Connie was in a car accident more than fifteen years ago and was thrown from her vehicle. The accident left her paralyzed. She has been receiving Social Security Disability since 2006. She is currently approved for Arkansas’ Medicare Savings Program as a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) recipient and has a United Health Care Medicare Advantage Plan.  As a QMB recipient, Medicaid covers her healthcare premiums and co-payments. 

Earlier this year, Connie lost her home health services for a day. Following that, her home health hours were reduced to only two hours a day for about two weeks. Fortunately, she provided DHS with the paperwork to have her home health services reinstated to her regular hours. 

Connie currently has two home health aides. One aide comes in the morning and the second aide comes in the afternoon, providing her with a total of six (6) hours a day, Monday through Friday. For Connie, having these services is vital. Her aides assist her in doing everything. When asked how she functions after her aides leave, she said that her daughter-in-law lives with her and assists her during the evening hours. Not having an aide would have proved detrimental to Connie. Although she can get around in her wheelchair, she is not able to do many of the things that most of us take for granted - such as preparing meals, dressing, cooking, and other chores. 

I asked Connie what she does during the day, and she says that she spends her day sitting in her living room. Although Connie has a handicap accessible van that she received in 2016 that is equipped for a paralyzed individual, it is a chore getting out of the home to access it. She hopes disability services will help her get a newer model motorized wheelchair, which would improve her ability to get around and overall quality of life.  

In addition to her paralysis, she suffers from Hypertension and Hyperthyroidism. Connie has not let her paralysis stop her from having some independence. Yes, she relies on her aides and daughter-in-law for many things, but she does what she can and when she can for herself. If the reduction in home health services had been any longer or permanent, Connie would have been unable to manage daily. Her quality of life would have worsened. The goal of these services is to provide care that will enable individuals to remain in their home as long as possible. Connie firmly believes she can do this and maintain some type of independence. For a person who is seventy-one, paralyzed and has a chronic illness, having Medicaid is life sustaining. 

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