At the end of February 2024, I was visiting my son’s group home, where I was given a letter addressed to Ian from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and our local Washtenaw Department of DHS. It was the result of a dreaded Medicaid eligibility review by the State. Ian is 39 years old and has profound and lifelong intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The letter, a “Health Care Coverage Determination Notice”, started out on a cheerful note giving hope of continued eligibility for at least some health care coverage: As of 3/1/24, Ian is eligible for “…O ..read more

We have had our own personal version of "unwinding chaos" since the end of February, 2024. Our son Ian, who has profound, lifelong, disabilities and lives in a group home in Ypsilanti, Michigan, was found ineligible for full Medicaid healthcare benefits that he had been receiving for almost 20 years. Before I go into what happened and how the problem has finally been resolved (knock-on-wood), here is an article from Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF Health News) with a broader picture of what is happening across the country: ‘Worse Than People Can Imagine’: Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Breeds Chaos in St ..read more

According to an article from the Detroit Free Press, "Washtenaw, Wayne county officials recommend vaccination amid potential measles exposures" by Jenna Prestininzi, 3/3/2024, measles has made its way to Washtenaw and Wayne County, Michigan: "Those most at risk include those who are unvaccinated, those who don't know their immunization status, pregnant women and those who have a weakened immune system because of illness and diseases like HIV, malnutrition and/or medications." "Common measles symptoms include:     •    High fever (may spike to more ..read more

This is from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 2, 2024 CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112, SutfinL1@michigan.gov MDHHS Children’s Special Health Care Services
 expands to cover young adults until age 26 LANSING, Mich. – Young adults with special health care needs in Michigan will have increased access to care thanks to the expansion of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Children’s Special Health Care Services (CSHCS) program. Through a FY24 budget recommendation by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that was approved by the Michigan ..read more

January 21, 2024 Voter information is available on the MI Secretary of State Website. The Republican primary election is more contested this year than the Democratic primary and a bit more complicated. You can read about that here. Register to vote: You can register to vote on-line up to 14 days before the election. After that, for this election, you can register in person up until and on Election Day at your city or township clerk’s office. Michigan does not register voters by party affiliation. When you vote in a primary election, you need to pick a ballot for one party with the names of ..read more

The Detroit Free Press reported today on a proposal by Governor Whitmer to provide tax relief to caregivers.  According to the article, “Whitmer's Michigan caregiver tax credit proposal could provide up to $5,000 in tax relief” by Clara Hendrickson, 1/21/24, the plan would “provide up to $5,000 in tax relief for thousands of Michigan families, covering expenses such as counseling, transportation and nursing or respite services. Whitmer's office said the proposal will allow more seniors in Michigan to age where they live and help parents caring for children with long-term needs.” Accordi ..read more

This is a post from The DD News Blog for August 12, 2018. Not much has changed since then, with the exception of a worldwide pandemic that killed over a million people in the US and revealed serious inadequacies in the country's healthcare system. It also shined a light on the heroics of healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic, who, at first had the admiration and respect of the public. Later, they suffered abuse from the misdirected anger of a portion of the public stirred up by conspiracy theories about the virus and vaccines. The system of care for people with I/DD and their ..read more

Happy Birthday, Ian! When Ian was born, he was smaller than a five-pound bag of sugar, but better looking. He spent six weeks in the Stanford Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (the NICU), with a nasty alpha strep infection acquired in utero, an extremely rare event. Some poor intern or medical student was assigned the job of finding out exactly how rare this is - most cases of alpha strep infection in newborns are acquired during a vaginal birth, but he was born by C-section. The student, without the benefit of our modern search engines, came up with about 30 similar cases. During his fi ..read more

Gun violence is usually covered in terms of deaths and numbers of mass shootings. The survivors of gun violence often become part of the disability community -  when a victim is not killed by an AK-15, for instance, his or her survival, often with grave injuries, may lead eventually to lifelong disabilities and trauma-induced mental distress. The prevention of gun violence should be a concern of disability advocates.  The Washington Post published an article last November, “Terror on Repeat: A rare look at the devastation caused by AR-15 shootings” by Silvia Foster-Frau, N. Kirkpatr ..read more

In August of 2023, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) released a Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Comments and Suggestions on Updating the NIH Mission Statement.  The proposal to remove the phrase "reducing disability" from the NIH mission came out of a 66-page report from the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) Working Group on Diversity, Subgroup on Individuals with Disabilities which I have only glanced at, but hope to read more thoroughly. It appears there are many issues regarding the inclusion of people with disabilities in the medical workforce and reducing di ..read more