U.S. doctors will not take Medicare. UPDATE! I am in deep now!

[Miss_Bungle1991]

I plan to send the letter by E-mail and post every day until I am satisfied.

G-D help them!! 

Right on!

[stephaniec]

you go girl. that's the only way I can get GRS.

[Jessica Merriman]

you go girl. that's the only way I can get GRS.

They will want to pay for them out of their own pockets before I am through with them! Hang in there Sis! 

[Allyda]

They will want to pay for them out of their own pockets before I am through with them! Hang in there Sis! 

Jess, I am floored. Your letter is so very well written it has to get some attention for us. I thank you so much for all that you are doing to help all of us have better medical care and have the procedures we so desperately need. Very very well done Sis!

And on a lighter note: You know your always welcome to come down and hide out here as long as you want. I have an empty spare bedroom and you my friend are most certainly welcome! I just hope your not allergic to kitty's!

All my hopes!

Ally

[Jessica Merriman]

[I just hope your not allergic to kitty's!

I have 14 so not a problem. Maybe if I start mailing cat's to Washington I will get a faster response! 

[ImagineKate]

Here's my opinion and please don't take this as a slam on what is otherwise a very fine effort. I can offer some advice based on my experience at the state and federal level.

From my experience, politicians do not read long letters like these. The staffers go through them and the congressperson gets a summary, if that. It will be basically x person in y district supports or opposes this issue.  They like short and sweet. They basically have the attention span of goldfish.

If we want real results we need to mobilize and flood them with these letters from as many people as possible. Also email is nice but faxes I think are the best OR hand delivering them with either the help of a lobbyist of ourselves.

I'm involved in a few causes and even worked with paid lobbyists and I've seen how it works. Hope this helps.

Well written though!

[Shantel]

From my experience, politicians do not read long letters like these. The staffers go through them and the congressperson gets a summary, if that. It will be basically x person in y district supports or opposes this issue.  They like short and sweet. They basically have the attention span of goldfish.

This rings true in my own experience and gives credence to the idea that government by representation is a completely failed American experiment. The only thing that will make any impact whatsoever is to have term limits for congress people. That being said, it would be a cold day in hell before that would ever happen because those same people would have to approve it. This is what happens when citizens abdicate and delegate their interests to others.

Go Seahawks, get me another beer honey and a bag of cheetos will ya?

[Allyda]

We can always pool our resources, buy a large island, and all move there then sit back and watch as the Government spirals this country out of control down the crapper.

I just had a thought, an all trans country. Hmmmmmmn! Then if the rest of the world destroys themselves we'd be the only survivors.

Ally

[Jaime R D]

We can always pool our resources, buy a large island, and all move there then sit back and watch as the Government spirals this country out of control down the crapper.

I just had a thought, an all trans country. Hmmmmmmn! Then if the rest of the world destroys themselves we'd be the only survivors.

Ally

Don't be giving them any ideas about shipping us all off to some island somewhere like a leper colony...

[Jess42]

We can always pool our resources, buy a large island, and all move there then sit back and watch as the Government spirals this country out of control down the crapper.

I just had a thought, an all trans country. Hmmmmmmn! Then if the rest of the world destroys themselves we'd be the only survivors.

Ally

That sounds like a really good idea Ally. I'd rather live among normal people anyways.

Don't be giving them any ideas about shipping us all off to some island somewhere like a leper colony...

Is it really that bad of an idea, really? Island living, good normal people that are probably way smarter than the general population anyway? I'll buy the first round of Pina Coladas.

[Jessica Merriman]

I never figured out why Tom Hanks wanted off that island in "Castaway"? The only time I would want off is during Payless shoe BOGO sale!! 

[Bimmer Guy]

Jessica,

Marcie Bowers has said that she will take/work with Medicare.  Did she turn you away?

[Jessica Merriman]

Jessica,

Marcie Bowers has said that she will take/work with Medicare.  Did she turn you away?

I got an e-mail saying no. I will try again. Thank you. 

[Bimmer Guy]

I got an e-mail saying no. I will try again. Thank you. 

Wow.  Good to know.  Sorry to hear that.  Hang in there.  I read your letter and think it is excellent.  Keep fighting the good fight!

[mrs izzy]

Question i have with Marci is she is a OB/GYN. Does she not take medicare patients in her practice?

Would that be ethical to pick and choose?

Just saying.

[Shana-chan]

Of course you can Julie. I am in this for the long haul and accept whatever fate is in store for me.

I really don't want to cause trouble, but on the other hand I want them to know I am committed and deadly serious about this. I just hope our community understands this is about me and my personal feelings and beliefs and I know I probably do not speak for them all. If what I do helps us as a whole I am good with that. If this backfires I hope it does not affect others negatively and no one blames me for further problems that they do not need. I think I am more scared of failing everyone here and in the community more than how it will impact me personally.

If at first you don't succeed, try try again. I don't think anyone would fault you or nothing if you failed and if they do, ignore them as much as possible, they're just dealing wit their own Dysphoria and may not mean what they say and if they do mean it, well, that's pretty terrible of them if you ask me. The more of us that step up and fight, the better.

[LordKAT]

Some doctors will only accept a few medicaid patients because they have to make up the difference with paying patients. Once they have met their limit, they will not take any new ones until one leaves.

Medicaid makes a small payment and the patient cannot be billed for more. Medicare may be different on that, I haven't looked into it as much. I do know they suggest supplementary insurance for all medicare patients.

[Shantel]

Question i have with Marci is she is a OB/GYN. Does she not take medicare patients in her practice?

Would that be ethical to pick and choose?

Just saying.

She is an OB/GYN and was obstetrics department head at Swedish Hospital in Seattle many years ago and prior to her own transition. Not long ago she teamed up with Jane Fonda who had asked her to offer reparative surgery to Islamic women who had suffered genital mutilation. I don't know about medicare.

[ImagineKate]

I think an effective strategy would be to find a representative who is sympathetic to the cause and catch their ear. It would be especially good if they're up for re-election and their constituents favor your position. They don't have to even be in your district or state, but it would be better if they were.

In this case you want to talk to those who are sympathetic to LGBT as well as those who may be supportive of healthcare reform. Also not everyone sympathetic to LGBT would care about trans issues as much as they care about, say, same sex marriage, but it's worth a shot.

The President would also be a good person to contact because healthcare reform is his baby.

[ImagineKate]

This rings true in my own experience and gives credence to the idea that government by representation is a completely failed American experiment. The only thing that will make any impact whatsoever is to have term limits for congress people. That being said, it would be a cold day in hell before that would ever happen because those same people would have to approve it. This is what happens when citizens abdicate and delegate their interests to others.

Go Seahawks, get me another beer honey and a bag of cheetos will ya?

They let the interns go through them. If you were ever a Congressional intern, a lot of what you'll be doing is reading correspondence from constituents.

I once wrote my rep about issues related to the DTV transition. I heard nothing back until a couple months before the election. An intern called me and said, "rest assured rep XXXXX supports digital TV." I asked other questions and basically the intern said, "I will let representative XXXXX know." totally missing the point.