Policies in 25 states would ration care in ways disability advocates have denounced, a Center for Public Integrity analysis shows.
Before the coronavirus, Matthew Foster dressed up as the giant mouse Chuck E. Cheese for work, hung out with his girlfriend in a Barnes & Noble coffee shop and every Wednesday went to the movies with friends.
Now he FaceTimes his girlfriend, talks to his reading coach on Zoom and helps his mother around the house.
The 37-year-old stays close to home. If he gets COVID-19, his family fears for his life.
That’s because Foster has Down syndrome, and he lives in Alabama, where people with “severe mental retardation … may be poor candidates” for a ventilator if hospitals run short during this pandemic, according to a state policy that until recently was posted on the Alabama Department of Public Health’s website.
After disability advocates complained, the state took down the policy and pointed to new, vague guidance. But Foster and his family are still apprehensive…
To read the entire article from The Center for Public Integrity, click https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/state-policies-may-send-people-with-disabilities-to-the-back-of-the-line-for-ventilators
