Cuts in vision, dental and hearing care in Medicaid have created concern for the disabled in Michigan who live on Supplemental Security Income.
There are currently about 1.7 million users in the Medicaid program. The program provides medical care for individuals who are considered in poverty. A person on SSI is only allowed to have $2,000 in his or her bank account. July 2009, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed executive order 22 which cut vision, dental and hearing care for anyone who is 21 and older on Medicaid. The changes have had an impact on the disabled who make $674 a month on SSI and are no longer insured by their parents for whatever reason.
The new cuts can be a detriment to those struggling with both disability and added financial burdens of new health issues under these headings: Vision care deals with eye exams, glasses and contacts which are no longer covered in Medicaid. Eye exams can tell an eye doctor if the patient has a serious eye condition or if one could develop in the future. One Michigan resident is learning to live without vision care.
Michael Blizman, 37, a resident of Dearborn Heights was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease called keratoconus. He was diagnosed two years ago with the problem.
