Missouri's Final Solution to the Disabled Problem (Medicaid cuts)

[usregimechange]

Tim Lambeth gets a hug from friend and co-worker Lisa McReynolds at his not-so-happy retirement party. Lambeth is being forced to leave his job at Disability Connections because of changes in Medicaid that go into effect Thursday. ~Springfield News-Leader

Linda M. Dallas runs four homes in Jefferson County that take care of people with profound to severe physical or mental disabilities. Seventeen of the 47 residents use feeding tubes. Otherwise, they would aspirate food into their lungs.

Such "enteral nutrition" - feeding tubes that go directly into a person's stomach - is on the list of durable medical equipment that won't be covered. So Dallas, executive director of Pony Bird Inc. in Mapaville, has been studying the options. ~St. Louis Post Dispatch

This bill was proposed by a Republican governor passed by a Republican General Assembly without a single Democratic vote.

Senate Vote on SB 539

YEAS—Senators
Bartle (R) Cauthorn (R) Champion (R) Clemens (R)
Crowell (R) Dolan (R) Gibbons (R) Griesheimer (R)
Gross (R) Klindt (R) Koster (R) Loudon (R)
Nodler (R) Purgason (R) Ridgeway (R) Scott (R)
Shields (R) Stouffer (R) Taylor (R) Vogel—20 (R)

House vote on SB 539

AYES: 089

Avery (R) Baker 123 (R) Bearden (R) Behnen (R)
Bivins (R)
Brown 30 (R) Bruns (R) Byrd (R) Chinn (R)
Cooper 120 (R)
Cooper 155 (R) Cooper 158 (R) Cunningham 145 (R)
Cunningham 86 (R) Davis (R)
Day (R) Deeken (R) Dempsey (R) Denison (R)
Dethrow (R)
Dixon (R) Dusenberg (R) Emery (R) Ervin (R)
Faith (R)
Fares (R) Fisher (R) Flook (R) Franz (R)
Goodman (R)
Guest (R) Hobbs (R) Hunter (R) Icet (R)
Jackson (R)
Johnson 47 (R) Jones (R) Kelly (R) Kingery (R)
Lager (R)
Lembke (R) Lipke (R) Loehner (R) May (R)
McGhee (R)
Moore (R) Munzlinger (R) Muschany (R) Myers (R)
Nieves (R)
Nolte (R) Parson (R) Pearce (R) Phillips (R)
Pollock (R)
Portwood (R) Pratt (R) Quinn (R) Rector (R)
Richard (R)
Roark (R) Robb (R) Ruestman (R) Rupp (R)
Sander (R)
Sater (R) Schaaf (R) Schad (R) Schlottach (R)
Self (R)
Smith 118 (R) Smith 14 (R) Stefanick (R) St. Onge (R)
Sutherland (R)
Threlkeld (R) Tilley (R) Viebrock (R) Wallace (R)
Wasson (R)
Wells (R) Weter (R) Wilson 119 (R) Wilson 130
(R) Wood (R)
Wright 137 (R) Wright 159 (R) Yates (R) Mr
Speaker (R)
http://www.house.state.mo.us/bills051/jrn/jrn069.htm
http://www.house.mo.gov/bills051/jrn/jrn050.htm

[jackster]

1. HEY FREEPERS - check out

compassionate conservatisam and American family values of your crowd.

AIN'T YOU PROUD?????

[usregimechange]

2. more

PEGGY BISHOP was raised among the hills and hollows of Ozark County, hard by the Arkansas line. It's never been an easy life. It's about to get harder.

On Thursday, Mrs. Bishop will lose Medicaid. She faces a choice: Find a way to do without bottled oxygen, which she gulps through a small hole in her throat just above her collarbone, or find $326 in a monthly budget already stretched beyond the breaking point.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/563116E67CECE0E38625706A00324A64?OpenDocument

[sandnsea]

4. I was just around there

Drove from Little Rock to St. Louis. Last time I drove it, a few years ago, it was "quaint". The old country stores, the funky flea markets, etc. This time, the poverty just smacked you right in the face. Parts were near par to some reservations I've driven through. Missouri was definitely worse off than Arkansas, no question. With gas continuing to rise, I don't know how these people out in the middle of nowhere are going to survive.

[brentspeak]

20. Gov.Blunt slandered Mrs.Bishop as having a "token job"

The woman's got her freakin' larynx removed, and she spends much of the day blue in the face from gulping oxygen through a hole in her throat; but Blunt is so shameless he would mislabel Mrs.Bishop as an example of "fraud".

Hey, Blunt, what kind of job do you expect her to be able to have? Heartless, utterly without-a-conscience Republican.

[leesa]

3. I hate to break it to ya but this will be happeneing everywhere soon.

Our medical system is collapsing. The greed of the insurance companies, Big Pharma and the other rapers of our country have produced a disaster. Managed care is a disaster. Insurance companies have raked in huge premiums but pay very little for "covered" expenses. Medical professionals and hospitals/clinics are not getting paid. How can they operate if they are not getting paid?
State programs are being charged over-bloated prices to try to make up the losses and are being crushed by the burden, therefore they will cut program benefits. It's a huge mess.

[jillan]

14. I have a beautiful handicapped daughter,,,, and they are going to meet

her real soon if they dare mess with her benefits.

The repugs in this state (AZ) tried to do it once before.

What is it with these people that they can take from the most vulnerable of society- the elderly, the poor, and the disabled.

Excuse my language but

THOSE FUCKERS! AND THEY THINK THEY ARE GOING TO HEAVEN???:rofl: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[earth mom]

19. NO-those fuckers will NEVER see Heaven!!!

Hell might be too good for them too! :grr: :grr: :grr:

[usregimechange]

5. kick

[salin]

6. nominated.

have to add tax cuts and more giveaways to energy companies - at a time when they are already raking record profits... and so we send less to states - and they make cuts that are likely to lead to death - no problem - we'll just remind folks that we are against gay marriage and they won't notice how anti-teachings-of-Christ we really are - heck - for good measure we will claim that anyone opposing us is "AntiChristian". :grr:

[usregimechange]

7. Guys, help me tell this story to the rest of the country, nominate

[NoFederales]

11. Done

NoFederales

[usregimechange]

12. Thank you, this means a lot to me...

[sistersofmercy]

8. Where are you in MO?

St Louis here. I can't stand Blunt and the rest of those buzzards running things in our state. Election night when I finally went to sleep I thought Claire had won, imagine waking up to cold, hard reality of Blunder!

[usregimechange]

10. Lamar, birthplace of Harry S.

[area51]

9. Ah, yes, "compassionate conservatism" in action.

... From the party that calls itself "pro-life". Truly, the republican party is the 21st century Nazi party. Whom would Jesus kill? :mad:

[MO_Dem]

24. Compassion for rich conservatives

I believe that's the definition of repig "compassionate conservative"

[usregimechange]

25. I think we can hit them over the head with the Bible on this and...

its about time.

[usregimechange]

13. kicky

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. And don't forget that DFS case workers

were told to stop telling their clients to call their elected representatives to complain about the cuts in Medicaid.

This was the most outrageous thing that happened all summer, IMO.

[gordianot]

27. Those that still answer were told that.

This will be outsourced soon to India.

[usregimechange]

28. Ha, I know several that did it more after that!

[gordianot]

30. Way to go.

After all it is just good customer service.

[calimary]

16. Okay, everybody, repeat after me: THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU

VOTE republi-CON.

Here's just another example.

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU VOTE republi-CON. That's what you get. This is what you get. This kind of rip-off disgrace and "compassionate conservatism" is WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU VOTE republi-CON. And we have the votes to prove it, here.

[deadparrot]

17. That's my state (thanks, Baby Blunt).

Glad to see that list free of (D)s.

[oxbow]

18. It's time to start working on a national healthcare plan

This is what I'm gonna be pouring my activism energy into for the next little while, and I hope others join me.

This is the org I'm considering working with:
http://www.pnhp.org/

I wish the Democrats were more on this though. And Iraq, and the economy. Sure they're out of power, but that doesn't mean they can't be pushing reasonable solutions.

[usregimechange]

21. Great web-site/idea!

[cosmicdot]

23. note PNHP's call for a national health program was in 1989 ...

... here we are in 2005 ... 16 years later ...

A National Health Program for the United States: A Physicians' Proposal

Reprinted from the New England Journal of Medicine 320:102-108 (January 12), 1989

Abstract:

Our health care system is failing. Tens of millions of people are uninsured, costs are skyrocketing, and the bureaucracy is expanding. Patchwork reforms succeed only in exchanging old problems for new ones. It is time for basic change in American medicine. ~snip~ (N Engl J Med 1989; 320: 102-8.)

http://www.pnhp.org/publications/a_national_health_program_for_the_united_states.php

The “United States National Health Insurance Act,” H.R. 676

http://www.house.gov/conyers/news_health_care.htm

In 2003, Rep Conyers introduced HR 676, The United States National Health Insurance Act, co-sponsored by Dennis Kucinich, (D- OH), Jim McDermott, (D-WA, and Donna Christensen (D-VI). The bill currently has 37 co-sponsors. Under HR 676, Medicare is extended and improved so that all individuals residing in the United States would receive high quality and affordable health care services. They would get a national health insurance card, and receive all medically necessary services by the physicians of their choice, with no restrictions on what providers they could visits. This includes primary care, dental, mental health, prescription drugs, and long term care.

[WCGreen]

22. Maybe all of us disabled folks should just change our name

to Schiavo

[usregimechange]

31. They might get some help than, esp. if there are tv cameras

[gordianot]

26. Baby Blunt is also obsessed about security.

It was a real treat watching them beef up the security on the Governors Mansion while the the disabled swarmed the State Capitol in wheel chairs. I am sure that was a threat to someone, not sure who? Don't worry about bothering Mr. Blunt he is not there, and is riding somewhere in his two new armored SUV's. I watched this play out all summer from my office window before I changed jobs.

This is what happens when radicals are elected into office in a State with term limits. That list of radical Republicans was elected and are trashing Missouri. My hope is the relatives of the disabled are now willing to take up the slack for disabled and elderly relatives they have betrayed.

There is no or little compassion in the halls of the State Capitol in Jefferson City. By the way one thing that was learned this summer, make enough noise and Baby Blunt will back down. Could it be the citizens of Missouri are getting fed up and some are worried about a Political future? Don't look too hard for statesmanship in Missouri Government they want expedience.

[usregimechange]

29. Some of these people have gotten death threats. Blunt for sure.

I do not advocate violence.