Dear Mom,
You won't comprehend this because you have Stage 6 Dementia, but
things need to change. The nice congressmen in Washington want to free
us from government dependency so we can make better healthcare choices
without the stigma of taking handouts from society.
So, Mom, about your Medicaid Aged and Disabled Waiver that pays me a
40 hr/week pittance to care for you at home 24/7: the new HHS Secretary
and Medicaid Chief sent our Governor a letter that says people on
Medicaid should seek employment if they want to keep those benefits.
This may sound unfair considering you're 89, bladder and bowel
incontinent, unable to walk unassisted, and often lapse into episodes of
uncontrollable whimpering, but if the government decides it's for the
best, we'll all need to buck up and contribute our fair share. After
all, your 50 year nursing career doesn't necessarily entitle you to a
free ride.
I'll probably need to get a "real" job too, because I exploit the
system. Never mind that your care would cost the state $78,000 annually
in a nursing home versus the $16,000 it pays me; leave the math to those
smart fellas in Washington who understand that big government should
stop controlling our lives. The important thing is we'll have freedom to
choose, and not impose an unfair tax burden on millionaires and the
medical industrial complex.
Once I stop taking handouts, I won't be home with you. We should
bolster the economy by hiring attendant care, but it costs more than I
can earn, and Medicare won't cover it because those warmhearted
legislators support family values like looking after our own. You'll
enjoy being home alone all day, Mom. You don't really need regular meals
or clean Depends, and when you have one of your falls, you can rest
quietly on the floor in a puddle of urine until I get off work. Those
dear congressmen give us other options, too, such as permanently placing
you in a facility to die more quickly and efficiently. Here's another
choice: I could stay home and attend you for free! We'll do fine on your
Social Security income by sacrificing a few luxuries like groceries,
property taxes, electricity, and the car.
There's a bonus, Mom. I won't be forced to maintain health
insurance! Remember “Obamacare” that saved my life through early cancer
screening? The Republicans devised a better plan. Because I'm over 50
and earn $150 per year above the Medicaid cutoff, my annual premium will
increase by roughly $6,000, but I can choose to opt out! I'll still
have "access” but not be victimized by the enslaving tax subsidy that
let me afford coverage for the first time in 25 years. I'm excited about
returning to indigent emergency room treatment and boosting insurance
industry profits while taxpayers shoulder the cost instead.
With so many great options it's hard to decide, but here's our new
plan, Mom. Under Trumpcare, I'll "choose" to lose health coverage, seek a
minimum wage job, and dump you in a nursing home. Between the cost of
facility care, a couple of ER visits and perhaps one minor surgery for
me per year, and the food stamps and heating assistance I'll need once
you and your Social Security income leave the household, I estimate we
will save the government roughly NEGATIVE $350,000 over the next 5
years! Multiply that by the millions of people who will lose coverage,
and you can appreciate what a sensible and economical plan the
Republicans have devised.
You'll be proud to receive depersonalized institutional care instead
of burdening society in comfort with your family. The facility gets
your Social Security check, and Medicare/Medicaid will cover the balance
until you hit the newly proposed block grant funding cap. If you're
still alive then, we're unsure what will happen, but we can trust
Congress to do what's right. I hear they're formulating a plan to ship
the poor, elderly, and chronically ill to arctic ice floes. It's called
“Trump Tower North: the Last Resort.” You might even get to see polar
bears before they become extinct! Won't that be fun?
I'm so happy that the government wants to stop interfering in our lives.
Love,
Your Freeloading Daughter
P.S. Mom, if you do need a job to keep that Medicaid, I thought of a
placement for someone who can't function productively, has no grasp of
reality, and relies on government entitlements. 435 congressional seats
will open up next year. You appear to be perfectly qualified.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/24/1646735/-Dear-Mom-About-your-50-year-nursing-career-Medicaid-Woman-s-post-will-blow-GOP-minds
No comments:
Post a Comment
Spammers, stay out. Only political and video game discussion here.