
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 22, 1993                   TAG: 9306220363
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ALZHEIMER'S VICTIMS LEFT WITH NOTHING

GREG Edwards' May 29 news story entitled "New Medicaid regulations fought" stated: "Under the proposed rules, people who don't have a medical condition but who otherwise are unable to care for themselves - such as those who have Alzheimer's Disease - could not use Medicaid to pay for nursing-home care or nursing care at home."

These Alzheimer's patients are our parents, grandparents, relatives and friends. I dare say that there isn't a person who does not know someone with this disease. These are hard-working people who held jobs, raised families and paid their taxes. Now we are going to turn our back on them when they need us the most.

To be eligible to receive Medicaid, these patients had to liquidate all their assets. Money they received from the sale of their home and belongings paid for their care in the nursing home as long as possible, before Medicaid took effect. Now, they do not have a home to return to, and they have no savings. Everything is gone.

Alzheimer's, like any form of dementia, is devastating. It robs people of their mind, leaving behind only a shell of the person they once were. It destroys the family, as members helplessly watch their loved one turn into someone they do not know. It strikes the rich, poor, educated, illiterate, men, women and all races. We need to find a safe, caring environment for those with Alzheimer's because any of us may be stricken.

I don't understand how our state could decide that this disease is not a medical condition.

Write your representatives and tell them how you feel about these proposed Medicaid changes. KATHY HUBBARD CHRISTIANSBURG

by CNB