“My Name Is…” A Video
“My Name Is…”
People with disabilities were profiled in “My Name Is…” a video produced by Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Visiting Fellow and former ABC News Correspondent, Jackie Judd, and shown at a December 12 briefing to release the findings from a survey of people with permanent mental and/or physical disabilities and their health-care experiences and challenges in accessing and paying for care.
Selected quotes from the video are below:
Mary, age 43, schizophrenia, pays $700 per month for her COBRA coverage:
“I cannot afford to see a doctor for any reason right now because I can’t meet the deductible, and I can’t even project the out-of-pocket expenses… I’ve been having some problems with my heart rate and I can’t afford to see a cardiologist.”
Retha, age 60, who has severe nerve damage resulting from a work-related injury, has health coverage under Medicare (with no supplemental coverage).
“… to pay for full insurance, there’s no way I could do it. I wouldn’t have any insurance if I didn’t have Medicare. I wouldn’t have anything.”
“I don’t go [to the doctor] lots of times when I need to go because I know I can’t pay for it, and even if I could pay the doctor, how would I buy the medicine? Why go to the doctor if you can’t pick up the medicine that he’s prescribed you? That’s a waste of your time – so I rely on a lot of old home remedies and stuff like that.”
Jessica, age 20, was diagnosed with dystonia – a progressive neuro-muscular disease – at age 12. Out-of-pocket expenses with Medicaid are several thousand dollars a year – and could increase when she turns 21 and is no longer a minor.
“We’re barely holding together, and there’s like a thin layer of glue that’s keeping everyone together. There’s a bunch of cracks everywhere and they’re all going to fall apart at some point.”