I am a caretaker for a patient-advocate who has had ME for most of her life and who works from bed. Right now, her California ME/CFS specialist wants her to start IVIG and Rituxan, but because every physician in Washington State has been taught that ME is psychogenic in nature, she cannot get the help necessary to save her life. She is having severe autonomic problems and demyelination, but no one will serve her. This happens everywhere in the world and on average, I hear of about five to seven deaths a week from ME.

On February 2, 2018, Our adult son was hit by a car. When emergency ems and law enforcement arrived he was able to talk and the report made by the law officer said he had non-life threatening injuries. The officer came to our house and told us what happened and stated in his report non-life threatening injuries. When we arrived at the hospital he was on a stretcher and he had no neck or back brace on and he was no longer able to talk. I feel because they thought he was not hurt that bad, they failed to put a collar and brace his back, resulting in making the injury worse! He was completely paralyzed and he could not talk he was on a respirator, until I consented on February 11, 2018, for the doctor to remove it and he died in my arms!

A knee injury, caused by a bicycling fall, prompted a trip to Sarasota Memorial Hospital's Emergency Room. For their services that afternoon, SMH charged us $19,818. HealthCareBlueBook.com calculated the FAIR COST of all the services provided by SMH at $6,800. When I contacted SMH to discuss the FAIR COST, she responded (at first) they would "cut the bill in HALF, down to $9,909." Then, a correction, "I'm sorry but it shows here you have insurance, which means the charges can only be reduced to $15, 260." We must pay an additional $5,361 solely because we pay premiums on an insurance policy! That's a 54% increase! This price gouging/price discounting circus is NOT NEEDS-BASED. No questions were asked about income or assets. How is this system fair, especially for a taxpayer subsidized hospital? As a local resident and homeowner, 10% of my yearly property taxes go directly to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Emergency Medical Services.

Tell the Governor and the Maine Legislature that it’s time to put their money where their mouth is! Over the last two years we have heard our state legislators discuss the opioid crisis at length. We’ve had collaboratives and task forces and reports and comprehensive proposals. But what we haven’t had is action. Meanwhile, 2017 saw overdose deaths rise yet again. In 2017, our failure to pass and fund meaningful legislation claimed 418 lives, a more than 137% increase over 2013. Meanwhile, we continue to lock people up on low-level drug offenses, even as evidence only grows that this approach has had no impact on drug use for the last 50 years and has only served to exacerbate the crisis. We need treatment and harm reduction - not longer prison sentences. Today, this year, the Legislature is considering legislation proposed by the Opioid Task Force, that would have a meaningful impact on the opioid crisis. This includes legislation that will increase access to drug treatment (LD 1430), increase housing stability and provide treatment for people who use drugs and are experiencing homelessness (LD 1711), divert people away from the criminal justice system towards community based resources (LEAD bill). Additionally our elected officials are taking up legislation to create a pilot project to address substance use using evidence-based practices in Washington County, one of the areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis (LD 812), legislation to help stabilize mothers attempting to enter recovery from opioid use and helping to reunite them with their children (LD 1771) and legislation help prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C (LD 1707). Unfortunately, as critical as this legislation is, as much as it will save Maine lives, many legislators are balking at the price tag or playing politics with the budget. Others continue to beat the drum that calls for a ‘tough love’ response to the crisis, pushing for longer prison sentences and harsher laws, in spite of 50 years of this failed approach. Join with us to send the message that the legislature needs to fund and support an opioid package THIS YEAR to address this crisis. Join with us to send the message that it is time for action, not more discussion, and this issue requires attention THIS YEAR, to prevent more loss of life. Join with us to send the message that people’s lives are not bargaining chips in the budget-making process. Join with us to send the message that this is a MORAL ISSUE and that Maine people need their support to address this ongoing, horrifying crisis.

I am disabled and after having years of sobriety, I was crippled in a car accident and am personally affected by this disease. Being disabled leaves me in a financial struggle to survive to obtain my treatment and be able to pay rent to have housing, leaving my life on the line every day. Suboxone also aids in pain relief, thus why I am a long-term patient. My best friend, whom I considered my brother, died at the age of 30 to this atrocity of Opiates, "the war on drugs", and our punishment style police state we live in! Addiction is not biased and ADDICTS ARE BEING LEFT TO DIE. Make Suboxone available to all opiate addicts! It does not get you "high" and is highly, highly effective in alleviating withdrawal symptoms, can be monitored and tapered down to become sober safely and to do so effectively.

Before my granddaughter suffered from this terrible condition and killed her son, I heard about this happening to other families. This could have been prevented if there was a program to follow up on new mothers after giving birth. The State of Arizona must realize PPS is a real condition and offer help and not punishment

This petition has been started by a group of social workers who care deeply about healthcare policies that affect vulnerable populations. This petition voices support for the freedom and legal right of terminally ill individuals to take control over the circumstances by which they experience the dying process. The bill includes evidence based practices in the implementation of a Death With Dignity option and tough safeguards against abuse. The choices that HB2102 provides to the terminally ill have been proven beneficial to patients and families; safe and effective in providing peace of mind and restoring control to the terminally ill. PLEASE ALSO VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE WHERE WE PROVIDE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING THIS POLICY AND TRACK THE CURRENT BILL https://www.facebook.com/Death-With-Dignity-for-Arizona-420254121748346/ THANK YOU!

This bill is an attack on patient rights; giving the authority over patient treatment to the insurance company instead of the injured party or healthcare practicioner . NEVER does this bill promise to reduce rates on behalf of citizens but simply limits their benefits. Find the bill here http://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=26388

General medical practice that only covers minor emergencies on campus is not enough for residents of the University. The institution should provide specialized care or discounted rates to off-campus clinics for their registered full-time students.

Please join the occupational therapy student-led group "Advocate For OT in Homecare" from Bay Path Unversity in supporting the Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act (S.977 and H.R. 3820) The Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act would specifically allow occupational therapists to open home health therapy cases and conduct the required comprehensive assessments. Occupational therapists are qualified to perform the initial and first comprehensive rehabilitation assessments based on their unique training and perspective, which focus on a person’s functional capabilities. Not allowing occupational therapists to open health therapy cases, causes unneeded barriers to providing patients with effective, timely, and appropriate therapy services. We hope you will join Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dean Heller (R-NV) as well as the National Association of Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and support the Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act.

I have been a chronic pain sufferer for over 13 plus years! 13+ years struggling to be understood and acknowledged! We chronic pain sufferers a vast majority of us have to on a daily basis face judgments, comments reflective of who they, family, friends, society, and government think we are! Not reflective of who we really are! Awareness, of what we face/challenges, in addition, to our oh so painful debilitating illness! We get barraged with negative labels such as a drug seeker, attention seeker, exaggerating our pain... I'd like to introduce this petition to educate and enlighten, bringing attention to chronic pain and the debilitating, heartbreaking, road of judgments and inaccurate bias judgmental statements that we endure by not only our family members, friends, the medical community, but society as a whole! It is next to impossible to be able to articulate with any kind of Justice how living day in and day out, 24/7, 365 days a year with torturous never-ending chronic pain is; the intensity and toll it takes on your body, your mind, your spirit, your psyche, and self-esteem! I would like to introduce the ability to educate and inform media, legislators, family members, society as a whole to the correct terminology and challenges we face! Start opening and changing the narrative, educating and enlightening those who do not know the gravity, impact, and seriousness of this issue! Many are dying due to suicide because the essential tools, the only thing that gave them any sense of relief, functionality and or quality of life is being or has been taken from them( their medications opioids)! The collateral damage that plays out in their lives and all those that surround them! And the ultimate toll and damage this action of tapering and or removal of opioids will do to the family unit, social dynamics that will become explosive & reputably damaged that could potentially be irreversible! Thank you so much Cathy Kean XOXO

President Tump seems more interested in getting a death penalty option for drug dealers than providing funds to treat those most affected by this national health crisis. My family and millions of others need greater access to treatment for our children , parents, friends, and neighbors. Let’s let Congress and the administration know what is truly needed.