Mitt Romney announced that people in the U.S. do not die from a lack of health insurance. I guess the 45,000 people that die each year because they can't get medical care due to lack of insurance will be happy to know that. I bet their families feel better now, too.
That number comes from a study conducted by Harvard, by the way. But I guess Romney has conducted his own research and considered his statistics more accurate.
He explained that people without health insurance don't die from lack of medical care because they just go to the hospital and get treated anyway and if they don't have insurance, some charity, the government, or the hospital pays for their care. I bet all the people filing bankruptcy due to medical bills they can't pay will be happy to hear that some charity, the government, or the hospital will pay their bills. (According to the American Journal of Medicine, 62% of folks that file bankruptcy do so because of medical bills they can't pay.)
For that matter, I have some medical bills I'm having trouble paying. Does anyone know how to apply to get some charity or the government to pay them? Romney neglected to mention how that works.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Why Can't You Pet a Service Dog?
Well, actually, you can pet a service dog - if the dog's handler gives you permission. In fact, you should ask permission before petting anyone's dog. Not all dogs are friendly and approaching a strange dog and trying to pet him is a good way to get bitten.
However, it's even more important to ask permission before petting a service dog. That's why many service dogs have patches on their vests or harnesses that say something like "Do Not Pet" or "I'm Working, Do Not Pet Me."
Why shouldn't you pet a service dog? Because the dog is working. Petting the dog distracts him from his job. A dog that's too distracted to do his job might merely inconvenience his handler, but it may actually put his handler in danger. Remember, people only have service dogs if they have a disability that causes significant difficulty with basic activities. They need their service dogs to perform the tasks for which they are trained.
However, it's even more important to ask permission before petting a service dog. That's why many service dogs have patches on their vests or harnesses that say something like "Do Not Pet" or "I'm Working, Do Not Pet Me."
Why shouldn't you pet a service dog? Because the dog is working. Petting the dog distracts him from his job. A dog that's too distracted to do his job might merely inconvenience his handler, but it may actually put his handler in danger. Remember, people only have service dogs if they have a disability that causes significant difficulty with basic activities. They need their service dogs to perform the tasks for which they are trained.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Service Snakes?
Have you heard about the guy with a service snake?
Well, I'm sure there are more than one out there, but there is this guy in Washington state that has a boa constrictor that he claims is a service animal and he's been fighting for several years now to get his snake acknowledged as a service animal under state and federal law. Yes, he thinks he should have the right to take his snake into public places, just like he would be allowed to take a service dog into public places.
Daniel Greene says his snake alerts him when he is getting ready to have a seizure. That might be true. No one quite understands how some animals, including some dogs, are able to know when seizures are getting ready to occur. Since no one knows how some animals know that, though, there is no way to train a dog (or other animal) to alert. They either do it or they don't. That means that alerting is not a trained task, so an animal that alerts is not considered a service animal under the ADA definition.
Snakes cannot be trained to perform tasks because their brains are simply not formed that way. They lack the part of the brain that is capable of learning "tricks" or tasks. They operate pretty much on instinct, all the time. That means that not only is a snake unable to be trained to perform tasks as service animals must be trained to do, but a snake is unable to be trained to behave appropriately in a public setting.
It's also not good for the snake. Snakes generally need a climate-controlled environment with the right temperature and humidity. Restaurants, stores, and other public places are kept at a temperature and humidity level that is comfortable for humans, not for snakes. Carrying a snake around in public is detrimental to the snake's health.
Just to be clear: under the ADA regulations, businesses are not required to allow people to bring service snakes into businesses!
Well, I'm sure there are more than one out there, but there is this guy in Washington state that has a boa constrictor that he claims is a service animal and he's been fighting for several years now to get his snake acknowledged as a service animal under state and federal law. Yes, he thinks he should have the right to take his snake into public places, just like he would be allowed to take a service dog into public places.
Daniel Greene says his snake alerts him when he is getting ready to have a seizure. That might be true. No one quite understands how some animals, including some dogs, are able to know when seizures are getting ready to occur. Since no one knows how some animals know that, though, there is no way to train a dog (or other animal) to alert. They either do it or they don't. That means that alerting is not a trained task, so an animal that alerts is not considered a service animal under the ADA definition.
Snakes cannot be trained to perform tasks because their brains are simply not formed that way. They lack the part of the brain that is capable of learning "tricks" or tasks. They operate pretty much on instinct, all the time. That means that not only is a snake unable to be trained to perform tasks as service animals must be trained to do, but a snake is unable to be trained to behave appropriately in a public setting.
It's also not good for the snake. Snakes generally need a climate-controlled environment with the right temperature and humidity. Restaurants, stores, and other public places are kept at a temperature and humidity level that is comfortable for humans, not for snakes. Carrying a snake around in public is detrimental to the snake's health.
Just to be clear: under the ADA regulations, businesses are not required to allow people to bring service snakes into businesses!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Misconceptions About Disability
I can't tell you how many times I've heard stories like this:
"My neighbors pretend to be disabled but they really aren't. They can mow their lawn and climb up on their roof to do repairs, so obviously they aren't disabled. They are just scamming the Medicare system to get money to buy drugs. They told me they've never worked a day in their lives. I think that's so wrong."
Well, I think it's wrong, too, if it's true.
But it's not true. Oh, the neighbors might be faking disability, I don't know if they are or not. Neither does the person telling the story, though. When determining if someone is disabled or not, governmental agencies like Social Security don't really take into consideration whether or not a person can mow their lawn or climb up on a roof, unless the person used to work as a professional lawn care person or has been trained as a roofer.
But it's not true that the neighbors are scamming Medicare, because in order to qualify for Medicare, you must be at least 65 years of age, or you must have been receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for two years. If you are 65 years old, it doesn't matter if you are disabled or not, you are entitled to Medicare. To qualify for SSDI, you must have worked in the past and paid into Social Security, so if the neighbors have never had a job in their lives, they don't qualify for SSDI, so therefore they aren't getting Medicare based on disability. They aren't scamming Medicare, unless they are pretending to be 65 when they are really younger, which is not what they have been accused of doing.
And even if they were somehow scamming Medicare? Medicare doesn't give people money that they can then use to buy drugs. Medicare doesn't give people money at all. Medicare is basically a form of health insurance. People pay monthly premiums and then Medicare pays some of their medical bills. The money for the medical bills goes directly to the health care provider, not to the Medicare recipients. So the neighbors are not scamming Medicare for drug money.
Oh, I'm not saying that no one ever applies for and gets benefits they aren't really entitled to. I'm sure it happens sometimes. But it's not that easy to do. I think it's much more common for people to need help and be denied benefits. Only about 35% of people that apply for SSDI get approved the first time they apply. The other 65% must appeal, a very lengthy process.
And you have to provide all kinds of proof that you are disabled. For instance, I had to provide letters from both my psychiatrist and my psychologist, records from nearly a dozen hospital stays (do you have any idea how much work it was to track those down?), a letter from my last employer explaining some of the problems I had at work due to my disability, and more. Could I have faked all that? Faked being sick enough to require inpatient hospitalization nearly a dozen times? Have you gone to the emergency room lately? Do you know how seldom they want to admit patients these days? If someone can successfully fake all that, they probably deserve an Academy Award or something.
"My neighbors pretend to be disabled but they really aren't. They can mow their lawn and climb up on their roof to do repairs, so obviously they aren't disabled. They are just scamming the Medicare system to get money to buy drugs. They told me they've never worked a day in their lives. I think that's so wrong."
Well, I think it's wrong, too, if it's true.
But it's not true. Oh, the neighbors might be faking disability, I don't know if they are or not. Neither does the person telling the story, though. When determining if someone is disabled or not, governmental agencies like Social Security don't really take into consideration whether or not a person can mow their lawn or climb up on a roof, unless the person used to work as a professional lawn care person or has been trained as a roofer.
But it's not true that the neighbors are scamming Medicare, because in order to qualify for Medicare, you must be at least 65 years of age, or you must have been receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for two years. If you are 65 years old, it doesn't matter if you are disabled or not, you are entitled to Medicare. To qualify for SSDI, you must have worked in the past and paid into Social Security, so if the neighbors have never had a job in their lives, they don't qualify for SSDI, so therefore they aren't getting Medicare based on disability. They aren't scamming Medicare, unless they are pretending to be 65 when they are really younger, which is not what they have been accused of doing.
And even if they were somehow scamming Medicare? Medicare doesn't give people money that they can then use to buy drugs. Medicare doesn't give people money at all. Medicare is basically a form of health insurance. People pay monthly premiums and then Medicare pays some of their medical bills. The money for the medical bills goes directly to the health care provider, not to the Medicare recipients. So the neighbors are not scamming Medicare for drug money.
Oh, I'm not saying that no one ever applies for and gets benefits they aren't really entitled to. I'm sure it happens sometimes. But it's not that easy to do. I think it's much more common for people to need help and be denied benefits. Only about 35% of people that apply for SSDI get approved the first time they apply. The other 65% must appeal, a very lengthy process.
And you have to provide all kinds of proof that you are disabled. For instance, I had to provide letters from both my psychiatrist and my psychologist, records from nearly a dozen hospital stays (do you have any idea how much work it was to track those down?), a letter from my last employer explaining some of the problems I had at work due to my disability, and more. Could I have faked all that? Faked being sick enough to require inpatient hospitalization nearly a dozen times? Have you gone to the emergency room lately? Do you know how seldom they want to admit patients these days? If someone can successfully fake all that, they probably deserve an Academy Award or something.
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