It’s hard to stay positive this week and you all know that I’m a positive person – give me a road block and I’ll plow right through it. I’ll advocate. I’ll testify. I’ll blog. I’ll share my story. I’ll do anything to make sure that folks understand some of the issues you get to deal with in living with a disability. If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know it’s not always easy.
So, this is what I’m afraid of this week and I won’t even tell you how much my mom has been crying over the past couple days – the worry, the fear, and the angst is real for me and for those who love and care for me most.
Living in a War with Time
It feels like I’m living in a war with time and it’s not going my way. I started receiving SNAP benefits in 2022. They’re one of the critical services I need to help me be able to live my own independent life. Not feeling the love this week! Without SNAP, it’ll be difficult to be able to EAT! I mean it’s already difficult to eat because I rely on direct support staff to feed me and give me drinks, which brings me to…
Be Human
Governor Walz announced last week that they’d be auditing 14 programs that support people with disabilities in Minnesota. I depend on two of those programs for all of my staffing. As part of the audit process, if funding is paused to the provider I use, then WHAT HAPPENS TO ME? What happens to MY STAFF?
I’ll be back to square one if my staff aren’t paid. It would mean that I would probably need to move back home until this is all sorted. That could then result in impacts to my housing voucher, SSI, and the other services I have fought so hard for and, if I lose any of them, could be IMPOSSIBLE to get them back with the current state of our country.
And, by the way, I’m very grateful that I have a home and family to return to – but others won’t. What happens to them? Emergency rooms or more costly institutionalized types of care?
Was this what my Governor intended? I know fraud and waste = bad. AND I’m not fraud AND my staff aren’t waste. But, I feel as if people with disabilities and their staff are the ones who will be paying the price. It just feels as if there could have been a better way to set up these services with needed oversight to prevent and detect potential fraud in the first place.
Anyway, I meet with my case manager and staffing provider tomorrow for my annual meeting. There are a lot of unknowns right now and it shouldn’t be this hard to live my life. I’m not feeling hopeful today so thanks for giving me some space to be real.
Read more
- Shaky rollout of Medicaid payments audits caused confusion, concern for medical providers | Minnesota Reformer
- Minnesota brings in third-party group to audit high-risk Medicaid program billings | MPR News
- Uncertainty Over Federal Food Aid Deepens | MPR News
Soundtrack for this week
It’s a Brandi week! Stay strong!
Justin Smith Writes 