Dear Representative John Dougall

You won’t remember who I am. We  met a few summers ago when you were trying to smooze my husband, Reed out of his vote.

Our introduction took place at a fundraiser for  my son, Parker.   Parker was born six weeks early with chronic lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, a tethered spinal cord, an imperforate anus, and  an extra chromosome.

Parker has undergone many surgeries, including critical intestinal surgery,  a tracheotomy, g-tube placement and just this month, surgery to correct a life threatening bowel adhesion.  He’s spent more time in the hospital than out of it.

I remember feeling  frustrated with you that hot August day. We had worked so very hard putting this fundraiser together and yet you kept my husband tied up for over an hour talking about YOU and YOUR ideals, all in the hopes of gaining a vote.

And here we were trying to raise the funds to cover the costs of keeping our child alive.  Because Utah isn’t really known for it’s give a damn policies in that area.

So I bet you can understand our family’s dismay when we discovered  that our  state had  decided to eliminate the Disabled Tax Exemption…………..

and that this Legislation under H.B. 359 (Tax Changes) WAS SPONSORED BY YOU.

Whatta guy you are John. I imagine you celebrating  the passing of this little gem by kicking a whole bunch of cats on your way home that night. Just for good measure and all.

If memory serves me correctly, you take great issue with closed door meetings.  Even imaginary ones.  Yet you slipped this new legislation past many of us here  with little to no transparency.

Representative Dougall, did you realize that we are neighbors?  Only a brief walk separates your neighborhood from mine. Our children attend the same schools. I wonder what you teach your children in regards to those with special needs.

Do you teach them respect? Or that, in a pinch, it truly is okay to take from the weakest and most vulnerable within our society.

Especially those, like my son Parker, who literally and figuratively have no voice.

But I understand that there are others in our community that you have set your sights on.

Take for example the legislation you wanted to impose forcing those seniors now receiving in home health care to be admitted into full care facilities.

Until someone pointed out to you that full care facilities would cost tax payers much, much more than in home health care.

Not only does your lack of compassion astound me, but the depth of your ignorance as well.

Just a few days ago, Medicaid was on the chopping block here in the state of Utah. Legislative staff, such as yourself, decided you knew more about life with special needs than those of us actually living it, and ergo had the wisdom to take the ax to all the fat contained within the Medicaid budget.

Except, in reality there wasn’t any fat, was there. It took special needs advocates and parents to come up with the idea of tapping into the rainy day fund to continue to fund Medicaid until the state stimulus money from the feds could replace the loan. An idea that had totally blown over the collective intellect of our state legislature.

Your voting record clearly shows more concerns with new roads in the state of Utah than any quality of life for those with special needs.  But the conflict of interests between your voting record and your personally owned business ventures is a subject for another time.

But this state legislature voted to hold itself blameless for any conflict of interests between their voting records and their personal business ventures didn’t they John.  Why should you be held to the confines of ethics?

And now there is a proposed plan to take back Medicaid funding from families making 75% over the poverty limits.

Or even cut it out altogether.  The same way you attempted to do away with all of the autistic preschools in the state.  Instead, you did away with programs to help elderly disabled persons.

This stunning proposal targets middle class families such as ours, and will add to the ranks of families in this state losing their homes due to astronomical medical bills.

Bravo, John.

Representative Dougall, it won’t be long until our private insurance for Parker maxes out. And while we now qualify for the Travis C. Waiver, Medicaid doesn’t cover the $2,000 dollar a month drug that my son needs to live, or many other things necessary for Parker’s health.

And if you go ahead with the proposed cuts in Medicaid, we won’t even have that.  Because the state of Utah is one of the few states that doesn’t allow a household to subtract out of pocket medical bills before reporting their net income.  It is only one of two states that refuse to float bonds in order to fully fund Medicaid.

Did you realize that 20,000 people die each year unnecessarily because of no insurance coverage?

When the time comes that Parker no longer has private insurance,   fund raising efforts to meet Parker’s medical needs will be greater than ever.

If by chance you happen to come across one of those fund raising efforts in the future, may I make a request?

Walk away. Just simply walk away.

Because with neighbors like you, who needs enemies?

Just as a courtesy warning John,  I will be taking notes of each and every act you make as my elected representation to the state government.   It will be my personal pleasure to lead the pack that makes sure you never see a winning election again.

Oh, and before I forget, when exactly was your last self appointed pay raise?

Tagged as: John Dougall, medicaid, Utah disabled tax credit