Medical Mom Wins Gold at the Olympics
Plus: Nebraska state senator sounds the alarm after disabled son's Medicaid eligibility error; Survey finds more than a third of medical parents in England have had to quit work
Medical Motherhood’s news round up
Snippets of news and opinion from outlets around the world. Click the links for the full story.
• From Nebraska Public Media: “DHHS ‘error’ in case of Nebraskan with disabilities hits home with state lawmaker”
Isaac Rountree’s parents were more than puzzled when their adult child, a member of the state’s developmentally disabled community, was suddenly cut from his Medicaid coverage.
The rationale from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services made no sense to the Rountrees, who felt deprived of the detailed explanation about their son’s benefits they said is required under Nebraska law.
[…]Ultimately, after days of fretting and figuring how to adjust their budget to pay for his services themselves, a DHHS representative called to say Nebraska’s largest state agency had made a “data entry error.”
[…]“It’s still confusing to us,” said State Sen. Victor Rountree, a Nebraska lawmaker whose training as an accountant has him looking for an analysis that explains how his son was booted. “I wanted to see the work papers — show me the work.”
[…]Though Isaac’s predicament apparently is resolved, the senator said his concern remains. He suspects state health officials are “digging to find anything they can latch onto” to question a person’s eligibility.
He said not everyone may be in a position to challenge a decision. He wants the DHHS to adhere to state law, and routinely provide the computation and methodology behind a decision that alters lives, adding that complete information is vital to launching an appeal.
“I’m taking my gloves off,” Rountree said. “I’m just like every other parent and family … we need bonafide, good information where we can make decisions.”
• From ITV (United Kingdom): “Parents of children with special needs 'forced' to give up work due to 'broken' SEND system”
A coalition of charities has told ITV News that parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are being pushed to the brink by a broken system and left with no choice but to give up their employment to advocate for their children.
Parents and carers have warned they are increasingly being “forced” to quit their jobs, reduce their hours or take out loans, as overstretched and under-resourced schools struggle to support students with additional needs.
[…]A survey shared exclusively with ITV News by the Disabled Children’s Partnership found that over a third (37%) of parents and carers in England have had to quit their job to support a child with SEND, while 34% have had to reduce their working hours and around a quarter (22%) have had to change jobs.
Meanwhile, 31% of the families surveyed said they have to rely on benefits due to the financial pressure of supporting a child with additional needs.
Anna Bird, from the DCP, said it is a “stain on society” that a generation of children has been “let down by the system that has insufficient support”. […]
• From Chosun Daily: “Elana Meyers Taylor Wins Monobob Gold as Disabled Children's Mom”
Elana Meyers Taylor (42, United States), a “supermom” who raised children with disabilities while competing on the Olympic stage, won her first individual gold medal on her fifth Olympic challenge.
[…]Taylor is the mother of two sons with disabilities. Her older son, born in 2020, has Down syndrome and hearing impairment, while her younger son, born in 2022, also has hearing impairment. During competitions, she often waves a handwritten sign saying, “Mom loves you,” toward broadcast cameras for her sons, who struggle to hear. “After the tunnel, there is bright light,” Taylor said. “I want to deliver hope to many parents raising children with disabilities.”[…]
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