Just finished reading the whole thing through....I had absolutely no idea how complicated your health system is. The estate claim thing is a bit scary - if the state Medicaid has a claim on your estate, they should be upfront about that from the word go. Scary when you think how many families must be losing a loved one and then realising there's nothing left to inherit because Medicaid came along and nabbed the lot. Yikes.

I definitely like the emphasis being on employment for the disabled, but of course it always depends which type of disabled you are. Of you're in a wheelchair, that's one set of challenges, but something a lot of people are familiar with and wouldn't be too surprised about. Now let's all think about employment for someone with serious CRPS. Now there aren't just the physical mobility issues, but the need for flexibility with attendance and hours, and what if you have a bad flare and can't go in? What if your foot just balloons up suddenly and you have to elevate it and burst into tears from the intense pain? Your coworkers who are happy to have a wider aisle in the office, or a lift installed, are suddenly unhappy because you've had to have three days off this week, and now you're in you are struggling to concentrate today and have to leave early. How many employers would deal with that for an extended period of time? One good week where you're in every day and then a bad one where you attend maybe 25% of your normal hours is not an employee a lot of firms could support long term.

It's a very difficult subject all round. It's not easy here in the UK, but I definitely think you guys in the US have a more complicated and cost-based system...

Bram.