In an earlier diary re: the impact of the increasing cost of energy at
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/19/152949/336
the writer elaborated on the impact of the high costs of energy, with much more economic knowledge than I have.
I would like to take the above diary a step further: specifically, people who are on a low-and fixed income(s) are being hit the hardest.
This includest myself and others who are dependent on social programs for survival--I know for a fact that I am not the only person in that situation.
(continued below)
In earlier diaries, I have stated the social programs that I survive on--SSD/I, Medicare, Medicaid, Section 8, Food Stamps--all of which have been or will be drastically reduced in an attempt to balance state and federal budgets/to pay for dubya's insanity in Iraq.
If they have not been explicitly reduced, the criteria, eligibility and authorizations necessary to obtain services, especially medical are so stringent, that they are impossible to obtain.
Specific example: some of my anti-convulsants require a prior-authorization before they are approved to be refilled. (In addition to beig a traumatic brain injury surivor, I also have epilepsy.) For some reason, the generic drugs do not control my seizures, whereas the rx's written DAW/dispense as written do.
In the past, I have had to actually take a different anti-conmvulsant because of the cost to "prove" that they do not work. Now a priorauthorization is not a problem. But, consider the amount that has been spent in unnecessary prescriptions, unnecessary tests to demonstrate/"prove"/lay a paper trail for what has already been documented in the past. Wouldn't it be more intelligent to accept previous documentation and authorize what does work, rather than insist on unnecessary tesing? Doesn't requiring redundant tests increase medical costs? Or am I missing something?
Also, the increase in co-pays for prescriptions is ridiculous, expecially when other amounts are frozen or cut. A couple dollars a month may sound like nothing, but when your monthly income is below the poverty level, it really hurts.
Food stamp cuts are another insult, as you barely get enought afford to eat three meals a day. A friend who is a single parent often skips meals, so her son won't have to.
I am sorry, but I have more than done my part to balance the state budget, by tax increases, price increases, and cuts in programs. It's time for someone else to pick up the slack. And I do not feel I should be told to be grateful for the entitlement programs that help me stay alive, even if it is by a supposedly underpaid state employee who whines about her caseload, and the fact that she "barely makes enough to live on".
Sorry, but she's doing better than me!
As you may have guessed, I've had to deal with another know-nothing bureaucrat who prattled on and on about her agency having no money. So of course, she referred me to another one that might" have some additional funding. My question to her is, "How in the hell am I supposed to get there when I can't afford the gas and public transportation is not-existent in this county?" She said that was not her problem and to contact yet a different agency, that also required an in-person intake. (I did and was told that their budget was cut and they were not acccepting new clients!)
IMO, the original bureaucrat should have known that!!! I am now more than ever convinced that so-called "social work" is nothing more than job security under a different name. The reason that I say that is as follows: my friend stated that it would make more sense to increase social programs instead of agency costs. But, that will never happen--just imagine all those poor, overworked social workers whining more than they already do!!!
I have also found information out in the past that my worker was not aware of. When that has happenned, I have passed it directly on to those that I know need that info. Hell if I'm doing a whiny bureaucrats job for her.
In fact, I am more convinced than ever that my friend and I know more about social service eligibility and funding than those who claim to work at the agencies! But, we have disabilities, so of course nothing we say or do matters, in the eyes of any social worker.
Here's the kicker: My friend has a BSW and I have completed 2 years of graduate school in Ed Psych--the MA is actually a combination of Special Ed and Vocational Rehabilitation, or, Voc Rehab. I now refer to it as joke rehab! Neither of us are unable to work in the because we have disabilities--she has depression, and I have a traumatic brian injury and spilepsy.
(Another friend of mine has completed his MA, also in voc/joke rehab and was also unable to work.)
Beleive me, there are a hell of a lot more in the exact same situation! Once again, those who need the social services the most are the ones who are getting screwed!