South Carolina Healthcare Voices

From The Associated Press:

By JOHN SEEWER–7/16/2011

Born with cerebral palsy, Jennifer McPhail relies on a home health aide to help her get dressed for work and ready for bed at night.

Her motorized wheelchair keeps her active, working as an organizer with a disability rights group in Austin, Texas, and volunteering to help people find housing and to staff hurricane shelters. She now fears deep cuts in the state’s Medicaid spending will prevent her from living independently.

“What it says to me is that the state doesn’t value the lives of people with disabilities,” said McPhail, 39. “A lot of people are going to be hurt in a very intimate way.”

It’s a concern facing families across the country as states with gaping budget deficits cut home health services that help keep the elderly and disabled out of nursing homes. States are reducing how much time a nurse can spend making house calls and ending meal deliveries for the homebound. Many also are gutting adult day care programs that give seniors a safe place to spend their days while their relatives are at work. (more…)

Filed under: Health Care Law Implementation, In The Courts, In the news, Medicaid | Tagged: Alzheimer's Association, Anita Bradberry, California, Deval Patrick, Florida, Massachusetts, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MetLife Inc., Minnesota, Minnesota HomeCare Association, National Adult Day Services Association, National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Neil Johnson, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice Inc., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | 1 Comment »