WA State Labor Council needs your stories on SocSec, Medicare, Medicaid and SSDI

[eridani]

As part of the actions directed at Congress during the Lame Duck session the AFL is collecting stories about how Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid help regular people. I know your organization is full of great stories and I’m hoping that we could recruit some PSARA members to add to this effort.

Below is a list of the types of stories we are looking for… you can see that the stories are not long, just a line or two. I’m sure your members have children and grandchildren who fit some of these categories as well.

· Anyone who worked hard their entire life and now rely on Social Security and Medicare—or anyone who has health care only because of Medicaid—and these people are able to maintain a decent lifestyle due to the benefits they receive.

Example: Louise Driscoll and her husband Pat are able to pay for their health care thanks to Medicare and her husband’s benefits. Louise has had a knee operation, treatment for ovarian cancer and an aortic valve replaced. If not for Medicare, they would be bankrupt.

· Anyone who has been on the benefit at one time or another and it helped them avoid financial disaster due to unexpected expenses.

Example: Kristen Noella Marchese is a produce manager at Stop ’N Shop in Nashua, N.H.; she was a single mother when her son was born five years ago. Because her son was born very sick, she relied on NH Healthy Kids, a federally funded program run through Medicaid, for several months to pay for the health care he needed. If she had to rely on her own insurance, she would have been bankrupted by her son’s medical bills.

· Medicaid beneficiaries.

Example: Sharon Van Mechelen’s son Joshua is 8 years old. Right after he was born, he was diagnosed with a rare liver disease. At 2, Joshua started to receive disability and Medicaid. Joshua receives 22 prescription doses a day. Sharon feels that with Medicaid and a loving family, Joshua will have a better chance to contribute to society and become an active adult.

· Seniors on Social Security who would have to choose between buying groceries or medicine if not for their coverage. Anyone who was helped by Social Security survivor benefits.

Example: Cindy Sturgeon, 50, of Louisiana is one of seven children. Her father died when she and her siblings were between the ages of 4 and 12. Benefits to their mother started at $232 a month in 1966. Insurance covered their home and vehicle, so they survived.

· Anyone on Social Security disability.

· People in physically demanding jobs who would not be able to work into their senior years:

Waitress
Nurse
Construction worker
Firefighter
Manufacturing worker

· High school or college students who don’t want Congress gambling with their futures.

· Photogenic workers who can be used for mail pieces and website photos.

Veterans who benefit from social insurance programs.

Example: Wally McManigle comes from a farming family and lives in Belt, Mont. He spent nearly two years in Vietnam and is now retired, receiving Social Security and VA benefits.

I would greatly appreciate you helping get the word out about needing these stories. They can be sent to me and I’ll get them on to the National AFL-CIO. If they can supply a picture with the story, we could use it on the website to which these stories will be posted.

Thanks for your help on this.

Kathy Cummings
WSLC Communications Director
314 First Ave West
Seattle, WA 98119
Office 206 254-4909
Cell 206 604-3698
Email [e-mail]

Check out WSLC's newsstand website, http://www.thestand.orgfor all the news you need to know.

[HockeyMom]

1. The developmentally disabled depend on Medicaid

for their very survival, as in, group homes to meet their basic needs. When Governor Rick Scott of Florida wanted to decimate state funding of Medicaid, the agencies for the DD ran ads on TV showing the faces of the people receiving this funding saying they would be forced to shut down the group homes if Medicaid was cut off. The public saw exactly who needed these services and were outraged and blasted the Governor. He backed down.

Paul Ryan, good "Christian" he is, has said let the states care for this population (state insane asylums of the 19th Century????) and CHARITY take care of them, not the Federal Government. Dear Misters Ryan and Romney, they are just as much Americans and citizens as you and millionaires and billionaires are. Only the 1% count now?

[eridani]

2. Another call for stories from Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action

Over the next several months, we know there will be a giant battle to preserve and strengthen our earned benefits (not entitlements) from Social Security & Medicare. The battle will be not only to protect current recipients but also to preserve and strengthen these earned benefits for future generations.

Kathy Cummings from the Washington State Labor Council and Burke Stansbury from Center for Community Change are looking for people who are willing to tell their personal stories on video about how Social Security and Medicare help them in their daily lives. They want to use these short interviews as part of a social media campaign to push a positive message about these crucial programs.

If you are willing to tell your story, please contact Kathy at [e-mail] or Burke at [e-mail] and one of them will arrange a time to come do a video interview with you.

Personal stories are another important way you can help our efforts.

Thanks,
Robby Stern
Chair, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action