T’s not enough that at least 4.6 million Americans have lost Medicaid benefits, the new rule from this administration, HHS unveiled a new rule stating that persons who have received a terminal diagnosis must meet the work requirements. That includes cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Parkinson’s patients. It’s not like dying is enough work for any person.
Dying persons must prove that their dying “significantly impairs” their ability to work under the new rule. Granted, people can die at least through next year without having to work, for the new rule does not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2028. For a dying person, that must seem like a long time.
Thanks to our lack of a real national health insurance program 4 in 10 cancer patients deplete their savings within two years of their diagnosis. Terminal illness doesn’t just affect minorities in urban areas; rural whites whose hospitals will close thanks to White House policies will suffer as well. And you thought the plague years were bad.
Prayer for the Day
Where are you, O God, in the midst of our struggles,
Desperately trying to live as we are dying?
Calling out to you, as did the Psalmist of old,
We are fearful that we will be abandoned.
Embrace us in your mercy, O Lord, caring for us,
As we struggle with our living and dying.
In the name of the One who embodies your mercy,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
If this is what people receiving SNAP benefits have been subjected to, imagine what’s going to happen to people who will need to navigate the new [Medicaid] requirements while struggling with a debilitating or terminal illness.
Tanya Graham & Steven Janis, reporters, Inequality Watch
One of the most significant factors in whether someone survives a cancer diagnosis is whether they have health insurance coverage.
Lisa Lacasse, American Cancer Society
Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?
Why were there knees to receive me, or breasts to suck?
Now I would be lying down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest
With kings and counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves …
Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
Who long for death, but it does not come, digging for it more than for hidden treasures
Job 3: 11-14, 20-21