THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A Georgia man is leading the charge to change the rules for some of the most severely disabled Americans. Under federal law, some lose their health care if they leave home too much. CNN's Kathleen Koch has the story of one man's fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is an arduous daily retune for 40-year-old David Jayne, stricken by Lou Gehrig's disease 13 years ago. The former Atlanta stockbroker cannot move, breathe, or speak on his own.
For three years, Medicare has paid for an attendant to help him with the two-hour process of getting showered, dressed and ready each day. But that coverage was stopped last November when his home health care provider learned he had been leaving home to give inspirational speeches and watch a football game. The company fear Jayne no longer met Medicare's definition of "homebound" and was not qualified for the care.
DAVID JAYNE, LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE PATIENT: Without these services, I would be forced to stay in bed, because one person is not capable of doing my care alone.
KOCH: Jayne's case has drawn nationwide attention. He is lobbying in Congress to pass a bill loosening the definition of "homebound," so the disabled can still live active lives.
REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: He is probably jeopardizing his benefit by even coming here for longer than a short duration. That's how crazy and wrong and unfair the law is.
KOCH: Under existing law, patients qualify for Medicare home health care benefits if leaving home is a major effort and it must be infrequent. The few exceptions include for medical care and attending religious service. Applying the rules can be difficult, says Jayne's home health care provider.
TONY STRANGE, CEO, FOUR SEASONS HEALTHCARE: Well, the guidelines for homebound status and those types of things are somewhat left for interpretation. So, it depends on who looks at it.
KOCH: The company has temporarily reinstated Jayne's benefits while he appeals his case to Medicare. He says existing limits prevent him from being involved in his children's lives.
JAYNE: My son always asks: "Is dad going?" It pains me beyond imagine to look into his eyes and tell him, no.
KOCH: Friends working with Jayne on a petition trying to change the law, believe (AUDIO GAP) he will.
JULIE SCURICH, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST: He is just so determined, and whenever he has come across an obstacle, he has found a way to overcome it.
KOCH: Opening doors to those who sometimes felt like prisoners in their own homes.
Kathleen Koch for CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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