When Maggie’s daughter Ella suffered a brain injury at birth, she was determined to get the little girl all the therapies she’d need to thrive. Occupational, speech and music therapy, the doctors assured, could work wonders. But the costs have crippled their family, even with health insurance. They are far from alone. Across the UK, disabled people face myriad barriers to affordable healthcare. From mobility aids and mental health services to speech therapy and specialist care, essential treatment remains out of reach for many. It is a quiet crisis borne of a system that fails to fully support those most in need. For Ella, years of intensive therapies have been life-changing, helping her gain skills doctors said she may never achieve. But seeing her progress required tens of thousands in out-of-pocket costs on top of premium insurance payments.
“Our whole lives have been oriented around paying for Ella’s care. We’ve got nothing left. But how can we stop when she’s come so far?” Maggie explains, exhausted.
Like many families, Maggie and her husband have made huge career and personal sacrifices chasing Ella’s progress. Maggie paused her career as Ella underwent years of full-time therapies. Meanwhile, they liquidated savings and college funds for their other daughter. Health costs devour some 70% of their income even with insurance. They face an uncertain financial future. For lower income families lacking work flexibility or insurance, affordable access to care is even more fraught. Many disabled people see mobility aids denied as “non-essential” or mental health therapy discontinued when budgets are slashed. They suffer without treatment but have no means to challenge the system.
Even mundane healthcare like dental visits or cervical screenings become ordeals when clinics lack accessible exam tables and equipment. Humiliated and unable to access vital preventative care, health disparities widen. Disability advocates argue the system discounts disabled people’s right to healthcare. As services are rationed via stricter eligibility criteria, support is pared back to a bare minimum standard of living rather than optimizing abilities.
“It's been made so difficult and exhausting to get basic accommodations that many disabled people give up hope of progress,” describes advocate Penny. “But we have a right to healthcare that fosters independence and dignity."
Austerity policies have worsened hardship, with benefits like mobility vehicles, assistive technologies and caregiving allowances increasingly restricted. Appeals grow lengthy and arduous. Disabled people are treated more like cheats than patients. Meaningful access will require substantial reforms, from reversing healthcare cuts to mandating disability education for providers and architects. But grassroots groups are pushing for change.
“We won’t wait quietly for our needs to be noticed,” stresses Penny. “We are organizing and fighting back against exclusion from healthcare.”
Maggie too won’t stop striving to secure Ella’s best care and inclusion. Though financially and emotionally drained, she says, “My daughter deserves every opportunity. We’ll find a way because she’s worth it.”
All disabled people are worth it – worth the investment and effort to make healthcare truly equitable. While barriers remain, caring communities and providers could relief so much unnecessary suffering. The solutions exist if the collective will do too.
Add comment
Comments