An Interview with Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (Page 3 of 3)
DWS:
Probably the most
important advice is
to give the person
that you are caring
for the space that
they need. If they
need you to be right
there for them, then
do that. But, when
they need you to
back up and give
them a little bit of
room, do that as
well. Sometimes
caregivers can be
very smothering and
sometimes they do
not realize how much
someone needs them
at that moment. So
try communication
with the person you
are caring for and
be aware that
person’s brain has
not left them; they
do generally have
the ability to make
their own decisions
about how much
assistance they
need. That is
probably the best
advice that I could
give them. Also,
help them with
advocacy. I happen
to be a strong
willed and
knowledgeable person
and I know that I am
able to speak up for
myself. But what
happens with
patients is,
especially when
diagnosed with a
serious illness, you
put your life in the
hands of your health
care providers. You
do not know anything
about what is wrong
with you and you
trust that the
health care advice
you are getting from
your physician is
the right one. A
caregiver can assist
the patient in
getting more
information, asking
more questions,
empowering the
patient to push for
access to health
care that perhaps
the physician or the
insurance company is
not providing. So
just being there in
an advocacy role to
help the patient be
an advocate for
themselves is
incredibly
important.
GB:
Those are two
terrific answers.
Also do not take
easy no’s. That is
what we
find from insurance
companies and from
doctors.
DWS:
I do not accept no
as an answer. Every
insurance company
has an appeals
process. Their job
is to minimize the
access to coverage
that you get and
your job is to
maximize the
coverage that you
paid for.
GB:
We always say the
four most important
words are, “Who is
your supervisor?
DWS: Exactly,
that is absolutely
right; and tell them
to hang on because
universal health
care is coming. Our
goal is to pass
legislation out of
Congress this year
and send it to the
president; that will
create a
universal health
care system that
will give everyone
access to coverage
they need and
deserve.
