Rose is 49 years old and lives in Monroe County Arkansas. 27% percent of people living in Monroe County are in poor or fair health. This compares to 20% in the entire State of Arkansas. Before meeting this storyteller, I listened to her voice over the phone which sounded weak and strained. She related that she was terminated from the Provider Led- Arkansas Shared Savings Entity Program (PASSE), but Legal Aid helped her resolve this.  

Rose began telling me about the many ailments that she suffers from including Bi-Polar, Schizophrenia, Chronic Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and a list of other chronic conditions. As a story collector who has heard many stories, Rose’s story touched me in a unique way. She is young and is being cared for by her twenty-one-year-old daughter. Both should be enjoying their lives, but chronic health problems have prevented Rose from living a normal life.  In addition to Rose’s life being affected, her condition has also affected the life of her daughter who is her primary caretaker. 

Rose says she needed the PASSE program's benefits to attend treatment at the local behavioral health center. She attends during the day and five days a week. The treatment that she receives helps her to cope with her mental and emotional problems, to get along with other people and to simply cope with the difficulties of everyday life. Rose lost her benefits due to a system glitch which kicked her off for having two applications submitted. She contacted Legal Aid of Arkansas and legal aid advocates were able to have her benefits restored. She was without the benefits of the PASSE program for approximately two months. 

Rose is unable to prepare her meals and needs assistance in feeding herself. She uses a wheelchair and a walker when possible. She requires assistance in bathing and using the toilet. She previously owned a “portable potty chair” but when she moved into with her daughter, her potty chair was inadvertently thrown away. She had only had this chair for a year, and it was too soon for her to receive another chair. Currently, Rose must struggle to get to the bathroom with the assistance of her daughter, Precious. Precious is her mother’s lifeline.   

Meeting Rose and her daughter in-person gave legitimacy to my beliefs for the need for Medicaid in these rural areas. Medicaid offers them the opportunity to receive medical treatment that they otherwise could not afford. It’s really life of death for many people. Rose is one of many in this area who have chronic medical conditions. She lives in an apartment complex that includes many folks who are aged and disabled. They are victims of social determinants of health. When thinking of the people such as Rose whose health and economic conditions are detrimental to their survival, the late Bessie Smith, “Poor Man’s Blues,” comes to mind echoing her words, “Mr. Rich man, open up your heart and mine”! One heart must be willing to give so that the other heart can receive, thereby allowing the flow of parity to trickle down to those in need.