We are proud to announce the launch of the CREATIVE CARE COUNCIL! LEARN MORE
We are proud to announce the launch of the CREATIVE CARE COUNCIL! LEARN MORE
By Ann Serafin, an advocate with Michigan United and Caring Across Generations from Ferndale, MI
Without Medicare or Medicaid, I would have had to decide: do I eat, or do I get my meds?
I’m Ann Serafin, from Ferndale, Michigan. I’m 66 and I used to teach at University of Detroit Mercy. I am a member of Michigan United, a partner of Caring Across Generations.
And last week, I told the story of my experience with Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act to members of the Senate, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Patty Murray, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, and my home state Senator, Debbie Stabenow. This is part of the effort to stop the confirmation of Rep. Tom Price as head of the Dept. of Health and Human Services and help save our family-supporting cornerstones of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.
With Congress moving fast to undermine them, it is critical they hear directly from people who depend on them every day. And it’s critical they know that the entire country is watching. That’s why watching and sharing my story and the stories of everyone else on the panel is so important!
You can watch the whole hearing here:
I’ve had experience as both a care coordinator — for my mother, who died last year at the age of 98 after suffering from dementia — and as care recipient, due to the multiple sclerosis (MS) I’ve lived with since I was 40. After years of personal, financial, and bureaucratic struggles, I have learned, intimately, what it takes to provide a setting of dignity and compassion. I want my story to bring home to Congress what we all need in order to make the care choices that are right for us.
Even though my husband still works as a freelance writer in order to help pay our bills, without Medicare and Medicaid, things would be very different for my family. For example, the drugs I’ve had to take to help manage my MS have ranged in cost from $6,200 to $30,000 per month, the bare-bones cost for a nursing home for my mother was $6,000 per month, and the costs associated with my disability include making our home accessible, purchasing an accessible vehicle, and hiring personal assistance. There’s no way we could afford that without Medicare or Medicaid.
Without Medicare, I would have to pay an astronomical cost for coverage through a private insurer, which might not have covered me anyway.
Without Medicare and Medicaid, I don’t know how I could have cared for my mother on top of managing my own care.
Without Medicare and Medicaid, my family could have lost our home and all our savings trying to keep up with our bills. So many families are squeezed like ours, having to afford care for their aging parents and their own care or childcare at the same time.
Because of the support of these critical programs, we don’t all have to suffer just being alive. I am able to continue being productive as a person with a disability. And I am proud to serve as an advocate with Michigan United and Caring Across Generations.