24/7

When someone in the family becomes disabled, “you become disabled yourself,” notes Betsy Holl, whose daughter Megan emerged from a seizure profoundly disabled, and at the age of 18 requires the round-the-clock intensive care of an 18-month-old. When filmmaker Mary A.C. Fallon's 24/7 was shot in 2001, the Holls were among the thousands waiting for a Medicaid waiver from Florida to provide home-based care. Here, the Holls' story is contrasted with a look at the family of Stuart Kessler, a 45-year-old autistic man who receives 12 hours of home care each day. Even with the half-time care, Stuart's family situation is not much better: his elderly mother has cancer and his angel of a caregiver, Kim Ellis, was initially only being paid for eight hours although she was working a full 12. “We're the greatest nation on earth but we don't want to care for our own people,” Holl says. The filmmakers conclude with a note that Florida has added 32,000 more names to their Medicaid waiver rolls (but don't mention whether the Holls were among them). While the stories of the two families are touching, this feels more like two local profiles lumped together, rather than a probing and cohesive look at a national healthcare issue. Optional. Aud: C, P. (R. Reagan)