In memoriam: Lucy Fisher

Lucy Fisher, South Central PA

Lucile Ellen Fisher, was born in Lancaster County PA at St. Joseph’s hospital on February 26th 1955. She left this world Wednesday August 16, 2023, at 68 years old, at Reading hospital in Berks County. 

She is survived by her children,Tammy Rosing (daughter) and her husband Matthew Rosing, Charles Snyder (son) and his wife Patricia Snyder, Loretta James (daughter) and her husband Allen James and Crystal Fisher (daughter). Her grandchildren, Mckenzie Snyder, Cassidy James & Isaac James, and Elliott (Snyder). Her Siblings Gloria Weaver (sister) and Lee Wiley (brother). 

Lucile (Lucy) was a loving mother, very caring, giving, welcoming, and a family oriented person. She was born into poverty and was never able to escape it, no matter how hard she worked, often working multiple jobs at any given time period throughout her life. 

Lucy comes from a poor working class southern background. Her mother, Doris L Wiley, was born in Georgia, married and moved to Lancaster County PA with her husband, at a very young age, mostly to escape poverty. 

Lucy has struggled all throughout her life to get her basic human needs met. Severe health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer all run in her immediate family thus making her at High risk to develop those health conditions, which she did. 

Over the years, as she aged, and was unable to hold down the level of work she did throughout her life she went on disability which made it financially hard to cover healthcare costs and she only received what the system deemed she was “worthy” of receiving. 

Besides her struggle with meeting her healthcare needs she also struggled with housing insecurity at times in her life. In adulthood she moved back home with her parents for a time, with her two children in tow, while going through a separation and divorce of her first husband. 

She remarried a few years later, had two more children and they moved around at times through the years as things got tough. Either because income changed, or a major expense or emergency happened, or the slumlord let their place of residence deteriorate. 

Despite her constant struggle all her life, working the majority of her waking life and not getting her needs met she still held values of love, family and kindness. This is more than evident with what she last wrote to one of her daughters in agreement with something her daughter said about the system and the way we operate the world. 

These are those final words, may we take heed to what Lucy is saying to us and join a movement to end the suffering we all face….. 

“Very true. Too much greed in the world, too much hate, too much of us against one another. Love one another, help one another out, no matter what color you are, no matter who you are, what race. If you ever see a homeless person on the street, give them a couple dollars. They can’t help that they don’t have any place to go – the rent is so high, what do you expect with the government being so greedy, so we just gotta pull together.

“Love one another, keep our faith in God and care for one another. If your neighbor needs help, try to help them out. If you see an animal on the street, give it shelter. If you see a crippled person on the street that is crossing the street or needs help, please help them. 

“Sometimes I need help getting in my house after arriving back from dialysis and I have to wait on somebody to help me or call 911 because my porch has steps. It’s hard to get somebody to do that for me. When you’re old and you get home, a lotta people don’t want to help you out and say the hell with you, so just look out for people and love one another.” -Lucy Fisher

Below are personal reflections from Lucy’s children, grandchildren and son-in-laws expressing their love for Lucy and what losing her feels like and how it’s affecting each of them. 

Tammy Rosing, daughter, Lancaster County 

When my momma was recently diagnosed with a tumor mass on her kidney it scared me. I felt something deep down inside that the clock was ticking but I stayed hopefully and prayed that she would get what she needed in time and be with us awhile longer, but alas that didn’t come to pass. 

During the weeks following that diagnosis and before she passed I did a lot of going down memory lane and found myself listening to that Dolly Parton song “Coat of Many Colors” my favorite line from the song is “I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be”. 

We may have been poor but it wasn’t because our momma didn’t work hard, she actually worked multiple jobs at one time, and I know she wishes she had more time to be with us kids. 

If we organized society via a system that puts the needs of the people over profits our mother would still be alive. This system we live all our lives under not only has the majority of people struggling to make ends meet while a few hoard all the wealth they gain from our struggle, this system also shapes us into the people we become and forces us down paths that lead us to the decisions we make. 

My momma began to understand all this and why she supported the organizing work with Put People First! PA, The National Union of the Homeless, Freedom Church of the Poor and the PA Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival that myself and my husband are a part of. 

Momma I never doubted you wanted me. I knew and heard stories about how happy you were to be a first time mom, you really wanted to be a mom. We may have gone through a series of trials and tribulations but I never truly doubted your love for me and I hope you never once doubted my love for you.  

I love you and I will miss you until I see you again. Please give nanny a big hug and kiss for me. I will do my best to keep the promises I made to you the day you passed. I can only do what’s within my control. I will do my best to look after my siblings and make sure we stay connected…. Love you momma.

~ Tammy has struggled for years to get her healthcare needs met. She worries the longer it takes to meet those needs the worse her health condition will become and she struggles with the thought of what the outcome will be for her if she doesn’t receive the care she needs. 

——

Charles Snyder, son, Berks County 

When I was told my mother was in the hospital I thought it was something simple that she would be home soon. Within a day I was told it was serious this time and I still did not think that I would lose her. 

The third day when everyone was asking me to come to hospital and I finally did

and saw her my heart almost stopped. She did not look herself and the panic set in and I knew I wasn’t ready. The next day we were asked to meet at the hospital by the doctors I did not want to go. 

For the first time I realized I was gonna lose my mother and I have not been the son I should of been and I begged God for another chance. That day my mother was gone and I realized, as I looked around, I was given another chance by her to reconnect with my sisters. 

She held on long enough to bring us together and showed her love for all us until the end and that’s who my mother, the most loving person I will ever know, was. 

~ Charles and his wife currently live in a motel. They live paycheck to paycheck. He has health insurance through his job at McDonald’s and his wife isn’t covered and is uninsured.

——-

Loretta James (daughter) & Family, York County 

I love and miss you so much mom. Thank you for being a great Mom and Grandma. RIP!
Love,
Loretta James, daughter 

I miss and love you Grandma. Thank you for the gifts you gave to me.
Love,
Isaac James, 8 yrs old, grandson 

I miss and love you Grandma.
Love,
Cassidy James, 5 Years old, granddaughter  

I love and miss you Mom. We all could learn a lot from how kind you were.
Love,
Allen James, son in-law 

~ Loretta and her husband each work 40-60 hours a week, live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet.They work opposite schedules so they are sure at least one of them is home with their two children. Which leads to limited time together as a family and the means to do most family activities. 

——

Crystal Fisher, Daughter, Berks County 

It just hurts and you know the kind of hurt that’s kind of indescribable like you have words for it but you can’t find them, you know the feeling but you can’t tell them where it hurts. 

You just know it hurts all over. Have you ever gone to the hospital for pain management and you’re like, I know exactly where it hurts. 

It’s my knee but with this one it’s like I don’t know, Jesus, it’s my knee, my heart, my chest, my back, my shoulder, my face, my head, my mind, my throat. 

Some days I feel sick out of nowhere. My stomach hurts. It’s the kind of hurt that takes your breath away or wakes you up in the middle of the night and you can’t quite go back to sleep. 

It’s the kind of hurt that makes you slide down in the back of the shower and you can relate to those scenes in the movies. Where you’re like, who cries like that? Well now you do. It’s the kind of hurt that on the days when you’re so happy all of that goes away because there’s something missing, something missing from every good day. ?

~ Crystal was living with her mother and working two full-time jobs while her mom was still with us. She is now experiencing the loss of one of her full-time paychecks. She’s losing her caregiver paycheck from being her moms main caregiver as well as her mom’s monthly social security check. Which means if the apt complex she lives in doesn’t allow her brother and his wife to move in with her she will be facing homelessness because of the loss of her mother. 

——

Mckenzie Snyder, granddaughter, Lancaster County 

I’m gonna miss you. I didn’t want to lose you. You were always there for me when I needed you. I’m gonna miss everything about you.??? RIP Grandma

Matthew Rosing, son in-law,  Lancaster County 

Lucy was a bright shining light in this world. She made me feel 100% accepted and loved in her family. I’ve never been so accepted by someone from the door. Her death was caused by this greedy profit driven system. She could’ve had many more years with us if she could’ve gotten the treatment she deserved. But due to greedy healthcare profiteers she is no longer with us. Lucy you are counted with the Saints. We have to organize. We have to fight!

~ Matthew is Lucy’s son in law. He is currently on many meds for mental and physical health that could be changed if he was able to access the newer treatments and alternative medicines. He is currently on Medicaid, which is very limited with treatment options. 

——

Sign our petition to demand a stop the Medicaid Cut-offs! 

http://bit.ly/PetitionAgainstMedicaidCutsPA

To learn more about our Medicaid Cut-offs Organizing Drive and how you can take part click here: https://www.putpeoplefirstpa.org/nomedicaidcutoffs/

#Medicaid4All #NoMedicaidCutsPA

#HealthcareIsAHumanRight #MedicaidMondays

MEDIA ADVISORY: RESIDENTS DEMAND GOV. SHAPIRO HALT MEDICAID CUTOFFS AFTER 12 STATES REPRIMANDED FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL RULES

Nonviolent Medicaid Army Put People First! PA

For Immediate Release:  August 7th, 2023

Contact: 

Zachary Hershman | zacharyhershman@gmail.com | 201.264.2200

Put People First! PA  | putpeoplefirstpa.org

RESIDENTS DEMAND GOV. SHAPIRO HALT MEDICAID CUTOFFS AFTER 12 STATES REPRIMANDED FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL RULES

CMS (CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES) CONCERNED THAT TOO MANY CUTOFFS ARE ‘PROCEDURAL’, WHILE NEARLY 50% OF MEDICAID CUTOFFS IN PA ARE FOR PROCEDURAL REASONS

PENNSYLVANIA – Members of Put People First! PA and residents of Pennsylvania are demanding that Governor Shapiro immediately cease Medicaid cutoffs across the State, after CNN reported on July 20th that 12 states have already had to pause terminating residents from Medicaid when it became apparent that a plurality of those terminations were only for procedural reasons where enrollees either failed to complete their renewal paperwork or were unable to meet burdensome paperwork requirements. 

The bipartisan decision to end the continuous coverage requirement for Medicaid tasks States with redetermining enrollee eligibility, but CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) is worried that when states terminate people for procedural reasons they have not definitively ascertained that those enrollees are no longer eligible for Medicaid, according to Daniel Tsai, director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services as reported by CNN[1].

Of the more than 90,000 PA residents that have lost their Medicaid coverage already since the cut-offs began, just under half have been disenrolled for failure to return paperwork by the deadline, according to reporting by Kate Giammarise for 90.5 WESA[2].

Put People First! PA, who has held actions, events and free health clinics across Pennsylvania over the past months [3] to call attention to  the cutoffs and to educate impacted residents as to their rights, has heard directly from scores of residents who have been cut off from Medicaid for purely procedural reasons, regardless of their eligibility. Many others have been cut off of Medicaid for making a few dollars over the income limit or for having too much in their savings or retirement accounts.

“We are asking Gov. Shapiro, is Pennsylvania included on this list of those States who are pausing disenrollments? And if not, why are we continuing with this broken process that will leave hundreds of thousands of eligible Pennsylvanians without insurance, and is now drawing scrutiny from federal regulators?” said Barbara White, resident of Pittsburgh and member of Put People First! PA.

Residents of PA have shared their stories with Put People First! PA, highlighting the injustice of the cutoffs, the necessity of Medicaid, and underscoring how narrowly constructed eligibility requirements systematically exclude residents from their human right to healthcare.  

“My children and myself are Medicaid recipients. I’m worried myself and my children will lose our coverage. My children have asthma and need to be able to get their medication and be able to see the doctor” said Joanie Dickenson, a resident of Lancaster County PA.

“My services will be cut soon. I am only 24 Years old. Will I make it to 50!? We have to fight back because who else is going to do it!” said Savannah Sutton, of York PA.

Rebecca Reitenbach, of Williamsport, shares her story:  “My kiddo’s therapist only takes Medicaid. Anyone who has had any kind of mental health issue knows how important it is to develop a trusting relationship with your therapist. This therapist has supported them through self harm recovery, their ongoing struggle with an eating disorder, filing a PFA against their father, suicidal ideation, and the trauma of a sexual assault. But these Medicaid cuts have interrupted their access to this literally lifesaving healthcare. I make “too much” money to qualify, and so even after adding them to my private insurance, my child has lost access to the cornerstone of their mental healthcare.” 

Natalie Ricci, a resident of Butler County shares why Medicaid is important to her and why we need to expand Medicaid to ALL PA residents:  “I actually had Medicaid until May 2023, and they were wonderful and covered everything, even my 30k/month rare disease drug Isturisa. However, I was legally deemed disabled and transferred to Medicare, and I am facing Medicare refusing to cover TWO of my necessary drugs. It makes no sense! Covered under low income state insurance Medicaid but not covered on Medicare once disabled?!”

It is due to the experiences of thousands of people like these that Put People First! PA is demanding that no one lose their healthcare: that PA should instead invest the more than $8 billion budget surplus to expand Medicaid to cover ALL PA residents, fully restore the Medicaid Adult Dental Benefit that was cut in 2011, and that the legislature should pass a bill to establish an office of the Public Healthcare Advocate [4] for Pennsylvania to provide support for residents fighting for their healthcare rights.

Put People First! PA will participate in a national week of action with the Nonviolent Medicaid Army to fight Medicaid cut-offs September 17-23. Plans are being made to deliver petition signatures and stories from more than 20 “Medicaid Mondays” (social media drive) to Governor Shapiro and Secretary Arkoosh. 

[1] Medicaid disenrollments paused in a dozen states after failure to comply with federal rules

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/politics/medicaid-disenrollments-pause-cms/index.html

[2]90K Pennsylvanians have lost Medicaid coverage, Kate Giammarise
https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-06-26/pennsylvanians-lose-medicaid-coverage

[3] Pennsylvanians call for Public Healthcare Advocate, DaniRae Renno
https://www.pennlive.com/health/2023/06/stripped-of-medicaid-pennsylvanians-call-for-a-public-healthcare-advocate-to-reassess-the-system.html
[4] For more information on the Public Healthcare Advocate (2021-2022 House Session HB1828), see the policy report released by Put People First! PA in August 2021. https://www.putpeoplefirstpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Final-PHA-report.pdf

Medicaid Mondays: Story Share Social Media Campaign 2023 with the Put People First! PA and the Nonviolent Medicaid Army

Every Monday, Medicaid recipients or those unfairly excluded from Medicaid are posting on social media to briefly share their story about why Medicaid is important to them and or why it’s important to expand Medicaid to all residents. 

This is part of Put People First! PA’s Medicaid Cut-offs Organizing Drive. The Social Media Campaign began on April 3 and will continue throughout the 2023 Organizing Drive. This week we had five new posts!

Share your story! For a more in depth guide on how to participate see here: bit.ly/MedicaidMondaysGuide

Take a selfie and your story to the post. Please use the hashtags #Medicaid4All and #NoMedicaidCutsPA 

+ Make the invisible visible
+ Change the narrative by changing the narrator
+ You are not alone!
#MedicaidMondays 

Jamie SEPA

Jamie Blair from the Put People First! PA Southeast PA regional Healthcare Rights Committee shares her Medicaid Monday’s Story! “Working in construction, Ive had private insurance through Pennie, the Pennsylvania marketplace, for the past 5 years. Every month I watch money disappear from my checking account to pay high monthly premiums while my healthcare needs go unmet.I’m fortunate enough to be pretty healthy, but when I get sick I wait and hope it passes because I’m worried about out of pocket costs and my high deductible. I’m one of the nearly 4 in 10 Americans who put off care because of cost.When I found out basic preventive gyno care was covered, I decided to break that pattern and book an appointment. They found irregular cells and I had to have a LEEP procedure to take care of what could be early signs of cervical cancer. It was a scary situation to find myself in, but fortunately, the procedure was largely covered by my plan and I could feel good about stopping something bad before it got worse. The following year, I had to return for the same treatment only to discover that this time, the care was not covered! I suddenly owed hundreds of dollars. Private insurance plans are able to pick and choose what they cover year to year, leaving those seeking care in a game of chance. Do I risk another year without care or do I act preventatively and cross my fingers that I won’t go home with bills higher than my rent?Right now, 1.2 million people in PA are being thrown off of Medicaid and told to get a marketplace plan. It’s just not that simple when you’re hit with high monthly premiums and then if you go to actually use the care, co-pays, astronomical deductibles, and untold out of pocket expenses. Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy and homelessness, and that’s why we need Medicaid for all” – Jamie Blair

Vinnie SCPA

Vinnie Giannini of the Put People First! PA South Central PA regional Healthcare Rights Committee shares his Medicaid Monday’s Story!!!!”We shouldn’t have to sacrifice all our funds that we work hard for, just to simply survive in this system. We shouldn’t be paying it out to healthcare profiteers who just profit off our pain and suffering. I think about what my grandmother went through when she needed a root canal that costs thousands of dollars that she couldn’t afford, luckily she was able to get the work done at a charity that happens one weekend out of the year called Mission of Mercy, but she shouldn’t have had to wait to get that care and neither should anyone else. A charity event one weekend out of the year will not solve our dental healthcare crisis! That’s why we are demanding to reinstate the adult dental benefit that was cut in 2011 and expand Medicaid to ALL Pennsylvania residents!” – Vinnie Giannini

Jessica NEPA

Esther NEPA

“I have Medicaid and at 37 was given dentures. Well I lost my teeth. Medicaid will only pay for one set of dentures a life time. Now I am stuck with coming up with $2,952 for another set. I’m on SSI!!! Figure that!” -Esther Crook, NEPA

Sefi SEPA

Sefi Schiller from the Put People First! PA South East Healthcare Rights Committee shares her Medicaid Monday’s Story! Her story shows why we should push back against the narrative and actions from power holders that use “eligibility” requirements as justification to cut people from their healthcare! We need Medicaid for ALL! “My children are 18 months apart. The first was born under Medicaid my second was born under private insurance. I had my first child while on Medicaid. We didn’t have to pay premiums or co-pays and the birth was free. My husband got a raise that pushed us right above the income requirement to be on Medicaid. I then became pregnant with my second child. We were struggling to pay the premiums and on top of that had to pay co-pays for all the OB appointments. Giving birth to my second child under private insurance cost $2,500. We did not have the money but the hospital knew exactly which charities would help us. We still had to pay $500 which we had to do on a payment plan. That shows how much charities supplement private insurance and for-profit hospitals. People should not have to struggle to just pay premiums and then get stuck with a bill to give birth. Healthcare is a human right!” -Sefi Schiller

RESIDENTS ORGANIZE & SPEAK OUT ACROSS PA IN OPPOSITION TO MEDICAID CUTS

Nonviolent Medicaid Army Put People First! PA

For Immediate Release:  July 5th, 2023

Contact: 
Barbara White | bawhite2012@gmail.com | 412-381-6886
Put People First! PA  | putpeoplefirstpa.org

RESIDENTS ORGANIZE & SPEAK OUT ACROSS PA IN OPPOSITION TO MEDICAID CUTS

 
90,000 PENNSYLVANIANS HAVE LOST COVERAGE AFTER TWO MONTHS, NEARLY HALF FROM MISSING APPEALS DEADLINE

PENNSYLVANIA – Members of Put People First! PA took action across the state of Pennsylvania during the month of June in response to the bipartisan decision to end the continuous coverage requirement for Medicaid; while assisting residents in filing for appeals and making their voices heard. 

Responding to public outcry over these cuts, Put People First! PA held a series of events across the State, connecting with impacted and concerned residents from all backgrounds and political orientations:

  • Members of the South Central PA Healthcare Rights Committee tabled at the West Lancaster Jewels community health fair to inform residents about their right to appeal their Medicaid cut-off notice, while members of the Central-Appalachia Healthcare Rights Committee went door-to-door in the Oakhurst Homes of Johnstown, PA’s poorest small city.
  • Members of the Northeast PA Healthcare Rights Committee held a free People’s Clinic in Berwick, PA, where the community has been devastated by the loss of their local hospital. Members of the Southeast PA Healthcare Rights Committee also held a People’s Clinic in Upper Darby, a neighborhood that has been jolted by the hospital closures in Delaware County over the past year.
  • Members of the Southwest PA Healthcare Rights Committee gathered outside the Department of Human Services Bureau of Hearings and Appeals regional office in Pittsburgh to support the appeal of senior Gary Rush after his life-saving Medicaid was cut by the State.
  • Members from across the State, as the “Nonviolent Medicaid Army”, held a rally and lobby day at the Capitol in Harrisburg on June 7th, speaking with dozens of legislators about the impact of Medicaid cuts and the need for a Public Healthcare Advocate [1]. 


Roughly 90,000 PA residents have lost their Medicaid coverage already since the cut-offs began, just under half for failure to return paperwork by the deadline, according to reporting by Kate Giammarise for 90.5 WESA[2].

“Thousands of people on Medicaid are receiving their redetermination notices within a couple of days of the deadline to renew or appeal. Some are even receiving the notices after the due date has already passed!” said Zachary Hershman, a public health worker and Put People First! PA member from Philadelphia. “The healthcare costs for a person with no insurance coverage are much greater in the long term, so this seems like a net negative for both the State of Pennsylvania, and for our most vulnerable residents. Are we really saving any money here? What’s the point?”

“The rules say that as a single person I’d need to be making less than $1,215 a month – before taxes – to be “eligible” for Medicaid. New data from the Poor People’s Campaign shows that poverty is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, [3] and between 2019 and 2020, Pennsylvania experienced a 1.5 year decline in life expectancy. [4] These Medicaid cuts are a death sentence! Everyone has a right to healthcare, and everyone is worthy of receiving life-saving public services.” said Benita Campbell, a Put People First! PA member from Burgettstown. “Why has no politician in PA, Democrat or Republican, stood up against these cuts?”

Put People First! PA is demanding that no one lose their healthcare: that PA should instead invest some of the $8 billion dollar budget surplus to expand Medicaid to cover all PA residents, fully restore the Medicaid Adult Dental Benefit that was cut in 2011, and that the legislature should pass a bill to establish an office of the Public Healthcare Advocate [5] for Pennsylvania to provide support for residents fighting for their healthcare rights.

“I think about what my grandmother went through when she needed a root canal that costs thousands of dollars that she couldn’t afford. Luckily she was able to get the work done at a charity event that happens one weekend out of the year.  She shouldn’t have had to wait to get that care and neither should anyone else – that’s why we need the Legislature to reinstate the adult dental benefit that was cut from Medicaid in 2011[6], and expand Medicaid to ALL Pennsylvania residents!” said Vinnie Giannini of South Central Pennsylvania.

[1] Pennsylvanians call for Public Healthcare Advocate, DaniRae Renno
https://www.pennlive.com/health/2023/06/stripped-of-medicaid-pennsylvanians-call-for-a-public-healthcare-advocate-to-reassess-the-system.html

[2] 90K Pennsylvanians have lost Medicaid coverage, Kate Giammarise
https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-06-26/pennsylvanians-lose-medicaid-coverage

[3] Poor People’s Campaign National Fact Sheet

2023 National Fact Sheet 
[4] Poor People’s Campaign PA Fact Sheet

https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Pennsylvania-State-Fact-Sheet.pdf


[5] For more information on the Public Healthcare Advocate (2021-2022 House Session HB1828), see the policy report released by Put People First! PA in August 2021. https://www.putpeoplefirstpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Final-PHA-report.pdf

[6] HB 1417, Introduced by Innamorato and Gaydos, would restore the adult dental benefit in Medicaid

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2023&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1417&pn=1585

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