Power Chair Update - I Wrote President Obama and He Helped!

 I Wrote President Obama and He Helped!

This week was a terrible week for my funding campaigns, but I did have closure with the letter I wrote the President. If you didn’t read about it, before, I wrote President Obama about the difficulties I was having with ‘Medicare Authorized Vendors’ in my area that supply ‘power chairs’. Both told me,, that I qualified for the benefit, that I was disabled enough for the benefit and that they really wanted to sell me a power chair. However, (and both said the exact same thing)

        “It is your doctor’s fault; he is not providing the documentation we need… (for an audit!)…”

[As I explained to President Obama, these Vendors are using the AUDIT standard for procurement. It is NOT how Medicare designed the benefit, but these vendors are using the two standards (Purchase and Audit) to weed out Medicare beneficiaries]

 

Therefore, I am revisiting this issue because there has been movement since I wrote last. Yes, since my last campaign update I have seen ‘the ball move’ on my power chair benefit from Medicare and I simply must tell you all about it… ;)

 

This first image is the first page of the letter I sent to President Obama. Now, for all my detractors; I was writing this letter to illicit a response, to get a reaction, to get assistance and one simply must garner ‘mutual respect and admiration’ (in a letter) to gain the type of answer I wanted, and eventually received. Go ahead, take a read… I will just wait here…

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[caption id="attachment_415" align="aligncenter" width="189"] Page One of My Letter To President Obama. In this letter I tried to ask for assistance, from President Obama, in getting the power chair my doctor prescribed and my neurologist and neurosurgeon BOTH told me will keep me from paraplegia or death.[/caption]

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This first page is introductory in nature. I have written the President, before, so I was introducing my situation and building ‘mutual respect and admiration’. The last paragraph begins the chronology of my disease… actually, just the past few years of the disease. I wish he could read Daniel's Disability and How it All Began then President Obama would have a very good idea of exactly how long I have fought this disability. He would also have a very good idea of how hard I have fought to get every treatment I have received. Now, I am in desperate need for a power chair and to be able to use the power chair in my day-to-day life.

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The second page of the letter covers all the bases. I finish my explanation of my condition and medical necessity for the power chair. I elaborate on the roadblocks I have encountered, with my doctor, to getting the mobility device approved and delivered to me. Let me take a moment to make an aside: Dr. Laurence Gorlick of Pro Health Partners @ Los Alamitos Medical Center is the single most; professional, proficient, detailed oriented, physician I have ever met in my entire life… and I had Liz Taylor’s neurosurgeon (before I was fired… for doing my job… and lost everything).

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[caption id="attachment_416" align="aligncenter" width="187"] Page Two of My Letter to President Obama[/caption]

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This is the final page; I include the URL for my Power Chair Campaign my email address and a closing salutation.

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[caption id="attachment_417" align="aligncenter" width="237"] Page Three of My Letter to President Obama[/caption]

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Finally, for the letter part, here is the ‘Return Receipt’ card signed for by ‘The White House’ received on July 25^th, 2012. Kind of make note of that day, it is kind of important, later.  

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[caption id="attachment_418" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Return Recpt Card from THE WHITE HOUSE[/caption]

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Now, for the update! Yesterday, September 27^th, I received a call from a representative from Health and Human Services Overseeing Medicare. (This would be the Cabinet Office of President Obama that oversees Medicare) The woman that called me; had already read my whole three page letter, had looked up my file and familiarized herself with everything I have been through since May 2003, and really was prepared to help me any way she could help.

 

She couldn’t understand why the two companies had refused my a power chair, when I (and my doctor) had demonstrated a genuine medical need to both Medicare providers. An investigation, of these two Medicare Vendors, has been started and they will be questioned on their handling of my claim. They are going to research and see if there is any way that they can override the process, with one of the providers, and get me the power chair (Hi, this is _____ from Health and Human Services… yes, it seems you gave the shaft to this client… well, we can pull all your Medicare authorizations for the past twenty years… or, yes… as a matter of fact Mr. Hanning does STILL need a power chair…) Only in my dreams.

 

So, I have ran the Daniel’s Power Chair Assistance Fund, for the past two months, in an effort to raise the money for a power chair (configured the way I need it) and the money to move to a place where I can use the power chair by myself. I currently live in a building, on the second floor, that has no elevator. It is also full to the brim, now, with drug dealers and drug addicts. In just the past two, out of eight I have been here, there have been two shootings (resulting in deaths) and one riot.

I am desperate to not be alone in this building, riding my power chair. I, at first, just tried to expand the first campaign (Daniel’s Power Chair Assistance Fund) but people did not give any more than $600 over the original goal. I understand, you see the green line all the way over, and there really is no need “he met his goal!”. I thought about it the other way, the ‘bus lady’ way… she started her campaign (that we all saw on Nightly News) @ $5,000 for a nice vacation. She ended up, after 90 days, with $680,000.00 and a new car, and a new home and retirement paid for… in full.

I never expected that from either of my Indiegogo campaigns, never in a million years.

However, I had hoped to meet the goals of both campaigns. I am going to keep working as hard as my disability will allow to provide; stories, and entertainment, and information and recipes to give you motivation to help me, help myself.

 

Thank you, for your generosity and kindness in this, my time of need!

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="220"] Daniel's Moving Assistance Fund[/caption]