Open Letter to the Governor

 I am sending this to the governor as an open letter.  I will also forward it to newspapers in the hope that it may jar something in state bureaucracy loose and get our daughter some help.

The Honorable Governor Steve Beshear

700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Dear Governor Beshear:

I am writing this letter to you because I just can't think of any other route to take. You are proud, and justifiably so, of linking Kentucky to the Affordable Care Act and that makes you in charge. I hope you have some answers.

I read the article the other day about how great KyNect has been for Kentucky and how the percentage of Kentuckians who were uninsured has dropped dramatically. It is one of the few promising things that shows our state in a positive light and I commend you on your willingness to make Kentucky and her residents some of the first to take advantage of this great deal.

I have one question. If you have insurance but the managed care company that administers KyNect won't approve treatment do you really have insurance?

Last Friday we called to have my daughter, who is now 49, taken to the hospital because of chest pain. She has been suffering from chronic and progressive back pain since her early twenties and has been through a litany of doctors and procedures. The emergency room at the local hospital said that, yes, her heartbeat was erratic but that was because of the intense pain. Then they sent her home without any kind of care whatsoever saying that her managed care company would not approve it.

Just a few months ago she was scheduled for surgery on her cervical spine. Nerve compression is causing her to lose the use of her arms and causes very bad headaches. Her doctor had jumped through all the hoops demanded by the managed care company, the surgery had been scheduled and the operating room reserved when one more hoop was demanded. She missed that reservation and her doctor dropped all Medicaid patients. He said that the managed care companies would no longer allow him to treat patients according to their best interests. This from a doctor trained and regarded as one of the best spinal surgeons we have. Now she is still waiting, trying to find a doctor that will even see her. They see a woman that is suffering so much that they think it will be impossible to make it profitable. Those that have the ability to help with her pain are in so much fear from the draconian laws concerning opiates that they choose not to treat to avoid the overzealous enforcement of the drug police. All those laws have done is make it harder for those who need those drugs to get them while creating an epidemic of heroin abuse and death.

So, how does KyNect reach out and serve my daughter? Again, If you have insurance but the managed care company that administers KyNect won't approve treatment do you really have insurance?

Even now the lower spine issues will not permit her to walk. She is confined to a wheelchair when she has to go to the bathroom or anything else. We know this does not have to be this way. We have seen her more functional and, while never without pain, be able to have rudimentary ability to care for herself. She has become so cynical about our health care providers that she says, “if you are poor you just don't count.” I want to believe we are better than that but evidence indicates she is right. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that the only way that managed care companies can save money for Medicaid is by denying care to those who need it.

On the other hand, there are those who have other challenges for whom we actually pay people to advocate. They will ensure that those people who need support receive all the benefits that are available to them. What makes my daughter any less deserving of those benefits and that assistance? She exists on a small disability check (and I mean small) and a meager allotment of food stamps. By the middle of the month she is broke and scraping the bottom of the larder and all this while dealing with more pain that either you or I can imagine.

So, Governor. How can KyNect be of service to her. We would appreciate any suggestions because we have beat our heads against the wall of denial for so long we are at a loss for any way to proceed. From where we sit it appears she is right. Poor people don't count.

I don't mean this to be an academic question. I want to know what to do to help my daughter. I am eagerly awaiting your response. In the meantime I am sending this as an open letter in the hope that answers can be forthcoming.

Sincerely

Robert F. Moore