Hey everyone! So, you may have been wondering why I have been gone for awhile. Well, the truth is, "the system" failed me for a few months. Resulting from faulty paperwork (on their end), mine and my husband's medical insurance was revoked. The Department of Social Services (DSS) claimed I made too much a month to qualify for medicaid. This was in fact horrifyingly false (I would love to make as much as they claimed I did).
After that notice I got pretty depressed for awhile. There was (and is) no way I could pay for the surgery out of pocket. After all the blood, sweat, and tears I put in this entire year - it now looked like I wouldn't be able to receive Bariatric Surgery. This blog, to me, was just a humongous glaring reminder me of that.
We submitted more paperwork to the DSS. We figured that way, we can doubly make sure they had all of the right information. We called frequently - only to get a voice mail box every - darn - time. We even received paperwork in the mail saying our food-stamp benefits were being increased! We knew they must have received that paperwork if those benefits had changed! Why then, did we still not get a notice about our medicaid?
We waited patiently. We saw a possibility that the medicaid paperwork simply takes longer, and it would be coming soon. Yet, after more than a week later, we received no notice by mail or otherwise.
One call, two calls, three calls, four... it went on and on, but we still only got to talk to her voice mail.
A couple of weeks ago we finally got in touch with our case worker.
We informed her of the situation, and she said she would look for the paperwork and call us back. Okay, I understand she's a busy over-worked social worker, and might even have an appointment waiting. So, we hung up and waited patiently for a call. Two weeks go by, and - surprise, surprise - no call back.
So, today we called her again. To no one's surprise we could only contact her voice mail. We left a message, but as fed up as we had become (this has been going on for three months now) we decided to call her supervisor. Of course, we only got his voice mail as well (can you visualize the murder in my eyes at this point) but we left a not-so-nice sounding message on it.
Guess what? A half hour later we got a call from our social worker. It went a bit like this:
Her: "I would have called, but I was waiting for your paperwork"
Hubby: *gah, I'm about to go ape**** on you, but I must try not to sound like an ***hole* "We sent you the paperwork months ago, and we know it was received because our food stamps were already re-evaluated and our benefits increased."
Her: "Oh... well... let me look for them. I'll call you back."
Hubby: *having already played this game* "Will you please call us back today."
Her: "Um... ya... I guess I could do that. I'll call you back whether I find the paperwork or not."
Hubby: "Okay, thank you."
We had to put some trust in her (while also keeping in mind how much an angry boss motivates). Yet, we were left wondering if her words would be a Halloween trick or treat. Luckily, she did indeed call back. She even found the paperwork we sent, and ran it through the system.
So, on December 1st our coverage will begin again. Meaning, I can start back up right where I left off. I just need to call the Bariatric Surgery Center and the Psychologist to update my information and schedule appointments in December.
I am very thankful, even with all the problems, that I have health insurance and can buy groceries thanks to government assistance. Although my husband and I hold three jobs between us, it is very hard to make ends meet, especially while being full-time students. I recognize how lucky I am to be an American with health insurance, when so many suffer without it. I found out what its like to worry about paying health bills out of pocket: I developed a staph infection that needed to be tested and treated during the lapse in coverage, and a severe cold I couldn't afford to get treated. It was an eye opening experience to what so many people live with for too long.
*Political Statement Coming*
Too many people in our country live in poverty, without a job or with a job without a true living wage, and are forced to live without their basic needs. The middle class is disappearing and poverty is growing, while the richest 1% are getting richer in alarming rates. We are the 99%. I urge everyone to join an #occupy movement in their area. We, as one, can make a difference.
After that notice I got pretty depressed for awhile. There was (and is) no way I could pay for the surgery out of pocket. After all the blood, sweat, and tears I put in this entire year - it now looked like I wouldn't be able to receive Bariatric Surgery. This blog, to me, was just a humongous glaring reminder me of that.
So I stopped blogging.
However, being as stubborn as I am, how much I want this, and despite being depressed (and how much I need medical insurance in general) I knew I had to fight to get my insurance back. Little did I know how long it would take.
We submitted more paperwork to the DSS. We figured that way, we can doubly make sure they had all of the right information. We called frequently - only to get a voice mail box every - darn - time. We even received paperwork in the mail saying our food-stamp benefits were being increased! We knew they must have received that paperwork if those benefits had changed! Why then, did we still not get a notice about our medicaid?
We waited patiently. We saw a possibility that the medicaid paperwork simply takes longer, and it would be coming soon. Yet, after more than a week later, we received no notice by mail or otherwise.
One call, two calls, three calls, four... it went on and on, but we still only got to talk to her voice mail.
We were at our wits end,
or so we thought.
A couple of weeks ago we finally got in touch with our case worker.
Yay! Woohoo! A Human Being!
So, today we called her again. To no one's surprise we could only contact her voice mail. We left a message, but as fed up as we had become (this has been going on for three months now) we decided to call her supervisor. Of course, we only got his voice mail as well (can you visualize the murder in my eyes at this point) but we left a not-so-nice sounding message on it.
Guess what? A half hour later we got a call from our social worker. It went a bit like this:
Her: "I would have called, but I was waiting for your paperwork"
Hubby: *gah, I'm about to go ape**** on you, but I must try not to sound like an ***hole* "We sent you the paperwork months ago, and we know it was received because our food stamps were already re-evaluated and our benefits increased."
Her: "Oh... well... let me look for them. I'll call you back."
Hubby: *having already played this game* "Will you please call us back today."
Her: "Um... ya... I guess I could do that. I'll call you back whether I find the paperwork or not."
Hubby: "Okay, thank you."
We had to put some trust in her (while also keeping in mind how much an angry boss motivates). Yet, we were left wondering if her words would be a Halloween trick or treat. Luckily, she did indeed call back. She even found the paperwork we sent, and ran it through the system.
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
We are indeed eligible and have been this entire time!
So, on December 1st our coverage will begin again. Meaning, I can start back up right where I left off. I just need to call the Bariatric Surgery Center and the Psychologist to update my information and schedule appointments in December.
I am very thankful, even with all the problems, that I have health insurance and can buy groceries thanks to government assistance. Although my husband and I hold three jobs between us, it is very hard to make ends meet, especially while being full-time students. I recognize how lucky I am to be an American with health insurance, when so many suffer without it. I found out what its like to worry about paying health bills out of pocket: I developed a staph infection that needed to be tested and treated during the lapse in coverage, and a severe cold I couldn't afford to get treated. It was an eye opening experience to what so many people live with for too long.
*Political Statement Coming*
Too many people in our country live in poverty, without a job or with a job without a true living wage, and are forced to live without their basic needs. The middle class is disappearing and poverty is growing, while the richest 1% are getting richer in alarming rates. We are the 99%. I urge everyone to join an #occupy movement in their area. We, as one, can make a difference.
