Meriah Nichols Talks About Disability

This is a review of the book, "Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life," by Alice Wong. You can listen to me read this post by clicking the player below this, or on my podcast on Spotify or iTunes.

Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life

Sometimes I feel like any memoir written even a little decently and capturing a piece of the disability experience is poised to become a bestseller. Not necessarily because it deserves to be – not because it really brings us to a new place or takes us where our mind explodes in an element of new awesomeness. They just become bestsellers because of woke box-checking. 

Alice Wong’s “Year of the Tiger” is a whole different cat. It BELONGS on the bestseller list. Oprah needs to pick this book up it needs to be required reading for all those diversity and disability college courses. 

Why? 

Glad you asked. First, here’s the trajectory of Instagram updates that I posted as I was reading it:

https://youtu.be/GOTItJT-Fek

You’ll probably noticed that my tone changed after I started really reading Year of the Tiger, right?

I got pretty serious, pretty fast. I went from masking/smiley/happy, “oh cool, my friend wrote a book and this is awesome!” to, not smiley or masking at all – not even caring that my selfie angles were completely unflattering because I just wanted to get that message out that “this book is phenomenal and you better pay attention.” 

That is how good this book is. 

So, again, why?

Why is Year of the Tiger so good?

Out of all the books available in the world right now, why should you reach for this one?

Here’s why:

Alice is a really good writer who knows her shit

In a world that doesn’t take disability seriously when it should, and way too seriously when it doesn’t need to, Alice consistently hits the right notes and explains the pieces that matter. She’s your buddy who always says the perfect thing, who knows how to twirl a sentence out so it can cast the messages, sinking them deep while you laugh, cry, or get pissed off.

But she’s also a storyteller. 

Year of the Tiger isn’t all disability stuff; it’s also about being a Chinese immigrant in Indiana, it’s about culture, family, connections, community. It’s about choices and chances in life. 

These intersections speak to Alice’s life, but they echo through all of us, they are relatable because we all have our intersections and if we are lucky, they can help ground and support us. Alice seems to be lucky in hers, and it’s a beautiful story.

Alice is playful, snarky, and fun

On the heels of good writing comes a good time, and Alice definitely enjoys a good time. She has games, puzzles, drawings, and photos woven into her stories. Her descriptions of all that good food left me drooling. 

Because disability justice and advocacy can be so painful, I appreciate her playful approach to handling some Big Subjects – playful, but she still handles them. She doesn’t shirk the hard stuff that we really need to talk about.

And of course, I love her use of curse words :)

Alice has vision and leads by example

Her strength of vision comes through clear and strong in this, her first memoir. She is a powerful visualizer, seeing the world as it is – with rampant ableism, oppression, and inequities. She sees the world as it should be, in the Star Trek model (and even beyond!) but in her striving to bridge the present with the future, she somehow remarkably and miraculously manages to refrain from falling into vats of bitterness, despair or anger. She remains playful, spirited, a calm force of connection.

I want to talk about that calm because it inspires me (in the best sense of that loaded word). 

My brain is in a perpetual rush, trying to Do All The Things and getting super excited about each new project or whatever. Alice shows me through her writing how possible it is – how necessary even – to take time to get things done right. How important access is,

This is a comprehensive post about Medicare. It covers: What is Medicare? What Are the Parts of Medicare? Detailed Explanations on the Parts of Medicare? Who Can Get Medicare and way more - please refer to the table below with links to jump directly to the part you are looking for guidance on.

Kathleen Downes wrote this post. She knows a whole lot about Medicare but she does not work for Medicare. Take what's offered here as friendly advice and do your own investigation too!

You can listen to Kathleen read this by clicking below, or subscribing to the podcast at the end of this post.

What is Medicare?

Medicare is a U.S. government-run health insurance program for qualified workers age 65+ and some people with disabilities. It is run by the federal government or the government for our whole country.

The money that pays for Medicare comes from 2 trust funds held by the U.S. government (Medicare 2021).

The first fund, the Hospital Insurance fund, pays for Part A costs such as inpatient hospital stays, limited home health services, and limited stays in skilled nursing facilities. I will talk more about the parts of Medicaid later (Medicare 2021).

The money from the hospital insurance fund comes from:

Payroll taxes

Income taxes on Social Security retirement benefits

Interest on trust fund investments

Premiums, or monthly payments, from people who don’t get Part A for free (2021).

The second trust fund is called the Supplementary Medical Insurance fund. It pays for Part B costs such as outpatient care (services that are not overnight hospital care). It also pays for Part D care (prescription medicine).

The money for this fund comes from:

monthly premiums

interest earned on trust fund investments.

Typically, everyone enrolled in Part B and/or D pays a premium (Medicare 2021).

 What are the Parts of Medicare?

Medicare has 4 parts, each represented by letters.

Part A: Inpatient hospital care and some limited home health care, limited nursing home care

Part B: Outpatient care such as doctor’s visits and some limited home health care

Part C: Is also called an advantage plan (MA plan), which allows the government to contract with a private company to deliver Medicare benefits.

Part D: Prescription drug coverage (Bunis 2021).

You can receive Part D benefits in two ways:

 A separate drug plan

An MA “Part C” plan that includes drug coverage

You have to have Parts A & B to join an MA plan or a separate drug plan. Not all MA plans cover prescription medications (Medicare 2021b).

 What is Meant by Part C vs. Original Medicare?

Original Medicare is the traditional way to receive benefits. The government pays a provider directly for services in Parts A and B (Center for Medicare Rights 2021). Most Americans use Original Medicare and most providers accept it.

The other choice is to package benefits together with a Medicare Advantage Plan (MA) which is also called Part C.

You can think of an MA plan (Part C) as a way to combine the parts of Medicare into one plan (Bunis 2020).

Those in an advantage plan still receive the services in Part A & Part B, but may be offered additional services not covered by regular Medicare such as dental benefits (Center for Medicare Rights 2021).

You can also get Part D, drug coverage, through an MA plan, or as a separate benefit (Center for Medicare Rights 2021). Not all Medicare Advantage plans cover drugs. 

Most Medicare Advantage plans do have drug coverage, but you might be allowed to join a standalone drug plan if your MA plan does not cover drugs. You cannot join a standalone drug plan if your MA plan already offers prescription coverage (EHealth 2021).

If you have an MA plan, you still pay a premium for Part B (and Part A if you don’t get it for free).

 The MA plans have to place a limit on out-of-pocket costs for A & B (Center for Medicare Rights 2021).

Every MA plan is different.

When Moxie said, "I hate Down syndrome." Talking about disability, hurt, pride, and why pride is so important.

Get past the first couple of chapters and you'll probably fall in love with it

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