MS Patient Falls Into American Insurance Gap

One of the major issues that the MS Society is tackling on both the federal and state levels is the two year wait for Medicare coverage after qualifying for Social Security Disability. This is an issue that affects not only people living with MS, but any American with a disability.

For a story about an MS patient dealing with the Medicare wait period, and an interesting contrast between the US and UK health systems, follow the link below.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92067101

Rep. Sue Myrick Introduces SSDI Pilot Program

On Monday, US Representative Sue Myrick introduced a program to reduce the backlog of SSDI cases in the Charlotte area. Charlotte's office had about 8,700 pending cases last year, and disabled workers must endure some of the longest waits in the nation for their SSDI hearings. The initial pilot will use video teleconferencing to transfer 300 cases to another hearing office in Seattle, where the backlog is smaller. The program is launching in August, and could be expanded pending success

For more information, and quotes from MS Society Staff, follow the link below.

http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/722863.html

MOVE Awards Given To Legislators

You may remember last year, 5 legislators were selected to receive the MS Society's MOVE (Medal of Valor for Excellence) award. With the visits made to the state capitol on Advocacy Day, all of the awards have been delivered to their recipients.

We're happy to present our MOVE award winners:

Representative Martha Alexander




















Representative Verla Insko














Representative Hugh Holliman















Senator Tony Rand















Senator David Hoyle