medication, or even to get back and forth to work, it does allow me a few weeks of mobility so I can drive, use my mouse or hold a pen.
I have an advanced master's degree from an Ivy League Institution. I am 12 credits shy of a PhD in public policy. And despite maintaining a 3.83 grade point average while completing an advanced masters in social and educational policy at an, "Ivy League" institution; a 3.2 GPA during the 3 years I spent working on my doctorate at a not-quite-so-prestigious Graduate School; The Powers That Beat in that damn Ivory Tower don't will not grant me any leniency by extending the amount or time permitted to complete my degree-- a rule that was changed while I was on a formal leave of absence tending to my health (and my Medicaid appeals!). Not only did they decide 8 years was the rule instead of the 10 it had been previously, I was also told that I could not even transfer the credits I had earned toward a different degree towards another program at the same institution. It has been just over ten years since I first enrolled. What a mistake that was!
The "Harvard of the South" no longer offerers the degree to which I was admitted-- and enrolled so they actually suggested that I pay for a 3rd application to the school (I was admitted into two degrees-- the MPP as well as the PhD program in a separate college) requiring two independent applications, fees, transcripts, test scores, even way back when I was still considered a promising candidate. Now "they" think it is reasonable to ask that I do it all over again??? It goes without saying that I do not have the financial resources available to finish my last semester, take the GREs or GMATs one more time, or even the money to release my transcripts from the Graduate School into any other program at the same University, I guess I am just shit out of luck.
To be clear, WE ARE ALL PAYING for that student debt because I can assure you that their endowment is far greater than any income or earning potential I have given my current financial status and student loan debt! To be clear, YOU ARE ALL PAYING to keep me on Welfare. Yes, all of us are paying some price..... We I want to work. I want to be productive. I want to be a part of something greater than myself. I want to share what I've learned.
So throughout the years I struggled to stay in school, believing somehow that social justice would prevail, and my heart and dedication towards the greater good would show through to whomever, wherever, or whatever that could make my degree worth while-- the Medicaid and disability applications managed to take front seat. So as I filed appeal after appeal after appeal, I managed to acquire well over 1/4 million (yes-- MILLION) dollars in debt due to uninsured medical expenses and student loans. Despite having 3 Major Medical insurance policies, I still went bankrupt applying for Medicaid. Morally Bankrupt.
My life will never be the same. My heart will never be the same. I want to pay my bills on time. I want to get off welfare, but no one ever taught me how to be poor.
So after all this-- now I face losing my healthcare once again? Where is the safety net? Where is the American Dream that I so diligently chased after for so many years? What was the point spending so much on an education that will never be utilized? I understand the how; I just don't understand why.
Maybe one of these days Vanderbilt University or and the Department of Education will realize it might just be cheaper to hire me that harass me, because unless I find a real paying job soon, their collections department will no longer be able to reach me on that extravagant lifeline my friend, Brian Lapps, refers to as a luxury.
If anyone on your staff would like to "trade places" with me for one month-I will gladly assume his/her responsibilities for that position if you can find a writer who is willing to endure and write about the reality of social services in our fine state. I do not want a paycheck from your organization; I just want the opportunity to put the myth of freeloading welfare mother s to rest. Live in my shoes for 30 days. Can you find the out? Can you balance my budget and make it work? Can you get the bill collectors of my back? Can you afford Internet service to file state job applications and apply for services online? Can you maintain pride and dignity without feeling the least bit sorry for yourself and the choices you have made?
When I go to the pharmacy, I am humiliated that I do not have the $3.00 necessary for the co-pay on my covered TennCare prescriptions. At least when it was $40 dollars, I was not so damn embarrassed by my lack of funds.
Remind me again why I went to school. Remind me once more why I bother to speak out. Then remind me right now that that there is somebody listening. I cannot be the only one who actually gives a crap. My contact information is listed below.
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
elyssa.durant@columbia.edu
(Former doctoral student in public policy)
___________________________________________________
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Understand Report to Admin
By Karen-Missouri Ozarks for Obama! Feb 11th 2009 at 7:48 am EST
(Updated Feb 11th 2009 at 7:48 am EST)
Your writing is very good. Have you considered writing articles and books?
I will turn 60 this summer, worked very hard to put myself through college and support my kids (ex skipped out and never paid the $52,000plus he owed for child support and of course the system never collected it either). I worked in accounting then lacked 2 courses of having my Master's but did teach for 13 years (both private post-secondary and high school).
A heart attack and 2 stents later and Type 2 diabetes...I too wonder sometimes why I spent so much on college. I now work from home with crafts, thinking about doing some writing (I did win 3rd place on a Christian writing website...that's encouraging), and live on a very tiny tiny tiny pension. Even with good insurance, I no longer take medicines or go to doctor's and for the past 3 years have been just doing all the "natural" ways...diet, less stress in my life, etc. Even with good insurance, medicines were over $100 a month...ridiculous! I have no other choice but to live life to its fullest and spend time with grandkids and pray for the best and a relatively longer life.
I ache not so much for me, but for my kids and grandchildren who have to really, really struggle right now.
I had to deal with the awful Nixon wage/price controls where the only way to get a raise was quit and get a new higher-paying one. I dealt with Reagan's so-called "trickle down" economics" and watched the greed of corporate CEOs take over this country (and we've never recovered from either president's ill-conceived policies). Notice how the Republicans always bring up Reagan but never Nixon's failed policies!
Anyway, thanks for your writing...I understand what you're talking about.
ALSO AVAILABLE:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/elyssadurant/gGxh4R/commentary
I will turn 60 this summer, worked very hard to put myself through college and support my kids (ex skipped out and never paid the $52,000plus he owed for child support and of course the system never collected it either). I worked in accounting then lacked 2 courses of having my Master's but did teach for 13 years (both private post-secondary and high school).
A heart attack and 2 stents later and Type 2 diabetes...I too wonder sometimes why I spent so much on college. I now work from home with crafts, thinking about doing some writing (I did win 3rd place on a Christian writing website...that's encouraging), and live on a very tiny tiny tiny pension. Even with good insurance, I no longer take medicines or go to doctor's and for the past 3 years have been just doing all the "natural" ways...diet, less stress in my life, etc. Even with good insurance, medicines were over $100 a month...ridiculous! I have no other choice but to live life to its fullest and spend time with grandkids and pray for the best and a relatively longer life.
I ache not so much for me, but for my kids and grandchildren who have to really, really struggle right now.
I had to deal with the awful Nixon wage/price controls where the only way to get a raise was quit and get a new higher-paying one. I dealt with Reagan's so-called "trickle down" economics" and watched the greed of corporate CEOs take over this country (and we've never recovered from either president's ill-conceived policies). Notice how the Republicans always bring up Reagan but never Nixon's failed policies!
Anyway, thanks for your writing...I understand what you're talking about.
ALSO AVAILABLE:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/elyssadurant/gGxh4R/commentary
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Who Owns My Copyright: Integrity & Ethics of Online Publishing
Who Owns My Copyright? Integrity & Ethics of Online Publishing May 04, 2009 by Elyssa Durant Elyssa Durant Published Content: 65 Total Views: 8,795
DELETED CONTENT: (DATE OF DELETION: UNKNOWN!)
PUBLISHED: Saturday, March 21, 2009: URGENT CALL TO ACTION: PATIENT SAFETY ALERT NOW!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
This was an online project on the quality of healthcare that was published on March 21, 2009. Without notice or justification, this content was removed from Associated Content.
Because I am finding this content being removed from the internet... this is STILL the best I can do.... I am hitting publish so I can get it online, as a social media experiment to see how long it will be allowed to stay there. Please note that I received no payment for this publication or any of the prior publication that has since been removed. Please contact me if possible if you happen to be some kind of magical hacker that can figure track back to the date of removal, IP address or source. I believe this is something everyone should know before walking into a for-profit Hospital in the United States of America.
If you wish to reference this article academically, please let me know.... if you plan to revisit it at a later date, I suggest you copy the content into a text document since not only was it removed; but it was removed without any notification, justification, or made available to me in its original form.
"right now this is the best I can do... recognize that this article is still very much a work a progress... but I need the your help and support personally, professionally. For our fellow brothers and sisters; here and across the world; for those who are unable to speak for themselves; for those without access to information or without the Internet; please join in my campaign: for I am merely a foot soldier, an army of ONE! Thanks to all you crazy those tweeters out there (and we all know who you are!) for helping me survive this difficult crisis... With love, edd"
"Twatever..." I was contacted by regional administrator at my insurance company (not my region of course) that my case was under review two weeks after filing a complaint with the state. I have yet to hear anything about the status regarding the number of professional, ethical and legal violations described below.
Previous complaints regarding HIPPA violations, inaccurate billing and errors in claims data have been ignored. I was, at one pint told "Thank you for letting us know that 150,000 people may lose their TennCare this week.... and thanks to your inquiry, we are developing a protocol should there be any further inquiries regarding The Daniels Class of TennCare Recipients. 130,000 people in the state of Tennessee who are slated to be cut from TennCare starting immediately. When the state received concrete evidence from an attorney who accidentally came across some of private protected personal information, the legal department sent an email an appointed member of the Governor Phil Bredesen's Cabinet who then forwarded the information to the legal department.
At that point it was suggested to me via email that I "may wish to contact federal authorities to report the HIPPA violations since they tend to take these things more seriously." It would have been nice had they provided a number, email, or direct contact so I wouldn't have to spend countless hours on hold with an automated system in Washington only to find out they were unable to release any information (ironically, due to HIPPA laws) so I am left wondering if there will ever be a time for justice in America for the average (non-litigious) person who just wants accountability, culpability and systemic change.
Regardless of whether I contact federal authorities, an attorney or an advocacy organization.... does that make the appropriate state agency, the insurance company, the individual medical providers or hospital administrators any less culpable? I think not, however, it is nearly impossible for a person in my circumstances (financially, physically, and personally) to find justice and accountability. Please take action. Please do not let this happen to anyone in America or any other place in the world.
Yes, I do have a mental illness. To that I will concede. However, I also have a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to use certain types of electronic devices such as the one I am using right now. I have OCD and try NOT to let anything go without multiple spell-checks, grammar checks, and punctuation references, but right now, I gotta go.
I am human and I am not infallible, so please do not contact me to complain about such things, I have much bigger problems to deal with. So if you see an occasional error, incorrect spelling typo, formatting flukes or whatever.... please don't be petty and ridiculous like the [person who actually thought it was a good idea to write me a letter to tell me that I spelled Obsessive wrong in an article I wrote about OCd. I guarantee at some point I will not only take notice of my own errors, but spend countless hours worrying about how I could be so careless, and stupid for letting this go out without double, triple, and compulsively checking it for errors. Right now I don't have time. Maybe you do.
So if you plan use this as an assessment of my character, intelligence, or technical skills-- you are probably not someone I want to hear from anyway. If you are someone who cares about the content... please feel free to edit, format, fix, or whatever, just please let me know, and send me the corrected content ;-)
I would not mind having this republished-- but if you are making money off of my experience, please have enough courtesy to recognize that I am not. It would be nice to know that my "work" has a value greater than the $10.52 I have received for all of the writing I have done for myself and others throughout the tears. (That was a typo-- meant to be "years" but one that I do not feel compelled to change-- yay for OCD and radical acceptance)
I would love to know that my words and experience have some value to society,
Keep in mind that I do not have the tools, skills, money and a number of other things that when I do not have the tools or I need to help me adjust to the insanity around me. I say that because this kind of treatment anywhere-- is cruel, unusual and insane. Being treated this way year after year after year, there comes a point where a person in my situation has nothing left to lose. I am there. So here goes... PLEASE RETWEET!
***
However, not only does this quality of care compromise my emotional and physical well-being, it doesn't help to be silenced or ignored. "Just because I'm Crazy, it doesn't mean I'm not right!" Since my identity has already compromised, used on false insurance claims, tax documents, and informal communications that I was made aware of by an attorney... I really have nothing left to lose by putting myself out there.
I do not check email at this site, so as an alternative measure, you may be more successful using an alternative such as ed70 (at) columbia (dot) edu
CLICK TO CALL: http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center
PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE: AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION... NOW!
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-call-to-action-patient-safety.html
After refusing to sign several documents while seeking treatment at the emergency room on March 7, 2009, I found my self locked up on a 6044 hold at a local hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
The most critical documents included a complicated consent form (informed consent for treatment) and several others regarding the assignment of benefits, insurance forms, HIPPA compliance, payment responsibility forms, and a few others.
state.tn.us/mental/t33/ModelForms.html
When I requested that I be given a few minutes to read and process the legally binding agreements I was being given, they became angry and impatient.
In retrospect, I suppose it really didn't matter what I was signing, since I clearly have a good argument for diminished capacity, especially now that I have had time to reflect on the sick irony of it all.
After all, how could I be asked to sign a document accepting financial responsibility if I was clearly out of my freakin' mind?
And although one could argue diminished capacity, or no fault by reason of mental defect or disease, hind-sight is 20/20, so I assumed that I would be held to that contract much like I was held to the terms of my student loans, my car loan, the non-compete clause from my last employer, or even the Columbia music club I signed up for when I was twelve.... you know the one where they send you 12 CD's for the price of a penny???
Yes, they all held me to the terms of my contract... either by hunting me down and harassing me endlessly over the phone; reporting adversely to the credit bureaus, sending me to collection; and even a few times to court in an attempt to collect a debt from a creditor. They all held me to the terms of my contract. So I thought I should be cautious before entering into any others...
In fact, I was in Civil Court yesterday for a being sued for a $21 balance on my water bill. Granted it has since been paid in full and the check has been cashed... but now they have added late fees, attorney fees, court costs and a bunch of other things to the complaint, so I with the addition of a late fee of $4.50, so you can expect to see me in Court again next Friday, hopefully with an attorney present if I can find one to represent me against this ridiculous claim.
Keep in mind that it will cost me $12 to park; the fact that balance has been paid in full, and for those of you who have been following along and paying attention, don't forget about the four days I went without hot water.
Add to that the 12-24 hours I spent in constant contact with the police regarding a shooting in the just below mine, clearly I must be hysterical, on drugs, or both to make repeated calls to 862-8600 non-emergency police hotline, and then escalating it by making several calls to 911. Is it any wonder that I am acting just a little bit strange?
Well, to get back to the reason I am writing without reservation today, I currently face eviction and that makes me a bit anxious... because no sooner than I could return home form the Psychiatric Unit and take a hot bath at "my" apartment, the someone showed up from the Sheriff's office to serve me with a warrant (that was written on carbon paper and modified multiple times making it difficult to read or understand what I was being charged with, when I needed to be in court, and what I needed to do to adequately defend myself.
So within hours of being medically cleared and released from a 5-day stay at "Club Head." the Sheriff shows up with eviction papers, and my mother became extremely concerned that I she might lose money if she has to change the flight... well since then she has severed the "family plan contract" and removed me a primary account holder on my cell phone contract, turned off the e-mail and text messaging feature, changed MY password, and has sworn never to speak to me again.
My cell phone number is being held hostage through T-Mobile so I cannot take my number with me to another carrier (even if I had the money or the credit to open an account with another provider, and has promised to cut off my cell service on the last day of the contract, at midnight tonight (March 22, 2009. All this because I wanted to change my flight to Las Vegas to attend her fourth wedding to a man she met less than six months ago... but, I digress... and there I go, talking crazy again...
*RESET*
(...and now back to the original program... )
At the hospital... I refused to sign the admission papers until and unless I was given the opportunity to read the forms, process the information, and make an educated decision about the treatment I was requesting for whatever the hell was wrong with me.
Apparently this was an unreasonable request. By refusing to sign without being given the opportunity to consult with a member of my immediate family who serves both as my medical proxy and healthcare decision maker, and power of attorney, I was escorted by two security guards to the third floor where all of my personal belongings and cell phone were quickly confiscated.
Simply because I refused to sign a blank consent?
http://www.state.tn.us/mental/legalCounsel/olc.html
It was my understanding that informed consent is the standard of care for medical treatment in the United States. Furthermore, to be denied the opportunity to consult with my medical decision maker, it seems that they should have done so especially if they were planning to administer medical treatment without my consent.
My medical proxy is clearly identified in my medical records, and even listed on the back of my driver's license with a "MR / ICE" [Medical Record / In Case of Emergency.]
So, I refused to sign.
Hospital personnel did not pull my primary care records or even attempt to take a medical history report, or locate my next of kin / emergency contact.
I chose this hospital because it is conveniently located on the same medical campus as my primary care provider, radiologist, and has a contract with my insurance company as a participating (and preferred) provider.
DMHT: Declaration of Mental Health Treatment:
http://state.tn.us/mental/t33/DHMT_FORM.pdf
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities
developed this form based on Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10. http://www.state.tn.us/mental/
6044: DMHT and the Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
I have multiple cuts, bruises, abrasions all over my body. None of my injuries, including those that occurred while being "medical treatment" at a private, for-profit medical institution, were treated or evaluated during my stay. I was given multiple injections by security personnel after being forced into "compliance" in a private room. I was left unconscious without any emergency call buttons, fire exits, or safety precaution. The security guards removed their Identification Badges when I requested to see them, of course this was before they held me face down, twisted my arms and held them forcefully behind my back while one of them pulled down the leggings I had been wearing and then my underwear.
I had a 4 day supply of medication; (out of pocket) Trazodone was covered. I was released without any medication, just there prescriptions and returned to my apartment, without my car, or any way to get to the pharmacy. The 18 day prescription the doctor gave me cost $243.19. I could only afford a 5 day supply since they hospital staff did not get the medication pre-authorized by my insurance company as promised.
Just before leaving, I asked, just as I had each time I took my meds for the 5 days I spent on the unit if they were able to locate the record for the second injection that I was given while unconscious on the plastic mat. There was no mention of them anywhere in my medical records, even when my primary care physician requested them from the Medical Records Department.
I left with at least 7 puncture wounds from 7 injections (two of which were given by security guards) were not recorded in my medical records. I was not seen by a single physician -- not even an on call physician for over 72 hours -- a small fact which does appear in my medical records, but only if you calculate the time I was "admitted" and notes from the first time I met with a physician three and a half days later. cuts and bruises and abrasions, that were not medically treated or evaluated during my stay.
When I was released 5 days later, I was need prior-authorization for medication, transport to the pharmacy and transportation to a medical appointment scheduled on Wednesday at 10am. Effexor requires prior authorization, and the pharmacy then managed to fill the prescription incorrectly and mislabeled the bottle "take two tablets two times a day for two week, then take two tablets two times a day for two weeks." Once I realized the error, I promptly called the week a copy of my medical records from the psych unit asap, and do not feel I should have to pay $2.00/page for a copy. I had to pay $54 in cash for parking, and this is all I can type for right now.
Maybe I'll write more on this later, maybe not..." -edd March 17th, 2009.
Please join me in an Alliance for Compliance to protect both individual rights, encourage medical compliance, and enhance patient safety, by letting you voice be heard.
HELP IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR ALL.
CLICK TO CALL: http://tools.advomatic.com/8/hcnhttp://
http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center/
Thank you all,
Elyssa
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeGFu05xB-8
DELETED CONTENT: (DATE OF DELETION: UNKNOWN!)
PUBLISHED: Saturday, March 21, 2009: URGENT CALL TO ACTION: PATIENT SAFETY ALERT NOW!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
This was an online project on the quality of healthcare that was published on March 21, 2009. Without notice or justification, this content was removed from Associated Content.
Because I am finding this content being removed from the internet... this is STILL the best I can do.... I am hitting publish so I can get it online, as a social media experiment to see how long it will be allowed to stay there. Please note that I received no payment for this publication or any of the prior publication that has since been removed. Please contact me if possible if you happen to be some kind of magical hacker that can figure track back to the date of removal, IP address or source. I believe this is something everyone should know before walking into a for-profit Hospital in the United States of America.
If you wish to reference this article academically, please let me know.... if you plan to revisit it at a later date, I suggest you copy the content into a text document since not only was it removed; but it was removed without any notification, justification, or made available to me in its original form.
"right now this is the best I can do... recognize that this article is still very much a work a progress... but I need the your help and support personally, professionally. For our fellow brothers and sisters; here and across the world; for those who are unable to speak for themselves; for those without access to information or without the Internet; please join in my campaign: for I am merely a foot soldier, an army of ONE! Thanks to all you crazy those tweeters out there (and we all know who you are!) for helping me survive this difficult crisis... With love, edd"
"Twatever..." I was contacted by regional administrator at my insurance company (not my region of course) that my case was under review two weeks after filing a complaint with the state. I have yet to hear anything about the status regarding the number of professional, ethical and legal violations described below.
Previous complaints regarding HIPPA violations, inaccurate billing and errors in claims data have been ignored. I was, at one pint told "Thank you for letting us know that 150,000 people may lose their TennCare this week.... and thanks to your inquiry, we are developing a protocol should there be any further inquiries regarding The Daniels Class of TennCare Recipients. 130,000 people in the state of Tennessee who are slated to be cut from TennCare starting immediately. When the state received concrete evidence from an attorney who accidentally came across some of private protected personal information, the legal department sent an email an appointed member of the Governor Phil Bredesen's Cabinet who then forwarded the information to the legal department.
At that point it was suggested to me via email that I "may wish to contact federal authorities to report the HIPPA violations since they tend to take these things more seriously." It would have been nice had they provided a number, email, or direct contact so I wouldn't have to spend countless hours on hold with an automated system in Washington only to find out they were unable to release any information (ironically, due to HIPPA laws) so I am left wondering if there will ever be a time for justice in America for the average (non-litigious) person who just wants accountability, culpability and systemic change.
Regardless of whether I contact federal authorities, an attorney or an advocacy organization.... does that make the appropriate state agency, the insurance company, the individual medical providers or hospital administrators any less culpable? I think not, however, it is nearly impossible for a person in my circumstances (financially, physically, and personally) to find justice and accountability. Please take action. Please do not let this happen to anyone in America or any other place in the world.
Yes, I do have a mental illness. To that I will concede. However, I also have a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to use certain types of electronic devices such as the one I am using right now. I have OCD and try NOT to let anything go without multiple spell-checks, grammar checks, and punctuation references, but right now, I gotta go.
I am human and I am not infallible, so please do not contact me to complain about such things, I have much bigger problems to deal with. So if you see an occasional error, incorrect spelling typo, formatting flukes or whatever.... please don't be petty and ridiculous like the [person who actually thought it was a good idea to write me a letter to tell me that I spelled Obsessive wrong in an article I wrote about OCd. I guarantee at some point I will not only take notice of my own errors, but spend countless hours worrying about how I could be so careless, and stupid for letting this go out without double, triple, and compulsively checking it for errors. Right now I don't have time. Maybe you do.
So if you plan use this as an assessment of my character, intelligence, or technical skills-- you are probably not someone I want to hear from anyway. If you are someone who cares about the content... please feel free to edit, format, fix, or whatever, just please let me know, and send me the corrected content ;-)
I would not mind having this republished-- but if you are making money off of my experience, please have enough courtesy to recognize that I am not. It would be nice to know that my "work" has a value greater than the $10.52 I have received for all of the writing I have done for myself and others throughout the tears. (That was a typo-- meant to be "years" but one that I do not feel compelled to change-- yay for OCD and radical acceptance)
I would love to know that my words and experience have some value to society,
Keep in mind that I do not have the tools, skills, money and a number of other things that when I do not have the tools or I need to help me adjust to the insanity around me. I say that because this kind of treatment anywhere-- is cruel, unusual and insane. Being treated this way year after year after year, there comes a point where a person in my situation has nothing left to lose. I am there. So here goes... PLEASE RETWEET!
***
However, not only does this quality of care compromise my emotional and physical well-being, it doesn't help to be silenced or ignored. "Just because I'm Crazy, it doesn't mean I'm not right!" Since my identity has already compromised, used on false insurance claims, tax documents, and informal communications that I was made aware of by an attorney... I really have nothing left to lose by putting myself out there.
I do not check email at this site, so as an alternative measure, you may be more successful using an alternative such as ed70 (at) columbia (dot) edu
CLICK TO CALL: http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center
PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE: AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION... NOW!
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-call-to-action-patient-safety.html
After refusing to sign several documents while seeking treatment at the emergency room on March 7, 2009, I found my self locked up on a 6044 hold at a local hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
The most critical documents included a complicated consent form (informed consent for treatment) and several others regarding the assignment of benefits, insurance forms, HIPPA compliance, payment responsibility forms, and a few others.
state.tn.us/mental/t33/ModelForms.html
When I requested that I be given a few minutes to read and process the legally binding agreements I was being given, they became angry and impatient.
In retrospect, I suppose it really didn't matter what I was signing, since I clearly have a good argument for diminished capacity, especially now that I have had time to reflect on the sick irony of it all.
After all, how could I be asked to sign a document accepting financial responsibility if I was clearly out of my freakin' mind?
And although one could argue diminished capacity, or no fault by reason of mental defect or disease, hind-sight is 20/20, so I assumed that I would be held to that contract much like I was held to the terms of my student loans, my car loan, the non-compete clause from my last employer, or even the Columbia music club I signed up for when I was twelve.... you know the one where they send you 12 CD's for the price of a penny???
Yes, they all held me to the terms of my contract... either by hunting me down and harassing me endlessly over the phone; reporting adversely to the credit bureaus, sending me to collection; and even a few times to court in an attempt to collect a debt from a creditor. They all held me to the terms of my contract. So I thought I should be cautious before entering into any others...
In fact, I was in Civil Court yesterday for a being sued for a $21 balance on my water bill. Granted it has since been paid in full and the check has been cashed... but now they have added late fees, attorney fees, court costs and a bunch of other things to the complaint, so I with the addition of a late fee of $4.50, so you can expect to see me in Court again next Friday, hopefully with an attorney present if I can find one to represent me against this ridiculous claim.
Keep in mind that it will cost me $12 to park; the fact that balance has been paid in full, and for those of you who have been following along and paying attention, don't forget about the four days I went without hot water.
Add to that the 12-24 hours I spent in constant contact with the police regarding a shooting in the just below mine, clearly I must be hysterical, on drugs, or both to make repeated calls to 862-8600 non-emergency police hotline, and then escalating it by making several calls to 911. Is it any wonder that I am acting just a little bit strange?
Well, to get back to the reason I am writing without reservation today, I currently face eviction and that makes me a bit anxious... because no sooner than I could return home form the Psychiatric Unit and take a hot bath at "my" apartment, the someone showed up from the Sheriff's office to serve me with a warrant (that was written on carbon paper and modified multiple times making it difficult to read or understand what I was being charged with, when I needed to be in court, and what I needed to do to adequately defend myself.
So within hours of being medically cleared and released from a 5-day stay at "Club Head." the Sheriff shows up with eviction papers, and my mother became extremely concerned that I she might lose money if she has to change the flight... well since then she has severed the "family plan contract" and removed me a primary account holder on my cell phone contract, turned off the e-mail and text messaging feature, changed MY password, and has sworn never to speak to me again.
My cell phone number is being held hostage through T-Mobile so I cannot take my number with me to another carrier (even if I had the money or the credit to open an account with another provider, and has promised to cut off my cell service on the last day of the contract, at midnight tonight (March 22, 2009. All this because I wanted to change my flight to Las Vegas to attend her fourth wedding to a man she met less than six months ago... but, I digress... and there I go, talking crazy again...
*RESET*
(...and now back to the original program... )
At the hospital... I refused to sign the admission papers until and unless I was given the opportunity to read the forms, process the information, and make an educated decision about the treatment I was requesting for whatever the hell was wrong with me.
Apparently this was an unreasonable request. By refusing to sign without being given the opportunity to consult with a member of my immediate family who serves both as my medical proxy and healthcare decision maker, and power of attorney, I was escorted by two security guards to the third floor where all of my personal belongings and cell phone were quickly confiscated.
Simply because I refused to sign a blank consent?
http://www.state.tn.us/mental/legalCounsel/olc.html
It was my understanding that informed consent is the standard of care for medical treatment in the United States. Furthermore, to be denied the opportunity to consult with my medical decision maker, it seems that they should have done so especially if they were planning to administer medical treatment without my consent.
My medical proxy is clearly identified in my medical records, and even listed on the back of my driver's license with a "MR / ICE" [Medical Record / In Case of Emergency.]
So, I refused to sign.
Hospital personnel did not pull my primary care records or even attempt to take a medical history report, or locate my next of kin / emergency contact.
I chose this hospital because it is conveniently located on the same medical campus as my primary care provider, radiologist, and has a contract with my insurance company as a participating (and preferred) provider.
DMHT: Declaration of Mental Health Treatment:
http://state.tn.us/mental/t33/DHMT_FORM.pdf
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities
developed this form based on Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10. http://www.state.tn.us/mental/
6044: DMHT and the Tennessee Code Annotated Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 10
URGENT PATIENT SAFETY ALERT: ALLIANCE FOR COMPLIANCE "Content has been removed"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1583312/urgent_patient_safety_alert_alliance.html
I have multiple cuts, bruises, abrasions all over my body. None of my injuries, including those that occurred while being "medical treatment" at a private, for-profit medical institution, were treated or evaluated during my stay. I was given multiple injections by security personnel after being forced into "compliance" in a private room. I was left unconscious without any emergency call buttons, fire exits, or safety precaution. The security guards removed their Identification Badges when I requested to see them, of course this was before they held me face down, twisted my arms and held them forcefully behind my back while one of them pulled down the leggings I had been wearing and then my underwear.
I had a 4 day supply of medication; (out of pocket) Trazodone was covered. I was released without any medication, just there prescriptions and returned to my apartment, without my car, or any way to get to the pharmacy. The 18 day prescription the doctor gave me cost $243.19. I could only afford a 5 day supply since they hospital staff did not get the medication pre-authorized by my insurance company as promised.
Just before leaving, I asked, just as I had each time I took my meds for the 5 days I spent on the unit if they were able to locate the record for the second injection that I was given while unconscious on the plastic mat. There was no mention of them anywhere in my medical records, even when my primary care physician requested them from the Medical Records Department.
I left with at least 7 puncture wounds from 7 injections (two of which were given by security guards) were not recorded in my medical records. I was not seen by a single physician -- not even an on call physician for over 72 hours -- a small fact which does appear in my medical records, but only if you calculate the time I was "admitted" and notes from the first time I met with a physician three and a half days later. cuts and bruises and abrasions, that were not medically treated or evaluated during my stay.
When I was released 5 days later, I was need prior-authorization for medication, transport to the pharmacy and transportation to a medical appointment scheduled on Wednesday at 10am. Effexor requires prior authorization, and the pharmacy then managed to fill the prescription incorrectly and mislabeled the bottle "take two tablets two times a day for two week, then take two tablets two times a day for two weeks." Once I realized the error, I promptly called the week a copy of my medical records from the psych unit asap, and do not feel I should have to pay $2.00/page for a copy. I had to pay $54 in cash for parking, and this is all I can type for right now.
Maybe I'll write more on this later, maybe not..." -edd March 17th, 2009.
Please join me in an Alliance for Compliance to protect both individual rights, encourage medical compliance, and enhance patient safety, by letting you voice be heard.
HELP IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR ALL.
CLICK TO CALL: http://tools.advomatic.com/8/hcnhttp://
http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/action_center/
Thank you all,
Elyssa
http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeGFu05xB-8
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Pharmacy Fallout '08 [Draft]
The Powers That Beat
Here's the latest snafu in the State of Tennessee: TennCare Changes Benefits Without Notice Effective October 1, 2008.
.
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of how the new changes will affect their benefits or services concerning changes to the pharmacy plan that were implemented on October 1, 2008. No information about the changes (e.g., formulary changes, benefits coverage, or appeals, grievances or override procedures were given to providers, participants or local sent
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of the new changes in the pharmacy program that went into effect on October 1, 2008. New procedures were implemented by providers that have obvious HIPPA violations. Federal agencies and advocates should direct consumers to the appropriate federal agencies regarding HIPPA compliance and other possible violations of federal law.
I did find out some additional information, which is this: THERE IS NO INFORMATION!!!
Providers and consumers are unaware of new changes to the Pharmacy program for TennCare beneficiaries.
I have searched the news, the state, and cannot get through to the TennCare hotline... The last I heard, pharmacies began processing scripts late yesterday afternoon, however they are running into significant problems obtaining approval (specifically--overrides) for their TennCare participants.
I gotta tell you that I found some VERY disturbing information that was callously given to each and every TennCare recipient who had prescriptions filled at the pharmacy I went to.
I will tell you that it is a large national chain implemented new procedures for Medicaid recipients covered under the new plan. They claim it was required to obtain reimbursement from the new Rx provider. I necessary to to deal with the new pharmacy program that went into effect Oct 1, 2008..
I will scan that document and upload it to advocates since it is so over the top regarding medical privacy and HIPPA compliance.
I personally refused to sign the document, instead signing "HIPPA" instead of my name. Prescriptions will not be dispensed without the beneficiaries signature on the master list.
Take now for now,
Elyssa Durant
FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE:
2008: I remember how difficult it was for me to obtain benefits when I first applied several years ago. I am deeply concerned about how the most recent decision to eradicate yet another class of TennCare / Medicaid recipients (the Daniels class that is made up of SSI recipients by way of a pending federal waiver) will affect the poor and disabled residents in Tennessee.
2006: Without my current level of benefits, I simply do not function.
2002: Before my benefits were stabilized, learning to navigate the system consumed every waking moment of my life. I was unable to work or attend school on any substantial level and I am frightened to see at might happen if I were to stray from my established, stabilized, treatment plan. If I lose my benefits, will I still be able to work? To function? To be productive?
2005: The massive number of people being dis-enrolled or limited in their access to medical care and other social services will no doubt create significant anxiety, confusion, and chaos for everyone involved in the social service and health care industries.
2001: I have no other benefits. No Social Security checks to count on; no disability payments to pull together; no Medicare to meet me when the bottom falls out, again. This surely is not the first time my Medicaid has not come through as a reliable source of payment. It is not even the second or third time. It more like the eight or ninth, maybe more often than that. I only recently qualified for Medicaid some eight months ago! Since then, I have already acquired several thousand dollars in unpaid medical expenses that have made their way to collection agencies.
1999: Patient X: Corporate TennCare adjusted the prescription formulary over Memorial Day in 1999 and failed refused to offer a 3-day or 14-Day emergency supply as mandated by Grier.
1996: Throughout the three year process of filing appeal after appeal after appeal, I acquired well over 1/4 million dollars in debt due to uninsured medical expenses and student loans. My life will never be the same. My heart will never be the same.
TODAY: So after all this-- now I face losing my healthcare once again? Where is the safety net? Where is the American Dream that I so diligently chased after for so many years? What was the point spending so much on an education that will never be utilized? I understand the how; I just don't understand why.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://unitedprofessionals.org/blog/forum/topic.php?id=105
*****************************************
Pharmacy Fallout '08: Here We Go Again
Providers and Consumers Are Unaware of New Changes to the Pharmacy Program for TennCare Beneficiaries, Effective October 1, 2008
Here's the latest in the State of Tennessee: TennCare Changes Benefits Without Notice Effective October 1, 2008.
.
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of how the new changes will affect their benefits or services concerning changes to the pharmacy plan that were implemented on October 1, 2008. No information about the changes (e.g., formulary changes, benefits coverage, or appeals, grievances or override procedures were given to providers, participants or local sent
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of the new changes in the pharmacy program that went into effect on October 1, 2008. New procedures were implemented by providers that have obvious HIPPA violations. Federal agencies and advocates should direct consumers to the appropriate federal agencies regarding HIPPA compliance and other possible violations of federal law.
I did find out some additional information, which is this:
THERE IS NO INFORMATION!!!
Providers and consumers are unaware of new changes to the Pharmacy program for TennCare beneficiaries.
I have searched the news, the state, and cannot get through to the TennCare hotline... The last I heard, pharmacies began processing scripts late yesterday afternoon, however they are running into significant problems obtaining approval (specifically--overrides) for their TennCare participants.
I gotta tell you that I found some VERY disturbing information that was callously given to each and every TennCare recipient who had prescriptions filled at the pharmacy I went to.
One large national drug store chain implemented new procedures for specific to Medicaid recipients covered under the new plan. The pharmacy manager claims this was required by the underwriters in order to obtain reimbursement for covered medications and/or pharmacy services. These changes went into effect the day before the new plan was set to launch.
I will scan that document and upload it to advocates since it is so over the top regarding medical privacy and HIPPA compliance.
I personally refused to sign the document, instead signing "HIPPA" instead of my name. Prescriptions will not be dispensed without the beneficiaries signature on the master list.
Elyssa Durant
TennCare Beneficiary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources
www.familiesusa.org
www.thcc2.org
www.unitedprofessionals.com
Here's the latest snafu in the State of Tennessee: TennCare Changes Benefits Without Notice Effective October 1, 2008.
.
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of how the new changes will affect their benefits or services concerning changes to the pharmacy plan that were implemented on October 1, 2008. No information about the changes (e.g., formulary changes, benefits coverage, or appeals, grievances or override procedures were given to providers, participants or local sent
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of the new changes in the pharmacy program that went into effect on October 1, 2008. New procedures were implemented by providers that have obvious HIPPA violations. Federal agencies and advocates should direct consumers to the appropriate federal agencies regarding HIPPA compliance and other possible violations of federal law.
I did find out some additional information, which is this: THERE IS NO INFORMATION!!!
Providers and consumers are unaware of new changes to the Pharmacy program for TennCare beneficiaries.
I have searched the news, the state, and cannot get through to the TennCare hotline... The last I heard, pharmacies began processing scripts late yesterday afternoon, however they are running into significant problems obtaining approval (specifically--overrides) for their TennCare participants.
I gotta tell you that I found some VERY disturbing information that was callously given to each and every TennCare recipient who had prescriptions filled at the pharmacy I went to.
I will tell you that it is a large national chain implemented new procedures for Medicaid recipients covered under the new plan. They claim it was required to obtain reimbursement from the new Rx provider. I necessary to to deal with the new pharmacy program that went into effect Oct 1, 2008..
I will scan that document and upload it to advocates since it is so over the top regarding medical privacy and HIPPA compliance.
I personally refused to sign the document, instead signing "HIPPA" instead of my name. Prescriptions will not be dispensed without the beneficiaries signature on the master list.
Take now for now,
Elyssa Durant
FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE:
2008: I remember how difficult it was for me to obtain benefits when I first applied several years ago. I am deeply concerned about how the most recent decision to eradicate yet another class of TennCare / Medicaid recipients (the Daniels class that is made up of SSI recipients by way of a pending federal waiver) will affect the poor and disabled residents in Tennessee.
2006: Without my current level of benefits, I simply do not function.
2002: Before my benefits were stabilized, learning to navigate the system consumed every waking moment of my life. I was unable to work or attend school on any substantial level and I am frightened to see at might happen if I were to stray from my established, stabilized, treatment plan. If I lose my benefits, will I still be able to work? To function? To be productive?
2005: The massive number of people being dis-enrolled or limited in their access to medical care and other social services will no doubt create significant anxiety, confusion, and chaos for everyone involved in the social service and health care industries.
2001: I have no other benefits. No Social Security checks to count on; no disability payments to pull together; no Medicare to meet me when the bottom falls out, again. This surely is not the first time my Medicaid has not come through as a reliable source of payment. It is not even the second or third time. It more like the eight or ninth, maybe more often than that. I only recently qualified for Medicaid some eight months ago! Since then, I have already acquired several thousand dollars in unpaid medical expenses that have made their way to collection agencies.
1999: Patient X: Corporate TennCare adjusted the prescription formulary over Memorial Day in 1999 and failed refused to offer a 3-day or 14-Day emergency supply as mandated by Grier.
1996: Throughout the three year process of filing appeal after appeal after appeal, I acquired well over 1/4 million dollars in debt due to uninsured medical expenses and student loans. My life will never be the same. My heart will never be the same.
TODAY: So after all this-- now I face losing my healthcare once again? Where is the safety net? Where is the American Dream that I so diligently chased after for so many years? What was the point spending so much on an education that will never be utilized? I understand the how; I just don't understand why.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://unitedprofessionals.org/blog/forum/topic.php?id=105
*****************************************
Pharmacy Fallout '08: Here We Go Again
Providers and Consumers Are Unaware of New Changes to the Pharmacy Program for TennCare Beneficiaries, Effective October 1, 2008
Here's the latest in the State of Tennessee: TennCare Changes Benefits Without Notice Effective October 1, 2008.
.
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of how the new changes will affect their benefits or services concerning changes to the pharmacy plan that were implemented on October 1, 2008. No information about the changes (e.g., formulary changes, benefits coverage, or appeals, grievances or override procedures were given to providers, participants or local sent
TennCare providers, beneficiaries and advocates are once again unaware of the new changes in the pharmacy program that went into effect on October 1, 2008. New procedures were implemented by providers that have obvious HIPPA violations. Federal agencies and advocates should direct consumers to the appropriate federal agencies regarding HIPPA compliance and other possible violations of federal law.
I did find out some additional information, which is this:
THERE IS NO INFORMATION!!!
Providers and consumers are unaware of new changes to the Pharmacy program for TennCare beneficiaries.
I have searched the news, the state, and cannot get through to the TennCare hotline... The last I heard, pharmacies began processing scripts late yesterday afternoon, however they are running into significant problems obtaining approval (specifically--overrides) for their TennCare participants.
I gotta tell you that I found some VERY disturbing information that was callously given to each and every TennCare recipient who had prescriptions filled at the pharmacy I went to.
One large national drug store chain implemented new procedures for specific to Medicaid recipients covered under the new plan. The pharmacy manager claims this was required by the underwriters in order to obtain reimbursement for covered medications and/or pharmacy services. These changes went into effect the day before the new plan was set to launch.
I will scan that document and upload it to advocates since it is so over the top regarding medical privacy and HIPPA compliance.
I personally refused to sign the document, instead signing "HIPPA" instead of my name. Prescriptions will not be dispensed without the beneficiaries signature on the master list.
Elyssa Durant
TennCare Beneficiary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources
www.familiesusa.org
www.thcc2.org
www.unitedprofessionals.com
Monday, June 9, 2008
Work to Welfare: The Hardest Job I Never Had
Yup! That’s right, I’m on welfare… I’m milking the system for all its worth! I had better go get in line before those Louisiana people and immigrants suck up all our resources (which have never once been available when I have needed them) That’s right, just another Ivy League grad too smart to go to work! I am just waiting on my next free meal ticket, subsidy, or voucher. The opportunities to exploit the government are endless! Where do I begin???
I remember how difficult it was for me to obtain benefits when I first applied several years ago. I am deeply concerned about how the most recent decision to eradicate yet another class of TennCare recipients will affect the poor and disabled residents in Tennessee. Without my current level of benefits, I simply do not function.
Before my benefits were stabilized, learning to navigate the system consumed every waking moment of my life. I was unable to work or attend school on any substantial level and I am deathly afraid of straying from my established, stabilized, treatment plan-- again.
If I lose my benefits, will I still be able to work? To function? To be productive?
Any new public program requires careful planning if it is to be effective. Recent discussions have not focused on the true impact these changes will have on the "street-level."
Has anyone asked recipients how they feel the new program (Safety-Net) should be designed, implemented, or evaluated? How will this impact the community and other social service or welfare agencies??? I want access, quality, and outcomes. I want… I want… I want!!!
The massive number of people being disenrolled or limited in their access to medical care and other social services will no doubt create significant anxiety, confusion, and chaos for everyone involved in the social service and health care industries.
I remember when Mr. Brian Lapps was somewhere very high up on the corporate TennCare ladder in 1999 when they adjusted the prescription formulary over Memorial Day in 1999. I see Mr. Lapps quite frequently since he now works at the local gas station down the street from where I live.
To this day, he insists that cell phones and TennCare are somehow contraindicated. Perhaps he knows nothing of the population he claims to know just all-too-well…. housing conditions that may or may not have electricity, broken families—some riddled with community violence and domestic disturbances. In the hood, your cell phone is your very best friend. 9-1-1.
These people plagued by domestic violence and community instability makes a cell phone the only logical option. How can you find a job with out a phone? How can you find a home with out a job? Yet even 6 years later, Mr. Lapps uses cellular phones as an example how the TennCare program is being abused by lazy, cheap, and unscrupulous second hand citizens who are just shiftless lazy bums waiting around for their next free hand-out.
Anyone who has EVER applied for or relied upon any kind of government subsidy to have their basic needs met, e.g., food, shelter, medical care, dental treatment, etc… let me personally assure you that there has never been a single time where I felt I was “pulling one over” on the government. I am not just one of the poor saps who believed what they told me they in school: I bought it hook, line, and sinker for the mere price of $279,982.00 and not a shred of financial security to show for it.
Even after consolidating my student loans, the interest alone is $10 less than my monthly income from social security.
So what happens now that the state of Tennessee will begin to cut off social security recipients from TennCare? I honestly do not think I can survive yet another re-certification process-- God knows the first one almost killed me. After three years of appeals, my condition had deteriorated so severely that I was forced to drop out of school, lost my home, lost my sanity, and lost hope. In short-- I lost my dignity and my belief in the social welfare system.
By the time my benefits were approved, I had already checked myself in to NYU Psych Ward because simply could not cope with the reality of what my life I had become. I weighed 94 pounds and suffered in excruciating pain that has only gotten worse with time. My extremities were ice cold, and my hands were numb since I went without medical treatment for the spinal injury that was first discovered when I was 22.
I am now 35 years old. My spinal cord is now damaged from years of delayed, sub-standard medical treatment. I owe the federal government $279,982.00 in student loans and when I am able to work, I make $10.46/hour as a substitute teacher in an urban school district. That job comes with no security and no benefits. It does however offer the flexibility I need to receive the bi-monthly epidural injections and other procedures necessary to manage my pain and alleviate the numbness I feel because of the damage to my nerves. And even though I cannot afford the gas money to get my appointments, pay for all of my medication, or even to get back and forth to work, it does allow me a few weeks of mobility so I can drive, use my mouse or hold a pen.
I have an advanced master’s degree from an Ivy League Institution. I am 12 credits shy of a Ph.D. in public policy. And despite maintaining a 3.2 grade point average, the graduate school I attended for my PhD will not grant me any leniency by extending the amount or time permitted to complete my degree-- or allow me to transfer those credits towards another program at the same institution since it has been just over ten years since I first enrolled. Vanderbilt will not even allow me to use any of the credits I paid for (in spades) towards another degree at the same university since they no longer have the program I was initially enrolled in. I think it goes without saying that I do not have the financial resources available to finish my last semester, take the GREs over again, or pay the associated application fees necessary to make the time spent there worth while.
Throughout the three year process of filing appeal after appeal after appeal, I acquired well over 1/4 million dollars in debt due to uninsured medical expenses and student loans. My life will never be the same. My heart will never be the same.
So after all this-- now I face losing my healthcare once again? Where is the safety net? Where is the American Dream that I so diligently chased after for so many years? What was the point spending so much on an education that will never be utilized? I understand the how; I just don't understand why.
Maybe one of these days Vanderbilt University and the Department of Education will realize it might just be cheaper to hire me that harass me, because unless I find a real paying job soon, their collections department will no longer be able to reach me on that extravagant lifeline my friend, Brian Lapps, refers to as a luxury.
If anyone out there would like to “trade places” with me for one month—I will gladly assume his/her responsibilities for that position if you can find a writer who is willing to endure and write about the reality of social services in our fine State. I do not want a paycheck from your organization; I just want the opportunity to put the myth of freeloading welfare mothers to rest. Live in my shoes for 30 days. Can you find the out? Can you balance my budget and make it work? Can you get the bill collectors of my back? Can you afford internet service to file state job applications and apply for services online? Can you maintain pride and dignity without feeling the least bit sorry for yourself and the choices you have made?
When I go to the pharmacy, I am humiliated that I do not have the $3.00 necessary for the co-pay on my covered TennCare prescriptions. At least when it was $40 dollars, I was not so damn embarrassed by my lack of funds.
Remind me again why I went to school. Remind me once more why I bother to speak out. Then remind me right now that that there is somebody listening. I cannot be the only one who actually gives a crap. My contact information is listed below.
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
E-mail: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu
(FORMER doctoral student in public policy)
--
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
E-mail: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu
http://labs.daylife.com/journalist/elyssa_durant
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/145691/elyssa_durant.html
I remember how difficult it was for me to obtain benefits when I first applied several years ago. I am deeply concerned about how the most recent decision to eradicate yet another class of TennCare recipients will affect the poor and disabled residents in Tennessee. Without my current level of benefits, I simply do not function.
Before my benefits were stabilized, learning to navigate the system consumed every waking moment of my life. I was unable to work or attend school on any substantial level and I am deathly afraid of straying from my established, stabilized, treatment plan-- again.
If I lose my benefits, will I still be able to work? To function? To be productive?
Any new public program requires careful planning if it is to be effective. Recent discussions have not focused on the true impact these changes will have on the "street-level."
Has anyone asked recipients how they feel the new program (Safety-Net) should be designed, implemented, or evaluated? How will this impact the community and other social service or welfare agencies??? I want access, quality, and outcomes. I want… I want… I want!!!
The massive number of people being disenrolled or limited in their access to medical care and other social services will no doubt create significant anxiety, confusion, and chaos for everyone involved in the social service and health care industries.
I remember when Mr. Brian Lapps was somewhere very high up on the corporate TennCare ladder in 1999 when they adjusted the prescription formulary over Memorial Day in 1999. I see Mr. Lapps quite frequently since he now works at the local gas station down the street from where I live.
To this day, he insists that cell phones and TennCare are somehow contraindicated. Perhaps he knows nothing of the population he claims to know just all-too-well…. housing conditions that may or may not have electricity, broken families—some riddled with community violence and domestic disturbances. In the hood, your cell phone is your very best friend. 9-1-1.
These people plagued by domestic violence and community instability makes a cell phone the only logical option. How can you find a job with out a phone? How can you find a home with out a job? Yet even 6 years later, Mr. Lapps uses cellular phones as an example how the TennCare program is being abused by lazy, cheap, and unscrupulous second hand citizens who are just shiftless lazy bums waiting around for their next free hand-out.
Anyone who has EVER applied for or relied upon any kind of government subsidy to have their basic needs met, e.g., food, shelter, medical care, dental treatment, etc… let me personally assure you that there has never been a single time where I felt I was “pulling one over” on the government. I am not just one of the poor saps who believed what they told me they in school: I bought it hook, line, and sinker for the mere price of $279,982.00 and not a shred of financial security to show for it.
Even after consolidating my student loans, the interest alone is $10 less than my monthly income from social security.
So what happens now that the state of Tennessee will begin to cut off social security recipients from TennCare? I honestly do not think I can survive yet another re-certification process-- God knows the first one almost killed me. After three years of appeals, my condition had deteriorated so severely that I was forced to drop out of school, lost my home, lost my sanity, and lost hope. In short-- I lost my dignity and my belief in the social welfare system.
By the time my benefits were approved, I had already checked myself in to NYU Psych Ward because simply could not cope with the reality of what my life I had become. I weighed 94 pounds and suffered in excruciating pain that has only gotten worse with time. My extremities were ice cold, and my hands were numb since I went without medical treatment for the spinal injury that was first discovered when I was 22.
I am now 35 years old. My spinal cord is now damaged from years of delayed, sub-standard medical treatment. I owe the federal government $279,982.00 in student loans and when I am able to work, I make $10.46/hour as a substitute teacher in an urban school district. That job comes with no security and no benefits. It does however offer the flexibility I need to receive the bi-monthly epidural injections and other procedures necessary to manage my pain and alleviate the numbness I feel because of the damage to my nerves. And even though I cannot afford the gas money to get my appointments, pay for all of my medication, or even to get back and forth to work, it does allow me a few weeks of mobility so I can drive, use my mouse or hold a pen.
I have an advanced master’s degree from an Ivy League Institution. I am 12 credits shy of a Ph.D. in public policy. And despite maintaining a 3.2 grade point average, the graduate school I attended for my PhD will not grant me any leniency by extending the amount or time permitted to complete my degree-- or allow me to transfer those credits towards another program at the same institution since it has been just over ten years since I first enrolled. Vanderbilt will not even allow me to use any of the credits I paid for (in spades) towards another degree at the same university since they no longer have the program I was initially enrolled in. I think it goes without saying that I do not have the financial resources available to finish my last semester, take the GREs over again, or pay the associated application fees necessary to make the time spent there worth while.
Throughout the three year process of filing appeal after appeal after appeal, I acquired well over 1/4 million dollars in debt due to uninsured medical expenses and student loans. My life will never be the same. My heart will never be the same.
So after all this-- now I face losing my healthcare once again? Where is the safety net? Where is the American Dream that I so diligently chased after for so many years? What was the point spending so much on an education that will never be utilized? I understand the how; I just don't understand why.
Maybe one of these days Vanderbilt University and the Department of Education will realize it might just be cheaper to hire me that harass me, because unless I find a real paying job soon, their collections department will no longer be able to reach me on that extravagant lifeline my friend, Brian Lapps, refers to as a luxury.
If anyone out there would like to “trade places” with me for one month—I will gladly assume his/her responsibilities for that position if you can find a writer who is willing to endure and write about the reality of social services in our fine State. I do not want a paycheck from your organization; I just want the opportunity to put the myth of freeloading welfare mothers to rest. Live in my shoes for 30 days. Can you find the out? Can you balance my budget and make it work? Can you get the bill collectors of my back? Can you afford internet service to file state job applications and apply for services online? Can you maintain pride and dignity without feeling the least bit sorry for yourself and the choices you have made?
When I go to the pharmacy, I am humiliated that I do not have the $3.00 necessary for the co-pay on my covered TennCare prescriptions. At least when it was $40 dollars, I was not so damn embarrassed by my lack of funds.
Remind me again why I went to school. Remind me once more why I bother to speak out. Then remind me right now that that there is somebody listening. I cannot be the only one who actually gives a crap. My contact information is listed below.
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
E-mail: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu
(FORMER doctoral student in public policy)
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Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
E-mail: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu
http://labs.daylife.com/journalist/elyssa_durant
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/145691/elyssa_durant.html
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