Latest Obamacare “Glitch”: Dishonoring America’s Elderly
“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse…” Genesis 12:3
This was a promise from God to Abraham in the Old Testament but it seems this is not the case with today’s American elderly population.
Hidden deep in the many pages of Obamacare, major cuts are going to be made in home health care for seniors making it clear that this administration has a lack of respect for human life and dignity.
Dan Weber, President and Founder of the Association of Mature American Citizens, told the Washington Times that on January 1st “exactly 14 percent, or an estimated $22 billion” was cut out of home health care services for America’s seniors. An American citizen is qualified as a “senior” at 60 years of age. Historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, in their book Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 – 2069, classify the ‘younger’ senior as a “Baby Boomer”. Many individuals in this age bracket still work and lead vibrant, independent lives. Their dependency upon home health care services is distinctively lower, than the need of more mature seniors.
The most concerning generations who are affected by this horrifying cut to home health care support fall in the “Greatest Generation” (born 1901 – 1924) and the “Silent” generation (born 1925 – 1942). Simply translated, for most of us this range of seniors includes our parents and grandparents–and Obamacare has robbed the Greatest Generation of benefits for which they earned.
Medicine has advanced to a point in which families are blessed with sometimes celebrating life with four generations at once. Advances in health research and medicine now allow individuals to live longer, not only to enjoy more experiences for themselves, but to enjoy more life with their loved ones. However in response to having the ability of sustaining healthy, active lives for older generations, Obamacare is seeking to limit these advantages by cutting home health services.
Weber revealed that in the past three years, home health care services “saved the Medicare program $2.8 billion” with “approximately $670 million of that savings” coming from 20,000 fewer hospital readmissions. Nearly 20,000 individuals were able to convalesce in their homes. Giving them more comfort during their illnesses and recovery, as well as lessening the opportunity of contracting other infections, while in a healthcare facility.
This recent revelation of home health care cuts, due to Obamacare, is discouraging to seniors and their families. Home health care services were a blessing to our family and gave my grandmother a better end of life experience than she would have had otherwise.
In January 2012, at the age 95, my grandmother was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. It was a shock to her and to our family. After surviving the surgery to remove the cancer, she was moved to a surgical rehabilitation center. Thankful for her medical assistance in the facility, she unfortunately contracted C. diff (Clostridium Difficile). C. diff is highly contagious and is a large problem in hospitals and long-term care centers. While suffering through three separate rounds of the infection, as a family we were advised to not visit my grandmother due to its highly infectious nature. This caused weeks of separation between our family and our grandmother/great-grandmother, with not being allowed to visit. Not an ideal situation for families.
When fighting infections such as these, contracted in larger facilities, seniors are not able to return home. In some cases they are sent to large, multi-unit facilities for the safety of other residents. The contraction of infections such as C. diff is an incredibly real example for the need of home health services for seniors. In some cases, allowing seniors to recuperate in their own homes will lessen the threat of life threatening infections.
Upon my grandmother’s third successful recovery from the infection, we were able to bring her home. At 96, she began trying to regain a portion of her health in her own home with the assistance of qualified, skilled nursing assistants through her home health care providers.
Unfortunately, my grandmother lost her battle with cancer in January 2013. However, if Obamacare had been the law of the land at that time, my grandmother may not have had the incredible care she was given in her final months of life. Her comfort level, physically and emotionally, would not have been what she deserved–which is what all our American seniors deserve.
My grandmother was a part of the Greatest Generation. She picked cotton in the south for years. She worked alongside my grandfather cleaning schools. She knew the value of hard work and never complained about it. Her generation was the part of our history which created a work ethic we followed very closely as a country, until recently. Work hard and you will be rewarded.
Now, Obamacare is telling this generation and the ones to come that life, and the care for it, doesn’t matter. They seem to believe that treating seniors with dignity and respect is overrated and it is more important to steal the services they rightly deserve in our society to make life “easier” for the younger generations, who now believe it is better to be given to than to give.
I believe the curses are beginning for not honoring those whom God commands us to honor.
