You really should have been easily eligible for SSI and received that as a child, if not beginning at 18. Disabled people continue to be eligible for Medicaid. It’s frustrating that this was not something you had from the outset.
No shade, I became 18 in 1996 and always had SSI and Medicaid because I was permanently ineligible for regular health insurance and that greatly shaped my life and the choices available to me.
I think my mother did apply for SSI for me as a child. A while back, I logged into the Social Security website and saw a pending claim from the early 1980's, when I was still a minor. It was an application for SSI and the next step was an appointment at the SS office near my hometown for a date 45 years ago. I don't know whatever happened with that.
During my late teens and early twenties, I applied for assistance multiple times and was turned away as ineligible or given only food stamps for a brief period. I think the problem was that I always found employment - part-time, minimum wage work, but it showed I could work.
I'm sorry you have had to deal with the healthcare circus all your life. Universal healthcare would be such an improvement for a large segment of the population.
Thank you for sharing Dawn. As a Canadian I don't fully understand your medical system, and I can't imagine how awful it would be to age out of such critical care like post transplant cardiology.
I'm grateful you have the care you need now and I hope Americans will hear your plea and contact their representatives.
That is an odd feature of American healthcare coverage. Under the age of 18, you can find coverage as a child. Over the age of 65, you qualify for Medicare. That 47 years in between, you're on your own.
Before I retired I worked in nonprofit health care in the western U.S. We did a ton of work to support Medicaid expansion and told story after story of patients who benefited from this coverage. It is not an exaggeration to say that lives were saved and many others received care that prevented disability or further disability. At its height, the Medicaid expansion covered 40 million people. Another implication of reduced coverage is that the cost of health care goes up for everyone as providers—I’m thinking of nonprofits here—try to keep some kind of margin above zero. That margin is reinvested in the community by, for example, maintaining and updating infrastructure and equipment, paying employees a living wage and giving them decent benefits, and supporting countless smaller nonprofits in their neighborhoods. Whatever the House passes has to also pass the Senate, which tends to be more thoughtful about impacts of legislation. Just a few thoughts to add to your excellent post.
Everyone needs to know about this reality, and this column is an excellent place to start. I suggest Ms. Levitt tell us her age, so we know what laws and policies were in place when she was growing up.
You really should have been easily eligible for SSI and received that as a child, if not beginning at 18. Disabled people continue to be eligible for Medicaid. It’s frustrating that this was not something you had from the outset.
No shade, I became 18 in 1996 and always had SSI and Medicaid because I was permanently ineligible for regular health insurance and that greatly shaped my life and the choices available to me.
I think my mother did apply for SSI for me as a child. A while back, I logged into the Social Security website and saw a pending claim from the early 1980's, when I was still a minor. It was an application for SSI and the next step was an appointment at the SS office near my hometown for a date 45 years ago. I don't know whatever happened with that.
During my late teens and early twenties, I applied for assistance multiple times and was turned away as ineligible or given only food stamps for a brief period. I think the problem was that I always found employment - part-time, minimum wage work, but it showed I could work.
I'm sorry you have had to deal with the healthcare circus all your life. Universal healthcare would be such an improvement for a large segment of the population.
Thank you for sharing Dawn. As a Canadian I don't fully understand your medical system, and I can't imagine how awful it would be to age out of such critical care like post transplant cardiology.
I'm grateful you have the care you need now and I hope Americans will hear your plea and contact their representatives.
That is an odd feature of American healthcare coverage. Under the age of 18, you can find coverage as a child. Over the age of 65, you qualify for Medicare. That 47 years in between, you're on your own.
Before I retired I worked in nonprofit health care in the western U.S. We did a ton of work to support Medicaid expansion and told story after story of patients who benefited from this coverage. It is not an exaggeration to say that lives were saved and many others received care that prevented disability or further disability. At its height, the Medicaid expansion covered 40 million people. Another implication of reduced coverage is that the cost of health care goes up for everyone as providers—I’m thinking of nonprofits here—try to keep some kind of margin above zero. That margin is reinvested in the community by, for example, maintaining and updating infrastructure and equipment, paying employees a living wage and giving them decent benefits, and supporting countless smaller nonprofits in their neighborhoods. Whatever the House passes has to also pass the Senate, which tends to be more thoughtful about impacts of legislation. Just a few thoughts to add to your excellent post.
Thank you for your insightful comment. This really amplifies the need to keep Medicaid intact and avoid sacrificing lives to save a few dollars.
Everyone needs to know about this reality, and this column is an excellent place to start. I suggest Ms. Levitt tell us her age, so we know what laws and policies were in place when she was growing up.
Good point. I will have to update the above text.
For the record, I turned 18 in December 1985, at the height of the Reagan revolution.
Which is pertinent indeed. Thank you!