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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI'm gonna cut a few wires here.
First off, I have voted Democrat since my first eligible,, and I voted Dukakis. I won't tell my whole life story here,I wil just try to tell you how I feel, and what I have lived. If you choose to read what may be longish post here,,I'll know, but maybe a few folks will listen. Today was a big day for Dems in the world,,, more so maybe in my world,,,heres what happened. 2 words BLOCK GRANTS...
Don't get it? let me explain what block grants do,, I worked in hcp field for a number of years before I retired,, I did adopt m ywife's child when she was 23 years old because My daughter is hcp. A quick synopsis on how these great "block grants" are going to work..
When I worked in field ( 2 years ago I retired for info sake) every dollar Tn spent on hcp people,,, fedral matched by up to 2 dollars,, pretty good deal I admit.. But I worked in a field ,, in mgmt,, where I asked folks to take care of hcp individuals 24/7,, nd ,,big point here,, and give them their meds!!! and we paid them starting wage of 9.00 an hour. with the HUGE FECKING responsibility of giving medications!!!
Now that you know why I chose to retire, when I wwas only 2 steps away form a CEO position,,, let me explain Block grants to you.
Where we got ( when I worked) 2 to 1 matching,, a block grant does this,, instead of matching,, the federal will give X amount of dollars to each state and then the state will decide how those dollars are spent, period,,no discussion, recourse, or federal lawsuits. So,, Let's see,,,
Hospitals,,nursing homes,, hospital home care,, on and on until we get to challenged people. Challenged people that can't take their own meds or in some instances,,,cook or bathe themselves.or VOTE..You think for 1 second that these folks will come before big dollar hospitals?? Do you think for a second that these folks will come before anything less than whats left over?
I am gonna be honest,,,I really do not give a damn what you believe by reading internet and short posts,, I believe what I KNOW because I was deep inside this field,,,and I a paid a lot of my money to protect my daughters future,, because, block grants will shut down where she goes daily to be with her peers,,, because even before block grants,,where she goes, discontinued simple transportation to get her there everyday, (7.65 a day, such big money,,right? ) and now Mom and I get to pay for her to feel like a part of a community..What will my daughters organization lose next?,, I can tell you,if you choose to read on,, they will choose to discontinue day services. Which is what my daughter is in,,because she still lives at home with Mom and I ,,because we will never put her in a "supported living home"
OH!!!!! new phrase,,what is supported living?? that is where corporations like I worked for,,some for profit,,most not for profit. Out of Fairness,,,, that is where they rent homes,, put up to 3 hcp individuals into that home who cannot live on their own and have no family, or their remaining family turned them away,
Now we get back to these corporations,,right now they love this system,,,and the block grant will make it worse. Under the current system they pay maybe 9 dollars and hour and these folks are responsible to GIVE MEDICATIONS ALSO,,,
Under Block Grant,, what's left?? 2 choices as I see at point I retired,,, either we dont have homes to take care of folks,,or we try to convince people to work for 7.50 and hour and still give medications..HMMMMMMMMMMMMM easy call for me
ok,,now,, I have been on DU long enough,,,wanna question me why I left the field?? ok,,I'll answer now so you wont bruise your lil fingers typing.. I worked in field AFTER I adopted my adult daughter. I spent 10 year in higher mgmnt,, on call 24/7 Literally, I answered phone calls at 2 am saying a home was out of paper towels.. I love the hcp people,,,,stop, when you see them,,talk to them,, see how great they really are,, because block grant is just the govt way of turning their back on people I love.
If you read this far,,PM me...ask me any questions you want... but I am tired of people who want snippets,,short posts,, and yet still think they are Informed
Doug out
pnwmom
(108,925 posts)to give less money to the states than it has been funding -- and pretend it is all okay because it lets the states decide where they'll make the cuts, instead of the Federal government.
Meanwhile, the taxpayers have to keep paying as much to the Fed govt as before, while getting back less in the block grants than they were getting in individual services.
Block grants are just a way of disguising the cutbacks, and making voters blame them on the states, rather than the Federal government.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)For years now, decades actually, Republicans have bled every red penny out of gov that they can manage to get their fingers around. They want to privatize as much as possible and give no-bid for-profit contracts to their cronies and campaign contributors. It's disgusting and inhumane.
iwillalwayswonderwhy
(2,598 posts)But I do not know what hcp stands for.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)Most common usage in the medical field is an abbreviation for "healthcare professional" or "healthcare provider", although I suspect he's referring to "hydrocephalus". That's a condition where there's an accumulation of fluid within the brain.
I know very little about that condition other than that in many cases, it requires long-term care and help from professionals trained in that field of medicine and specialized therapy.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)insulting to everyone here in telling it.
Sharing a story or experience need not be so.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)Seems like some sort of frustrated authoritarianism ("Look here, all you inferior idiots! I will tell you what you need to think!" )
Not conducive to having one's message taken to heart.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Also leads me to adding to the ignore list. Life is just too short.
Iggo
(47,486 posts)To the point, he's kinda right. I don't know what he's talking about.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)it's good to be compassionate and give them a little slack.
If I'm interpreting his post correctly, many people they love and have helped for years (including a daughter) will suffer from lack of assistance due to coming government cuts, and his family will be experiencing financial stress as well.
It's with regard to people who have little or no voice and like many people in the U.S. with poor or no insurance, their cries for help will go unanswered. That situation makes me mad as hell, too.
In my experience, those are the kind of folks Republicans go after first to cut spending - those with the least voice and funds to revolt. Block grants are one of their very devious tools they use to gradually eliminate social programs of all sorts.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)reason for blanket insults.
Iggo
(47,486 posts)I've been there and I understand it.
I just don't throw sympathy at posters who do that on this board anymore.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)you're just constitutionally a dick.
Iggo
(47,486 posts)I am that, but I don't have to be just that.
It's a learning process.
I'm pushing sixty. Maybe I'll figure it out by eighty.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)others as receptacles for one's tantrums makes me squirm.
To me it seems like the epitome of entitlement. I once read that all abuse comes from the refusal of the abuser to feel pain, and the insistence of the abuser on transmitting their pain onto others. That seems relevant to this conversation.
And I see below that the OP has apologized, which I totally accept and respect, but this topic is interesting. Where does the right to blow off steam end?
Iggo
(47,486 posts)You have to read the room. (Which the OP did an excellent job of, as we can see below.)
A discussion board has a different set of permissions than, say, a mosh pit. But in either case, the line between use and abuse still exists.
Sancho
(9,065 posts)...the author's post is confusing as to the exact issue, and clearly he blames the funding method (block grants) for a health care system issue.
I've worked in state government with a Democratic governor where "block grant" funding worked well. The way the money is used can be regulated at the federal, state, and local level efficiently or inefficiently without regard to how it got put in the coffer.
In this case, someone in the capital maybe saying, "we pay less qualified people, but we are serving thousands more" or who knows what...maybe there's a way to steal and siphon off the the dollars inappropriately, or maybe not?!?
Are corporations corrupt? Are corporations in bed with the republican crooks? YES. Is some method of funding the root cause? Maybe or maybe not.
Regulating long term care is a problem for sure, and for profit health care is clearly an American disaster. It's distracting to blame a funding method in one state.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)and said very little. You utilize acronyms that are never defined or clarified and your rather unique (ahem) punctuation and sentence structure render the entire diatribe impossible to parse. If you want to be taken seriously when writing then it behooves you to learn how to do so with some basic competence. Your post was a shitshow from a readability perspective.
I enjoy long posts and I love to be informed. But that wall of text managed to be meaningless AND insulting AND contentious to no end. You havent helped your cause or furthered your argument in any way.
kozar
(2,029 posts)I meant only to try and let people know from the inside how this grant is going to affect hcp (handicapped) people
I am truly sorry for any offense caused,,
My wife always said I should count to 10 when I am passionate about something.. Im sure I could have worded this better.
Sorry,,
Koz
Squinch
(50,773 posts)deserve it, and who least can manage it.
And I have long believed that the people who will be most affected by this are the ones from whom we have the most to learn.
ismnotwasm
(41,916 posts)And we have, on a routine basis any number of patients who literally cant find places to go, because of cognitive condition, because of insurance status, because of things like dialysis needs. Death ends up being the only choice.
Block grants are a Horrible idea.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)handicapped person, I worry a lot. my child is 47 yrs and her siblings have just notified us they will not care for her after our deaths. She is on the level of a one year old and needs care not just a group home. these days, there are few choices for handicapped people and using them to make bucks for corporations is downright disgusting and evil. More people need to know about this problem and you should yell about it, and so should I.