Latest / Living Loud and Proud: Disability Conversations / ADAPT Vs the Bill: Medicaid's Future
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to the Living Loud and Proud podcast,
- 0:03brought to you by Disability Pride Pennsylvania.
- 0:08If you need a link to the transcript for this
- 0:11episode, please visit our accessible website
- 0:14at www .disabilitypridepa .org slash podcast.
- 0:23And now, here is your host. Hi folks! Welcome
- 0:28to the Living Loud and Proud podcast from Disability
- 0:32Pride, Pennsylvania. Today, we're talking about
- 0:35Medicaid. Very topical. I'm your host, Phil Rosen.
- 0:42I'm here with my co -producer, Ray Deca. Hello,
- 0:47folks. How's everybody today? And today, we have
- 0:50two guests on. We have Dominique Howell and Latoya
- 0:54Maddox. Latoya Maddox and Dominique Howell are
- 0:58two disability advocates with ADAPT who staged
- 1:02an action with others at the House Energy and
- 1:04Commerce Committee meeting on May 13th of this
- 1:08year. This action was highlighting the tax bill
- 1:11being deliberated in the House that would cut
- 1:13over $800 billion from Medicaid. How are you
- 1:17doing, Dom and Latoya? To speak for both of us,
- 1:25this is Dominique. I am exhausted and I'm sure
- 1:29Latoya is exhausted as well for the most part,
- 1:34but we are happy that our presence was known
- 1:38and felt and heard. Yeah, well, of course, it
- 1:45was a lot of stuff going on that day and, you
- 1:49know, getting arrested, I'm sure. Takes a lot
- 1:53of energy out of people. So I guess I just wanted
- 1:59to start off by just kind of asking you guys,
- 2:02what is the organization ADAPT? I'm exhausted,
- 2:07but I'm glad the Republicans ultimately didn't
- 2:11get anything done. So with that being said, ADAPT
- 2:15is a national grassroots organization that's
- 2:18been around for 44, almost 45 years. We are a
- 2:23group of direct activists who go out and fight
- 2:26for the rights for people with disabilities.
- 2:28We're a nonviolent, civil disobedient organization.
- 2:33And what we know for a fact is that direct action,
- 2:38when honestly our lives are on the line, has
- 2:42been the most effective way for Congress. our
- 2:48local governments to hear us and to, you know,
- 2:53make good changes for the disability community.
- 2:57Oh, awesome. And is there any like relevant history
- 3:02of ADAPT that you guys want to cover real quick
- 3:05or? So I guess the biggest piece that people
- 3:11who. may be new to listening or new to learning
- 3:15about ADAPT is that we were very instrumental
- 3:18in helping the Americans with Disabilities Act
- 3:22get passed, which will be 35 years old on July
- 3:2826th of this year. So I think that would be very
- 3:34poignant for people to learn and research. Also,
- 3:40when Medicaid was trying to get cut, I think
- 3:44it was back in 2017, we took over the Speaker
- 3:50of the House then was, I believe, Mitch McConnell's
- 3:52office, and we honestly helped save Medicaid
- 3:56that year, along with other direct activists
- 4:00that were out there. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Not
- 4:07to... correct you or anything, but I think he
- 4:09was the Senate majority leader at the time. But
- 4:13that's really cool. That's awesome to hear that
- 4:17you guys were instrumental in the ACA. I think
- 4:20I remember seeing some of the clips in 2017 on
- 4:24the news, just like I saw the clips of the action
- 4:29at the House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting
- 4:31just about a week ago. What circumstances made
- 4:36this action necessary i mean as you said in the
- 4:41beginning of your um an introduction 850 million
- 4:46dollars will be cut from medicaid and uh you
- 4:51know that's a sizable amount for the whole united
- 4:54states and the people that will be most affected
- 4:58will be the disabled community and our services
- 5:02and our wages for the people that help us. So
- 5:06that's what made this important to speak up and
- 5:11to take into action, so to speak. Right. And
- 5:16are there any finer points to that that you could
- 5:21flesh out a little bit more that maybe aren't
- 5:23being discussed in the broader discussion of
- 5:26the bill and the potential cuts? Can you, like,
- 5:32elaborate, expound a little bit? Like, I keep
- 5:38hearing a lot of people talk about, you know,
- 5:40how, you know, Medicaid covers a lot of different
- 5:44things, right? There's a lot of different programs
- 5:47that are partially funded by Medicaid that a
- 5:49lot of people don't necessarily, like, realize.
- 5:53You know, like, for instance, ADAP could be...
- 5:57potentially um one of the things that would get
- 6:00cut heavily under this bill which is like the
- 6:03assistive drug program for a lot of states um
- 6:07you know the thing that a lot of people are focusing
- 6:11on are more uh the discussion of things like
- 6:15the expanded medicaid like under the aca could
- 6:19completely go out the window because they're
- 6:21forcing states to fund that themselves so i guess
- 6:26You know, our campaign this year was, you know,
- 6:30Keys to the Community, which are based on services
- 6:39and wages and also housing, but we're not here
- 6:42to speak about housing, and everybody knows that
- 6:44there's a housing crisis. all over the country,
- 6:48so that's not really what we're here to focus
- 6:50on. But when we say services and wages, we're
- 6:53specifically talking about services that are
- 6:56covered by Medicaid. We're specifically talking
- 6:59about the wages for the people that provide us
- 7:02services under home and community -based services.
- 7:05And what people may not realize is that all over
- 7:08the country, home and community -based services
- 7:09has already been threatened to be... cut from
- 7:14people who receive Medicaid, even without this
- 7:17bill. And so since it's already being slashed,
- 7:21we know that with this $850 million idea of cutting
- 7:31Medicaid, that those services will continue to
- 7:33be cut, and that without those services, people
- 7:38like myself and Latoya and other adapters, you
- 7:41know, are... potentially will either end up in
- 7:44nursing homes or worse, end up dead because without
- 7:48those services, we cannot continue to live or
- 7:51thrive or survive in this country without Medicaid.
- 7:57Right. Yeah, that makes sense. Are there any
- 8:03other services that Medicaid provides to disabled
- 8:06individuals they otherwise would not have access
- 8:08to besides the community -based care? Yes, this
- 8:12is Latoya. So we get under that we get home modifications
- 8:18done. So a lot of people who need grab bars,
- 8:22stair lifts, lifts outside their homes, ramps,
- 8:25things of that nature, they might not be able
- 8:27to get that or it may take even longer because
- 8:30I just got my bathroom done and it took a year
- 8:33and a half for it just to get approved to get
- 8:37done and it took them a week to put it in. Think
- 8:41of Medicaid getting cut and how much longer people
- 8:44would have to wait. Things of that nature. Our
- 8:46transportation, some of us use, we live in Philadelphia,
- 8:49we use the SEPTA transportation system and yes,
- 8:53it has its flaws and yes, they are up against
- 8:55a rock and hard place. However, without that
- 9:00fare allotment that we get through our waiver,
- 9:04we would have to come out of pocket every month
- 9:06between $144 for Zone 2 to however much they
- 9:13are for cross -country, because some consumers
- 9:16go everywhere when they get a cross -country
- 9:18pass through their waiver, or at least a higher
- 9:23level, like a Zone 3, Zone 4, things of that
- 9:25nature. We get that money. I mean, we get our
- 9:30transportation and our home modifications through
- 9:32the Medicaid Home and Community -Based Service
- 9:35waiver system. And not only to mention that,
- 9:40but durable medical equipment like wheelchairs
- 9:43and, you know, shower chairs and those kinds
- 9:51of things that we need. Our PERS unit, which
- 9:53are... Personal Emergency Response Unit, also
- 9:57known as Life Alert, which, you know, a lot of
- 9:59us live independently and all of us don't have
- 10:0324 -hour care. And so if there's an emergency
- 10:05that happens, this is something that Medicaid
- 10:08pays for. So people don't realize that a lot
- 10:10of things that are, you know, it's not just like,
- 10:15oh, Medicaid, it's the services that Medicaid
- 10:18provides to... allow us to live independently
- 10:22but to even take it a step further you know we
- 10:26um know that dental health will be the first
- 10:30to be cut because you know they don't really
- 10:32take dentistry as a serious medical need and
- 10:38so that's the first to be cut those are things
- 10:41that everyone needs um but particularly um disabled
- 10:46folks because we have other issues medically
- 10:50that require us to have dental care on a regular
- 10:55basis. There's so many nooks and crannies that
- 11:01people are not thinking about. Nursing homes
- 11:05will lose funding. As a dad, we're not a big...
- 11:10proponent of that you know we don't believe in
- 11:13institutional living but that means that if nursing
- 11:16homes lose funding then there are more people
- 11:18that need to get out and we don't have enough
- 11:21housing so everything comes back to Medicaid
- 11:25provides because there's a housing shortage for
- 11:29everyone. But then you think about people who
- 11:31are disabled and low income and not enough accessibility
- 11:36and integrated and affordable housing across
- 11:40the country, not just here in Pennsylvania, which,
- 11:43you know, as I'm sure you guys know, Pennsylvania.
- 11:48In Philadelphia, and particularly, we have the
- 11:51largest population of disabled people. So to
- 11:53think about all of the people that live in the
- 11:56nursing homes, which we also have a large population
- 11:58of institutional living here, if they get thrown
- 12:03out because there's no Medicaid coverage, where
- 12:05are they going to live? Are they going to die?
- 12:08You know, there's a lot of things to think about
- 12:10here. So it just cracks down to that. And then
- 12:15there's mental health. I just did a post about
- 12:19it. Like, you know, there's 58 .7 million people
- 12:23as of 2022 estimated with a mental disability.
- 12:27And that's adults. And there's 7 .7 million children
- 12:32that are also have been diagnosed with a mental
- 12:36disorder or disability as of 2023. Medicaid helps
- 12:41provide psychiatrists, psychologists. programs
- 12:44and services support. We're talking treatment
- 12:49for drugs and alcohol and all of those things
- 12:52that mental disability cover, Medicaid helps
- 12:56cover that for a lot of Americans. So there's
- 12:59so many things to think about, you know, not
- 13:04just what you can see physically. Yeah, yeah,
- 13:08of course. You know, something that I've kind
- 13:12of noticed in some of the discussions from like
- 13:14some of the people who are in charge of health
- 13:16and human services and, you know, we can debate
- 13:20all about them, however long you want but I've
- 13:24been hearing things about like, you know, trying
- 13:27to cut chip and stuff like that is chip kind
- 13:29of part of Medicaid or is that a separate program.
- 13:34Do you happen to know, chip is a part of Medicaid,
- 13:38but It has different qualifications than straight
- 13:43Medicaid does. Just like Latoya and myself, we're
- 13:46on home and community -based services waivers
- 13:52through MCO, which is a different part of Medicaid.
- 13:56So Medicaid is split up into so many different
- 13:58sectors and avenues that that's another thing
- 14:03that people aren't thinking about. They're not
- 14:04thinking about, you know. And when I say people,
- 14:08I mean Americans. We're talking to senators,
- 14:11to representatives. They're not thinking about
- 14:12the children that are on CHIP. They're not thinking
- 14:15about people who are on waivers. They're not
- 14:17thinking about all of the different things that
- 14:21Medicaid covers because it's such an expansion,
- 14:24right, as we talk about the expansion program,
- 14:26that it covers so much that $850 million will
- 14:30slash each program. Regardless of how they look
- 14:34at it, because you have to get the money from
- 14:36somewhere. So you're going to have to cut into
- 14:38every program. Right. Yeah. And, you know, the
- 14:42other kind of thing that I think a lot of people,
- 14:44you know, are talking about and whatnot, but
- 14:50maybe it's a little bit of a subtle idea is like
- 14:53so many people when they go off of Medicaid.
- 14:56Right. They're going to stop. They're not going
- 15:00to stop needing care. Right. But they're going
- 15:04to stop going to their primary care or having
- 15:06like regular follow ups and stuff like that.
- 15:08You know, a lot of the preventive side of things.
- 15:11So what ends up happening is we end up forcing
- 15:14them into a situation where they have to wait
- 15:15for care until suddenly they have to go to the
- 15:18emergency room, get, you know, whatever life
- 15:21saving care is at the time. And then at the end
- 15:24of the day, they're not going to be able to pay
- 15:25that back. a lot of people right so we're gonna
- 15:29end up in a situation where they have to give
- 15:31the care and then you know the taxpayer is gonna
- 15:34have to pay you know three times four times more
- 15:36just to you know keep people alive when we could
- 15:42really just be preventing a lot of conditions
- 15:44from getting exacerbated right exactly exactly
- 15:50yeah um and and something else that a lot of
- 15:55people you know, have kind of touched upon, but,
- 15:59you know, haven't necessarily, you know, I think
- 16:03it doesn't necessarily get, you know, it's a
- 16:08more subtle point again, is like a lot of the
- 16:11more elder care services, you know, like, you
- 16:14know, like you were saying, home health care
- 16:16aides, you know, for a lot of elderly people,
- 16:18but also people who are being paid to take care
- 16:23of their loved one, right? Because a lot of those
- 16:26programs that, you know, I see the billboards
- 16:28for them, they're like, you know, get paid to
- 16:31take care of your mom or your dad, whoever it
- 16:33is. And, you know, Medicaid does pay for that
- 16:38as well. Yes. I mean, majority of those companies
- 16:42are not private pay companies. They receive money
- 16:45through the states, right? Because we're not
- 16:49just talking about Pennsylvania. But we see they
- 16:52see money through the states and and that's how
- 16:55they pay themselves and their employees. So,
- 16:58again, not only will people be directly affected,
- 17:02businesses will be directly affected when it
- 17:05comes to health care. Right, of course. And I
- 17:10guess, you know, another question I have for
- 17:15you is, do you guys have any like stories of
- 17:18people like. utilizing Medicaid or getting on
- 17:24Medicaid and suddenly they have access to a whole
- 17:27bunch of things that they didn't have access
- 17:29to before? Or is that kind of outside of the
- 17:32scope of what you guys are talking about with
- 17:38everything that's going on? I can tell you a
- 17:42story about a friend, an ADAPT member, to keep
- 17:46it on the ADAPT totem pole. They lived in Texas
- 17:51and they were receiving home and community -based
- 17:53services out there. And yes, Texas is, you know,
- 17:56a more conservative state. And they weren't,
- 17:59they wanted to move. So they, you know, found
- 18:04a house in North Carolina, moved to North Carolina.
- 18:07But guess what? Medicaid doesn't cross state
- 18:11lines. So you have to start. from scratch so
- 18:15everything that this person had while they were
- 18:17living in Texas they lost when they moved to
- 18:20North Carolina it has took for them and their
- 18:26roommate and their best friend to be outside
- 18:29doing direct actions and you know calling out
- 18:33the Medicaid directors in North Carolina and
- 18:40ultimately they got They have home and community
- 18:42-based services now. They have attendant care
- 18:45wages now. And they finally were able to get
- 18:48a new wheelchair. And their roommate was able
- 18:50to get a wheelchair. And they both use attendant
- 18:53care services. But that was a fight. And it was
- 18:56like, I think they've been living in North Carolina
- 18:59for three years. And I think they're just now
- 19:01able to, like, really, you know, live. And that's
- 19:06not saying they're living without. any issues,
- 19:10because there's a lot of issues down south. Down
- 19:12south is not up north, so we have to fight a
- 19:17lot. And we did go to North Carolina. ADAPT did
- 19:19go to North Carolina last June, in June, and
- 19:24they went to the representative of the Medicaid
- 19:28director out there. showed up, it was a bunch
- 19:32of them, showed up at the office, they're on
- 19:33ramps, they're on, and blocking doors, and, you
- 19:37know, blocking stairways, you know, sitting in
- 19:39people's parking spots, in the parking lot, things
- 19:43of that nature, you know, so, yeah, so, and it
- 19:47happens to all of us, we don't, you know, Dom
- 19:49and I, we love living in Philadelphia, but we
- 19:52don't, I know for myself, I don't want this to
- 19:54be my last resting, you know, state, I want to
- 19:58be able to leave. When my son graduates from
- 20:01high school and venture off and do me and possibly
- 20:04live in another state. But I'm afraid my Medicaid
- 20:07is going to get cut. So why would I leave? I'm
- 20:10not old, but I'm older and I can't go without
- 20:15attending care services. I cannot go without
- 20:19attending care services. I could go a couple
- 20:20hours, but not 24. Not all 24. And I mean, you
- 20:25know, I did live somewhere else for a period
- 20:28of time and I thought that was going to be it.
- 20:30And it was, you know, I lived in Georgia for
- 20:33a period of time and I thought I was going to
- 20:36stay there to live. Now this is 10 plus years
- 20:39ago, but it wasn't accessible enough. And the
- 20:43whole process with Medicaid to start over. was
- 20:46just too daunting and I would have needed it
- 20:48to start right away. And so, you know, ultimately
- 20:51I made the decision to come back to Philadelphia.
- 20:54I mean, which in the grand scheme of things,
- 20:56how everything panned out, I guess, you know,
- 20:59it kind of worked out, but, you know, like Latoya
- 21:02said, you know, people should be able to move
- 21:04how, you know, where they want, when they want,
- 21:07how they want without being worried about things
- 21:10like, oh, I'm not going to receive Medicaid.
- 21:13When I get there, I'm not going to receive home
- 21:16and community based services. I'm not going to
- 21:18be able to live independently because, you know,
- 21:21our fellow adapters, they really struggled, you
- 21:27know, six, seven months out. I mean, with everything.
- 21:31And so if they had Medicaid already in place,
- 21:34you know, it may have been. a lot better for
- 21:40them and so this these are the things that we're
- 21:42worried about these are the things that we are
- 21:44fighting for people who will lose their medicaid
- 21:47and then be without services like let's say it
- 21:50says she can't be without services for 24 hours
- 21:52and to be quite honest we're two different people
- 21:55but neither neither can i and so um you know
- 21:58and we already have a hard enough time here um
- 22:02and in all the states with keeping are attending
- 22:05care just because of the way that the politics
- 22:08are behind the waiver services. So imagine what
- 22:11happens when we, you know, when we lose it. You
- 22:14know, the people who, the disabled people who
- 22:17are employed, that means that, you know, our
- 22:19employment is infected. The people that are,
- 22:21you know, housed, that means our housing is infected.
- 22:24So there's so many things that will happen to
- 22:29so many Americans with disabilities if Medicaid
- 22:33is cut. this drastic. It'll trickle down and,
- 22:37you know, it'll be a mess. And the country will
- 22:40not know how to clean it up. They can say they
- 22:42will not. They will not know how to clean it
- 22:46up. They won't know what to do. And, you know,
- 22:49I make a joke, but it's like District 12 from
- 22:52the Hunger Games. You know, it's every person
- 22:55for itself. And so, you know, ADAPT has always
- 22:59been out at the front lines when it's important
- 23:02and that's what we continue to do and that's
- 23:05the power of a debt so right and i mean i'm just
- 23:10thinking about it three years i'm just doing
- 23:12like quick math in my head but that's a few days
- 23:14shy of like 1100 days right that's a crazy long
- 23:17time before like you get your services back yes
- 23:21you know and that that's oh my gosh yes and to
- 23:26think she's That person is not in a place like
- 23:30Philadelphia. She's in a rural place and it's
- 23:35not as accessible and all of these other things.
- 23:42We're thinking about the people in rural areas,
- 23:45city areas, metropolitan. It doesn't matter where
- 23:51you are. This will affect you a great deal. Yeah,
- 23:55I'm always having to point that out to people,
- 23:57especially people with disabilities who are moving
- 23:59to areas like that. You know, they don't stop
- 24:03to think that, you know, it's not as convenient
- 24:06as it would be like a place like Philadelphia,
- 24:08Baltimore, or New York, you know, public transportation.
- 24:14Yeah, it can be real daunting. Americans shouldn't
- 24:24have to face that. People with disabilities should
- 24:27not have to face that. We did not ask to be here.
- 24:32We did not ask to be disabled. That is not how
- 24:36this works. And so we should not be punished
- 24:39or violated because of who we are as people.
- 24:46Right. And that's what this feels like. It feels
- 24:49like a punishment, a violation to, you know,
- 24:52our human rights. So health care is a human right.
- 24:55Right. So everywhere else is free for the most
- 24:59part in the country. And so it should be it should
- 25:05continue to be free here for the people that
- 25:07need it. Right. I'm just going to say it. Those
- 25:11people who are making the decisions for us have
- 25:15never walked in our shoes or even close to it.
- 25:18So they can't understand, won't understand. And
- 25:21they will make their choices based on their own
- 25:24experience, which is none of nothing like ours.
- 25:28That's the problem. Yeah, but you know what?
- 25:30To take that even further, they have family members
- 25:34who are on Medicaid at some point. They have
- 25:37family members who are in nursing homes. They
- 25:39do. Whether they directly pay for them or not,
- 25:43somewhere in their lineage, they have people
- 25:46who have used Medicaid. And so to me, it's just
- 25:50like stop and think and use humanity. Exactly.
- 25:54We're talking about, and I'm being clear, we're
- 25:59talking about an administration who does not
- 26:01care about the American people. Regardless if
- 26:06it's the American people who voted for them or
- 26:08not, they do not. care, and it is blatant disrespect,
- 26:12and it is blatant disregard for everything that
- 26:17everyone has worked for in this country. The
- 26:21administration is just dismantling it all. Unfortunately,
- 26:29it is, but we're going to continue to fight and
- 26:33make our voices heard. make our presence known,
- 26:39and hopefully, you know, we can turn the tide
- 26:43again like we did in 2017. It was technically
- 26:47under the same president, so it may be possible.
- 26:54I mean, it's a little different because they
- 26:57have other minions. You know, I'm not going to
- 27:02mince words. They have other minions. under their
- 27:05thumb than they did in 2017. People we didn't
- 27:08vote for. Yes. And people who kissed the ring
- 27:13even more so. Yeah. Say it again, Ray. People
- 27:18who kissed the ring even more so. Yes. Yes. But
- 27:23I think if people are watching this and they
- 27:29know us by now because of all the attention,
- 27:32I just want to say we are we are in awe of all
- 27:40this attention that we are receiving but we we
- 27:44just want to thank you all for you know reposting
- 27:49asking us to to be a part of media and wanting
- 27:54to hear our story and wanting to understand what
- 27:58adapt is and and like really because we had no
- 28:02idea we just were Doing what we always do, what
- 28:05we've been doing for the last almost 45 years.
- 28:09You know what I mean? What we did when we were
- 28:11trying to pass the ADA, what we did in 2017.
- 28:13And so, you know, we thank the American people
- 28:17for paying attention because that's who it is.
- 28:20You know, that's who it is. So we just thank
- 28:24them. And, you know, continue to reach out to
- 28:28your... representatives and your senators and
- 28:32really understand that everything will be affected.
- 28:36Your medication, your services, your doctor's
- 28:41offices, anything that you can think of when
- 28:44it comes to healthcare will be affected. We need
- 28:48you to rally behind that. Not just for us, but
- 28:54for American people. Yeah, for sure. And I definitely
- 29:00want to echo, I believe it was Latoya a few minutes
- 29:03ago that said, healthcare is a human right. And
- 29:05I just want to echo that again, because I do
- 29:08think it's very important for people to keep
- 29:10framing it that way. Remind people that this
- 29:15is something that we need that's being taken
- 29:18from us, of course. Like we've been saying the
- 29:21whole time here, obviously. Yes. Real quick,
- 29:28just in a fantasy world, if you guys had the
- 29:33ability to change the entire American health
- 29:36care system, I'm kind of joking. That's a very
- 29:40broad question. But if you guys had a chance
- 29:44to redo this, what would you do to change it?
- 29:48What would be the way that you would build it?
- 29:57This looks for you, so I guess make it free,
- 30:02for one. Two, accessible all around the board.
- 30:08So, I mean, ASL interpreters on staff, equipment
- 30:12that is for people that use wheelchairs and those
- 30:16who don't use wheelchairs, those who have to
- 30:19be on a stretcher the full time, doctors who
- 30:23are well educated and not only educated by book,
- 30:28but educated by the people, the disabled people,
- 30:31so that they understand we all are not the same,
- 30:34even if you don't have a disability. Just because
- 30:37the medication works for that person doesn't
- 30:39mean it's going to work for me and my disability.
- 30:45I don't know. Dom, you got anything else? I mean,
- 30:48you know, just, I mean, you know, DEI is like,
- 30:52you know, saying Transgender is weird. You can't
- 30:55say either one right now, right? But we're going
- 30:58to say it. So bring DEI back. Bring diversity,
- 31:02equity, and inclusion back into healthcare. Bring
- 31:06in health equity. It needs to be a conversation
- 31:11because all four of us on this podcast are different
- 31:17people. We all have different needs. And so we
- 31:20need to be treated as humans. and people and
- 31:25we need a real whole care approach right and
- 31:28that's the difference between like western and
- 31:31eastern medicine eastern medicine they focus
- 31:33less on medication and the whole care approach
- 31:36of the person western medicine don't give a shit
- 31:39about you and they only care about the 15 minutes
- 31:42that they see your ass because that's what their
- 31:44insurance is going to pay for but what happens
- 31:47is you don't get a whole care approach and so
- 31:50everybody deserves equity Everybody deserves
- 31:54to be met where they are. And so, unfortunately,
- 31:58because of how the healthcare system is designed,
- 32:02so many disabled Americans have really faced
- 32:08stark disparities when it comes to... access
- 32:13to health care and so if you cut Medicaid I guess
- 32:17I'm bringing it back to Medicaid we're going
- 32:19to continue to see those disparities and we're
- 32:23going to be dropping like flies and it's unfortunate
- 32:25but it's the reality that's going to happen we're
- 32:28going to lose diabetic medication we're going
- 32:30to lose durable medical equipment and all these
- 32:33other things, EpiPens and all these things that
- 32:36we need to survive, we're going to lose it without
- 32:39Medicaid. Because who can pay $800, $900 for
- 32:42an EpiPen? Who can pay $800, $900 for diabetic
- 32:46medication? Who can do that? A wheelchair costs
- 32:50more money than a car does. Who can pay for that?
- 32:55You know what I'm saying? I'm talking about a
- 32:58standard electric wheelchair. I'm not talking
- 33:00about all the bells and whistles. You know, and
- 33:03so, you know, and I think the last thing I want
- 33:07to say is that health care is what rules the
- 33:10world, right? They are the ones that make the
- 33:12decision for the rest of the world. They're the
- 33:15ones that make the decision for the businesses
- 33:16and big pharma and how housing is developed and
- 33:20all of these other things. And so people really
- 33:22need to think about that, right? if in a perfect
- 33:29world, if we were able to change how the healthcare
- 33:32system was designed, we would be able to change
- 33:35so many other things because the biases come
- 33:38from the healthcare system. They're the ones
- 33:40that started discrimination. They're the ones
- 33:42that started the biases. They're the ones that
- 33:44mistreated the patients and allow, you know,
- 33:46people to die and have, you know, influx of flu
- 33:50and polio and all these other things. You know,
- 33:54I'm being like really transparent here. But now
- 33:57we have these services because people like ADAPT
- 34:00members and other folks over a period of time
- 34:04have fought for this. So now we have it and now
- 34:07we're going to take it away and we're going to
- 34:08go back. We can't go back. Like, there's no way,
- 34:11you know, that would just be detrimental to the
- 34:16whole country. And obviously the world, because
- 34:18the world, you know, is watching us, right? The
- 34:21world is watching. Right. Well, and, you know,
- 34:26there's been a lot of things that have also been
- 34:28affecting the rest of the world, too, with a
- 34:30lot of the budget cuts as well. Not that it's
- 34:33really relevant to the discussion. I'm going
- 34:35to stay away from that topic. But, you know,
- 34:38any last words before we sign off here? To learn
- 34:45more about ADEPT, visit www .nationaladept .org.
- 34:51If you are a person who is interested in being
- 34:53an activist or, you know, just getting to know
- 34:57us, there are multiple chapters across the United
- 35:02States. So if you live on the East Coast, there's
- 35:05a bunch of chapters there. If you live down South,
- 35:07there's a bunch of chapters there. If you live
- 35:09on the West Coast, there's some chapters there.
- 35:12And so there's always ways to get involved. Remember
- 35:16to call your senators. There's this great app
- 35:18called Call 5. And you can use it on your phone
- 35:24or on a tablet or on your computer. You go to
- 35:29it and you put in your area of where you live
- 35:33and all your representatives and senators come
- 35:35up and different issues that are currently happening
- 35:39and bills that are currently being... considered
- 35:42are there, and so you can tell your representatives,
- 35:45hey, no cuts to Medicaid, and there's a whole
- 35:47script, so you don't even have to worry about
- 35:49saying anything. It's just something quick and
- 35:51easy to do, so I think that's where I'll leave
- 35:55it. I don't know if Latoya has anything else
- 35:57to add, but that's... Yeah, my little tidbit
- 36:01is nobody's free until we're all free, so the
- 36:06work is never done. We're out here. We'll be
- 36:09out here. Look for us online or on the news.
- 36:14You never know. Yeah. We're on Facebook, Instagram.
- 36:19We're on TikTok. So, you know, we're on all the
- 36:24major social media outlets. And, you know, like
- 36:28she said, you never know. And no keys, no freedom.
- 36:30So no Medicaid, no freedom. So, yeah. Powerful
- 36:36words. Well, thanks for coming on Latoya and
- 36:40Dominique. This has been a great discussion.
- 36:46And thanks folks for tuning in. We hope you found
- 36:52this discussion engaging. If you like our podcast,
- 36:56please share it with anyone you know that you
- 36:59think would be interested. Like it on all the
- 37:02different platforms. Engage with us in any way
- 37:06you can. All right, folks. That's it for today.
- 37:10All right. Have a good day now. Please visit
- 37:14our accessible website at www .disabilitypridepa
- 37:20.org. You can find us on social media at Disability
- 37:24Pride PA on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.