Assistance

I hesitate to write this because I know it’s somewhat a controversial subject, but I feel like I should share my feelings about my experiences lately with Medicaid. As Marc and I were discussing financial plans for moving to Utah, taking out student loans, and looking at what to do about Health Insurance, we were frustrated that we’d have to go further into debt just to pay the premium for insurance. A good friend of mine was listening to our choices and she said, “have you looked into Medicaid at all?” I was slightly taken aback and said no, in a way my pride said “Medicaid is SO not for me” but she explained that it is set up to help people like me who aren’t going to be in the system forever and will be (and have been) paying taxes to kind of “give back” when we’re able to. I struggled for a couple of days wondering if this was the path that I’d really have to take. I was embarrassed to tell anyone because I felt like they would look down on me or think I was just another BYU student having a baby because I could do it on Medicaid for free. But I felt like this was the answer to help us avoid as much debt as possible since we’ve been counseled to avoid it like the plague.

You have to understand I’ve been raised with the idea that insurance is one of the most important things you can do for your family. You do whatever it takes to cover yourself because one accident and you could lose everything. It’s been tricky because I couldn’t really apply for Medicaid until I lived in Utah and our insurance ended. And once I have applied for it, they have up to 30 days to process my application—meaning the kids and I are uninsured for that time period. I was most worried about being pregnant and how I was going to see the Dr. for normal prenatal care before delivery, and if I go into premature labor what are we going to do? While I was filling out the application for Medicaid, it suggested I apply for the “Baby your Baby” program here in Utah. It is immediate short term medical coverage for pregnant women until they qualify for Medicaid. It won’t pay for my labor/delivery fees but it pays for everything else! I met with the ladies today to sign up for everything and they were the sweetest, kindest ladies to work with. What a relief to know that I could call the Dr. right when I get home and get in for an appointment this Thursday instead of trying to wait as long as I possibly could for the Medicaid card to finally arrive! (pending everything does go through correctly with the application as it should).

While I was in the office for “Baby your Baby” I was asked if I was on WIC (Woman Infant and Children). I told them I had the intention of applying, but didn’t know where to go and they just smiled at me and said, “it’s right next door!” So I was able to stop in with the kids and apply for it and we have an evaluation next week and as long as I’m able to provide the proof of income, address, etc to show that we fit in the qualifying income requirements they will give us vouchers for healthy foods like milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, 100% juice, peanut butter, beans, carrots, tuna, etc. We’re having to take some drastic “steps backwards” in order for us to be out here, but I cannot deny that the Lord is providing so many open doors for us to make it easier. He knows our needs and is answering our prayers on so many different levels.

One other side note, I noticed on my Medicaid application that I had put our address down wrong (950 N instead of 950 S) so I called the office today to make sure that it was corrected. I was fortunate enough to talk to a very proactive case worker who went ahead and took a look at my application while he was making the changes he went ahead & assigned me a case number and told me everything that I needed to provide for them to verify and continue processing my application. If I hadn’t have called, who knows how long I would have waited for a letter to find its way to me and then the additional time it would take to gather everything just to continue the application process when I can hopefully have it done within the next day or two. I know Medicaid and other state programs aren’t for everyone, I truly thought that I never would be on them, but they are in place for those that truly need it, and what a blessing it is that they are there. It’s not fun to have to go through this, but I wanted to share my experiences because it’s not something very many people talk about, but it seems important to be aware of. So there you have it, out in the open in all its non-glory.