There was an article in a newspaper in Rolla Missouri that came to my attention here is the link : http://www.therolladailynews.com/articles/2005/08/16/news/news4.txt

What was reported caused some concern so I contacted the Division of Medical Services for the State of Missouri and what they told was different.

The state will not be taking machines from existing patients.  They will however require that they physician complete a medical exception form that states use of the machine satisfies one of four conditions - the most likely being "The item or service is necessary to prevent a higher level of care".

Sadly, it is more hoop for those on medicaid to jump through and likely to cause physicians and DMEs to decide not to serve this population because one more form to complete makes it is too much trouble.


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Executive Director
American Sleep Apnea Association
6856 Eastern Avenue, NW Ste. 203
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202-293-3650

I'm not on Medicaid, but I do live in Missouri.  Our new governor, Matt Blunt, has spent his entire time in office cutting funding for Medicaid, set new policies in effect that set the bar for disability aid so high that only those in severe trouble qualify, and removing tax breaks/incentives for those who adopt, foster parent, or care for special needs kids.  This state is going to go downhill very fast with him in office.

I'm also in Missouri, but I have a very different opinion of Mat Blunt. I won't argue with you about him, but I will suggest you look at what he's cutting, where the money comes from in abscence of state funds, and how it was used before you complain.  The fact is, states have no business being a welfare business. Thats not even really a government job at all in a capitolist nation such as we claim we are. The number 1 reason people don't give to charities now is because they feel they're already being forced to through taxes and are upset over it, even if the tax is less than they'd otherwise give.

If you want to solve the problem, and stay a capitolist nation, leave anything involving the word "aid" to charities. If you don't care about capitolism, then it needs to go to a federal level where it can be administered consistently and to a high standard. Even before Blunt's cuts, I'm sure nobody legitimately on Medicaid was satisfied with their coverage. On the federal level, there's not a law saying that the budget must balance.

And why is he cutting? Because his predecessor left him with a large budget gap to fill, and that is where the most state resource are wasted by abuse of the program. A lot of state workers had their jobs saved because he made cuts where cuts needed to be made, and then filled openings which couldn't be lost with those few state workers who did lose their jobs. He's not hurting Missouri, he's making Missouri's government make efficient use of the money we send it each year. As a taxpayer, I'm more than pleased with his work.


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Signature? I'm not signing anything till I get to see the fine print!

I do not live in Missouri, but just across the border. It seems in every state we are on the cusp of deciding if we want to be a capitalist or a socialist/communist nation.
There was a time when all these medical devices, etc. were not automatically provided for you by the government. I remember a family that needed to get an electric wheelchair for one of it's members with Cerebral Palsey. They had a large yard sale that many neighbors contributed to to raise the funds. We are really so used to not looking to other options to meet our needs.


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