Robbin Miller

I am learning so much about making sacrifices to makes ends meet while my husband looks for a full-time job and consults twenty hours a week with no benefits. Due to not being able to afford CORBA payments from my husband's previous employer, I am paying 50% of my paycheck for health insurance costs on a bi-monthly basis. It is outrageous and unfair that I am now bringing home a lower amount in my paycheck that comes out to $ 10.00 an hour minus the costs for health insurance. If I was single with a child, I would be eligible for extra help from the government to help cover the costs of my health insurance. However, since I am married with a child, my spouse and I can't get any help. Last year, I worked a part-time job while I collected partial unemployment benefits on a weekly basis. My husband took the brunt of paying for some of my bills which dwindled our bank account. Presently, we are working with a debt consolidation company to get lower payments for our credit card acccount.

On Martin Luther King, Jr, birthday, I had a dentist appointment at 6:30 PM. The secretary called me earlier in the day to say that the dentist would take me at this time due to a pending snow storm on Tuesday. I took the opportunity to take this appointment on my day off and as my spouse would watch our son at this time. I arrive on time but the secretary told me that the dentist was running 15 minutes late. I said I don’t mind waiting as I can get comfortable reading the business magazines on a soft grey cushion chair. As I read each article, I kept looking at my watch every five minutes. It is 655 PM, dentist is still busy with another patient who said “Ouch” a few times as I hear the sound of the drill. I shrieked as I felt butterflies hitting my stomach muscles. I read another article and I noticed it is now 7 PM. I asked the secretary if the dentist will see me or not this evening. She said in a few minutes.

This past week, I found out that a long-term client whom I will call LG passed away at the age of 44 years old, when I read her obituary in an online newspaper. I saw this client for ten years when I worked for two different agencies, and then, terminated with her in November when I got a new job. I was so saddened to hear of her sudden passing. LG died from muscular atrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy that resulted in her being vent dependent and relying on round the clock personal care attendants to take care of her physical needs. LG used a power chair where she was able to use only two fingers to steer the joystick to move around freely. LG educated me about the true meaning of life. She was not an inspiration to me as some people would call her in the general media, but a person who mentored me in understanding the true nature of having a chronic disability.

Bravo to the physicians for speaking against the upcoming cuts in Medicare reimbursements and the threat of refusal of accepting more patients in their medical practices. How come mental health professionals can’t follow this same pursuit? Our profession has a big white elephant in our presence for refusing to speak out against cuts in payments for providing mental health services to our clients. I will give you an example on what I am talking about.

I wrote a previous blogpost on counselors being mindful before signing the papers for their clients to apply for social security benefits for either themselves or their child’s mental health diagnosis. While many will be denied for the first and second attempts, most of the appeals end up going to court.  If a client wins, their lawyer gets 30% of the SSI retroactive payments.  Unfortunately, the SSI game is a money racket for lawyers to get rich for the majority of the cases they win. Please note I am not saying that all people should be denied SSI for either their physical or psychological conditions. I am talking about individuals who are seen on the outpatient level and not from institutional settings or have severe chronic illnesses.