University of Memphis employees rely on the retirement benefits that they earn through years of service. But last year, the State of Tennessee terminated its highest quality healthcare plan, leaving thousands of retirees without adequate coverage.
The DeLoaches
Bill and Charlene DeLoach were long time University of Memphis professors. In 1972, they moved to Memphis and were hired for full time teaching positions. Bill taught English and interdisciplinary courses, and Charlene, now 72, taught rehabilitation counseling. Together, they dedicated more than 50 years of service to The University.
What set them apart from the crowd was that Bill and Charlene were both paralyzed at an early age. Bill suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a diving accident in 1957, which left him paralyzed from the neck down. Charlene was left paralyzed after she contracted the polio virus during her senior year of high school.
Despite their disabilities, friends say the DeLoaches lived happy and successful lives.
"They lived in their own home. They drove a specially equipped wheelchair van. They had worked out, over the years, ways of solving life's problems," said Edward Ordman, a friend of the DeLoaches.
Kathy Haaga, a neighbor and friend to the Deloaches remembered: "An architect friend designed improvements to the DeLoach home so that they could live independently, which they did with a vengeance. Charlene was a familiar sight in the neighborhood, accompanying one of the dogs in her wheelchair."
Healthcare
The DeLoaches were independent in their day-to-day lives. But, they were also aware they could face serious health problems as they aged.
They tried to prepare for this by paying for the most expensive health insurance premium available to them under the Tennessee State Employees insurance plan.
In 2000, Bill faced the first of what would be many fights for his life. He contracted pneumonia and spent much of the next four months in intensive care. Doctors did not expect him to survive, but Bill retained hope.
"When asked whether he wanted any extraordinary means used to keep him alive, Bill said that he would prefer that they 'use the most extraordinary means possible,'" Haaga said.
Eventually, Bill made it home, but the battle with pneumonia left its mark. Upon returning home, his lungs had weakened, and he required a ventilator in order to breathe.
He required 24-hour-a-day care but, fortunately, at-home nursing care was covered by his upper-tier health insurance policy. His planning and investment paid off, and for the next five years, Bill was able to remain living at home in the company of his wife and many friends.
Tennessee Pulls the Plug
In November 2005, the DeLoaches received a letter from the state of Tennessee. It said that Tennessee was changing the high-end health insurance policy that the DeLoaches had paid premiums on for more than 30 years. At-home nursing care would no longer be covered by the state of Tennessee.
If the DeLoaches wanted to stay at home, they were going to have to pay for it alone.
"They did not want to move and give up their independent lifestyle, but they knew, despite having saved conscientiously, that they could not afford to pay for home nursing care themselves for very long," Haaga said.
But for 10 months, they did just that. There were no openings at local nursing facilities, so they had to pay up to $30,000 per month to remain in their home.
"Having home nursing care meant life or death to Bill, so Charlene shouldered the burden of scheduling, finding and keeping nurses. It was difficult, and was a huge emotional strain," Haaga said.
Eventually, openings became available at King's Daughters and Sons Home in Memphis, and in late August 2006, Bill and Charlene left their home for the last time.
In the Institution
Bill and Charlene's medical conditions deteriorated quickly after they entered the nursing home. They were isolated from each other and, after less than two months, Charlene caught a cold which developed into pneumonia.
After the resulting hospitalization, Charlene too was on a ventilator.
"Charlene's doctor told her that she could not return to the nursing home because they had determined they could no longer meet her medical requirements," Haaga said.
The only suitable nursing facility that would accept the couple was located in Michigan. The DeLoaches were again forced to relocate.
"An ambulance flight was arranged at their expense to transport the DeLoaches to Michigan," Haaga said. "They had to put the $14,000 bill for the flight on their credit card."
After arriving in Michigan, Bill's condition deteriorated rapidly. His sister Margaret DeLoach visited him at the facility and said he "was never really able to converse with her."
Bill died on April 24, 2007, at the age of 69. Charlene still lives in the nursing home, and has given up hope of being moved back to Memphis.
"At the start of 2006, they were in their own home, active, functioning members of the community, with a health support system that worked well, a real asset to The University community," Ordman said.
"But by Summer of 2007, Bill was dead, and Charlene was very much more disabled and isolated from her friends at The University."
Failed by the System
The DeLoaches story is only one out of thousands like it. According to Tony Garr, executive director of the Tennessee Healthcare Campaign, about 25,000 Tennessee residents were affected by Tennessee's decision to eliminate some coverage.
"It's tragic what's happened to this family here in Memphis - and that's what's happening all over this country," Garr said.
"Their insurance should have supported them," said Deborah Cunningham, executive director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. "It does not make any sense to change the rules for people who have been paying into the system for years and years."
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