U of M professors' benefits fall short
University of Memphis employees rely on the retirement benefits that they earn through years of service. But last year, the State of Tennessee terminated its highest quality healthcare plan, leaving thousands of retirees without adequate coverage.
By: Travis Griggs for The Daily Helmsman
The DeLoaches
Bill and Charlene DeLoach were long time University of Memphis professors. In 1972, they moved to Memphis and were hired for fulltime teaching positions.
Bill taught English and interdisciplinary courses, and Charlene, now72, taught rehabilitation counseling. Together, they dedicated more than 50 years of service to The University.
What set them apart from the crowd was that Bill and Charlene were both paralyzed at an early age. Bill suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a diving accident in 1957, which left him paralyzed from the neck down. Charlene was left paralyzed after she contracted the poliovirus during her senior year of high school.
Despite their disabilities, friends say the DeLoaches lived happy and successful lives.
"They lived in their own home. They drove a specially equipped wheelchair van. They had worked out, over the years, ways of solving life's problems," said Edward Ordman, a friend of the DeLoaches.
Kathy Haaga, a neighbor and friend to the Deloaches remembered: "An architect friend designed improvements to the DeLoach home so that they could live independently, which they did with a vengeance. Charlene was a familiar sight in the neighborhood, accompanying one of the dogs in her wheelchair."
Healthcare
The DeLoaches were independent in their day-to-day lives. But, they were also aware they could face serious health problems as they aged. They tried to prepare for this by paying for the most expensive health insurance premium available to them under the Tennessee State Employees insurance plan.
In 2000, Bill faced the first of what would be many fights for his life. He contracted pneumonia and spent much of the next four months in intensive care.
Doctors did not expect him to survive, but Bill retained hope.
"When asked whether he wanted any extraordinary means used to keep him alive, Bill said that he would prefer that they 'use the most extraordinary means possible,'" Haaga said.
Eventually, Bill made it home, but the battle with pneumonia left its mark. Upon returning home, his lungs had weakened, and he required a ventilator in order to breathe.
He required 24-hour-a-day care but, fortunately, at-home nursing care was covered by his upper-tier health insurance policy. His planning and investment paid off, and for the next five years, Bill was able to remain living at home in the company of his wife and many friends.
Tennessee Pulls the Plug
In November 2005, the DeLoaches received a letter from the state of Tennessee. It said that Tennessee was changing the high-end health insurance policy that the DeLoaches had paid premiums on for more than30 years. At-home nursing care would no longer be covered by the state of Tennessee.
If the DeLoaches wanted to stay at home, they were going to have to pay for it alone.
"They did not want to move and give up their independent lifestyle, but they knew, despite having saved conscientiously, that they could not afford to pay for home nursing care themselves for very long," Haaga said.
But for 10 months, they did just that. There were no openings at local nursing facilities, so they had to pay up to $30,000 per month to remain in their home.
"Having home nursing care meant life or death to Bill, so Charlene shouldered the burden of scheduling, finding and keeping nurses. It was difficult, and was a huge emotional strain," Haaga said.
Eventually, openings became available at King's Daughters and Sons Home in Memphis, and in late August 2006, Bill and Charlene left their home for the last time.
In the Institution
Bill and Charlene's medical conditions deteriorated quickly after they entered the nursing home. They were isolated from each other and, after less than two months, Charlene caught a cold which developed into pneumonia.
After the resulting hospitalization, Charlene too was on a ventilator." Charlene's doctor told her that she could not return to the nursing home because they had determined they could no longer meet her medical requirements," Haaga said.
The only suitable nursing facility that would accept the couple was located in Michigan. The DeLoaches were again forced to relocate.
"An ambulance flight was arranged at their expense to transport the DeLoaches to Michigan," Haaga said. "They had to put the $14,000 bill for the flight on their credit card."
After arriving in Michigan, Bill's condition deteriorated rapidly. His sister Margaret DeLoach visited him at the facility and said he "was never really able to converse with her."
Bill died on April 24, 2007, at the age of 69. Charlene still lives in the nursing home, and has given up hope of being moved back to Memphis.
"At the start of 2006, they were in their own home, active, functioning members of the community, with a health support system that worked well, a real asset to The University community," Ordman said.
"But by Summer of 2007, Bill was dead, and Charlene was very much more disabled and isolated from her friends at The University."
Failed by the System
The DeLoaches story is only one out of thousands like it. According to Tony Garr, executive director of the Tennessee Healthcare Campaign, about 25,000 Tennessee residents were affected by Tennessee's decision to eliminate some coverage.
"It's tragic what's happened to this family here in Memphis - and that's what's happening all over this country," Garr said.
"Their insurance should have supported them," said Deborah Cunningham, executive director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. "It does not make any sense to change the rules for people who have been paying into the system for years and years."
According to Garr, that is the main issue.
"You've got some people there who did everything they knew to do. They made plans so they could be cared for and get the care they need for the rest of their lives, and all of a sudden, they found themselves without adequate coverage," Garr said.
Ironically, the decision to move the DeLoaches into a nursing care facility ultimately cost the healthcare system more money than at-homecare.
"The cost for private-pay ventilator care at the Michigan facility is over $30,000 per person, per month," Haaga said.
This was about double the cost of at-home care.
Some critics argue that, in addition to the financial reasons, the DeLoaches had a basic right to remain living in their home.
"I think it's outrageous that the state of Tennessee makes those kinds of decisions," Cunningham said. "They make those decisions all the time to put people in institutions rather than finding a way to keep them in their homes and communities."
"The fact of the matter is, we have a lousy system," Garr said. "There are very real consequences to healthcare coverage that is spotty and filled with gaps."
Healthcare
According to Dr. Morris, founder of the Memphis-based Church Health Center, there are more than 100 million people in America who are uninsured or underinsured. The CHC is a non-profit facility that provides more than 30,000 uninsured Memphians with free health care.
The question, according to Morris, is "can America be considered a great country if we do not do a better job of providing healthcare for all our citizens?"
Morris said, difficult decisions must be made when dealing with a healthcare system that has limited funds.
"If you look at it from a strictly economic situation, on some levels, it's easy to understand why the state did what it did," Morris said." There are very few people who end up needing the kind of care that these people needed.
So if you're looking at doing the greatest good for the greatest number, often times that sort of utilitarian approach leads to sacrificing the few - which is definitely what we do in America on a regular basis."
The number of uninsured people in America has more than doubled in recent years, and the resulting problems are financial as well as physical.
"Studies have shown that the number one reason for bankruptcy in the United States is medical bills," Garr said. "And of the people who went bankrupt because of medical bills, half of them actually had insurance."
According to Garr, health insurance can often cause a false sense of security.
Many policies won't completely cover medical fees, leaving the policyholder holding the bill.
"Most people don't understand that the health coverage they have is inadequate, until all of a sudden, they need it," Garr said.
The Solution
Critics are quick to pass out blame for flaws in the health care system, and the insurance companies are a common target.
"Healthcare should not be a commodity that is bought and sold on the marketplace," Garr said. "The insurance industry siphons 25 percent of all healthcare costs and their number one obligation is their stockholders - not the patient."
The solution to the healthcare crisis, according to Garr, is that the federal government step up and guarantee universal healthcare, and only after it is provided, should they worry about how to pay for it.
But another question has been raised.
"Is there a right to healthcare?" Morris said.
Eventually, Morris said, when weighing the cost of healthcare against the condition of the patient, a decision is going to have to be made regarding what lengths doctors will go to in order to keep the patient alive.
"Life for life's sake doesn't make any sense," Morris said. "It's a real faulty way of thinking if you believe that death is the enemy."
He explained, "The focus for me is on issues of quality of life, because ultimately, who cares if you live for two years longer, if it means two years longer in a nursing home?"
But according to Haaga, this is exactly the point.
"Had the home nursing benefit on Bill's insurance not been cancelled, Bill and Charlene would still be living in their home, enjoying the life that they had worked so hard to create for themselves, and continuing to be an inspiration to all of us and all they came in contact with," Haaga said.
Instead, "This tragic flaw in the health system and in available insurance coverage resulted in her husband's death, and in Charlene being left alone in Michigan. A sad end for a couple who struggled so hard, gave so much to everyone they met and who worked hard, leading full and productive lives, despite disabilities that would have caused many of us to give up," Haaga said.
Thanks to Travis Griggs for The Daily Helmsman for permission to publish this article.
