July 12, 2024 HHS Office of Inspector General – Chief Counsel Division P.O. Box 85200 Austin, Texas 78708 Email: IG_Rules_Comments_Inbox@hhsc.state.tx.us RE: Proposed Regulations published in the June 14, 2024 Texas Register Dear Chief Counsel: Not Dead Yet is a national disability rights organization focused on combatting disability- based healthcare discrimination, particularly in the context of […]
The updating of the 504 Regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services under the Biden-Harris administration is historic. Various provisions included in the amendment interact and work together to promote equal access to healthcare for persons with disabilities. Not Dead Yet’s response to the Department’s request for public comment when the updates were […]
Alexandra is a woman in her forties who has been described as developmentally disabled and has sometimes had problems managing her budget. She cares about having a conventional appearance and her preference is for V-neck blouses. She unfortunately has early-stage breast cancer, but it could be treated in various ways. She could benefit from having […]
Recent Medscape Survey Indicates that Doctors are Divided on Life and Death Issues by Lisa Blumberg Medscape is an online resource for healthcare professionals. It provides medical news and information and does surveys on current issues. (1) Its 2022 survey of 4100 U.S. doctors on “Right and Wrong in Medicine: Life, Death and Wrenching Choices” […]
For years, advance medical directives, popularly known as living wills, have been promoted as giving people control over what happens to them at “end of life”, i.e., when they are in dire medical straits. (1) It is hard to disagree with the concept. Certainly, people have the right to refuse treatment they don’t find helpful […]
June 11, 2021 By: Andrés J. Gallegos, Jennifer M. Sender ROBBINS, SALOMON & PATT, LTD. SEEKS JUSTICE FOR MICHAEL HICKSON, FILES WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AGAINST ST. DAVID’S SOUTH AUSTIN MEDICAL CENTER & ITS PHYSICIANS Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd. (RSP) on June 10, 2021, filed a multi-count wrongful death lawsuit against St. David’s South Austin Medical Center […]
A friend asked if I knew how many people have been medically killed since Covid-19. My answer is that there is no way to know. We know about Michael Hickson and we’re just learning about Sarah McSweeney and perhaps many others from a recent NPR investigation. However, when relatives agree, or at least don’t vociferously […]
On July 24th, ADAPT of Texas filed a complaint with the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concerning the death of Michael Hickson, a Black Disabled man, at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center. The complaint called for . . . “. . . an investigation of St David’s […]
Good news! Following intervention by attorneys, the Minnesota hospital that we previously reported had planned to stop providing oxygen to a woman with lung cancer decided to follow her wishes to continue treatment. This goes to show, as so many people with disabilities have experienced, that when there’s a power imbalance operating against you, get legal/advocate […]
Friday night, I got a phone call from a woman who said that a Minnesota hospital had stated its plan for Monday at 1:00 pm to discontinue providing oxygen to her friend, Catie, a woman with lung cancer who stated that she wants to live and keep getting oxygen. NDY sometimes gets calls like this […]
