So it turns out trying to get Ethan an alternative insurance plan once his Medicare plan ends November 30 is quite difficult. This morning I called the New York State of health phone number for assistance in figuring out what we need to do to get a primary care insurance in place of Medicare.
Ethan still qualifies for Medicaid at this point, which causes it a little bit of a hardship in the form of it limiting our choices on how to proceed. I was referred to call the Monroe County social services phone number. I called yesterday at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and got a message that they were closed and that their office closes at 4 PM. Paul made a good point and said likely it was closed because it was voting day.
It was that exact moment I regretted not having a government job.
Today I called and the number rang and rang and rang over 300 times before somebody answered. The first time I let it ring about 100 times and hung up because I thought that there was an issue with the phone number the second time I let it ring multiple times and had to hang up because I got an intercepting call. The third time I decided to let it ring as long as it needed to ring and it was well over seven minutes.
Once somebody answered the phone, they told me that I did not have the correct office and that we had to call an office that offered managed care plans.
They gave me the phone number to that office and I called that office and went through 5000 prompts to get set up with communicating with a human being. 5000 prompts might be a slight exaggeration, but it had to be at least 10. I did not have a good face. I was annoyed.
Keep in mind that I’m still trying to work and communicate with other people while dedicating the time to figuring this out.
Once I got on the phone with a human being, she did not speak understandable English and I had to have her spell most of the things that she was saying to me. She told me that Ethan cannot choose a managed care plan through the New York State health website that we had to go through a specific website that is Partnered with Medicaid in Monroe county.
She also told me that they can’t do anything until his insurance ends and then he will be on straight Medicaid until we add a supplemental insurance.
If I were designing this system, I would make it so that you could sign up for coverage to start on a specific date so there is no lapse and coverage. Apparently that is a dumb idea and not how New York State operates. The plan is that I have to call back on December 1 and have an idea of what managed care plan we can choose and then they can start the paperwork to start that managed care plan that will take a couple weeks to kick in.
I understand that there is likely a reason why they wouldn’t make it seem less that I am ignorant to, but it seems so backwards.
If he has a medical event, appointment, emergency or any of the above the doctor that sees him may not take Medicaid as insurance and then he won’t be covered at all.
So the system seems not to be set up to help people who need medical care continuously. We will have to be thoughtful about when he gets blood work and make sure that he has a primary coverage before getting necessary tests and medications.
After about an hour and a half of being tied up on the phone, I finally was able to get back to work with nothing accomplished. How is someone that is 21 years old with a medical issue supposed to navigate this while they’re trying to work a full-time job in person.
I am frustrated with this process, but thankful that he will be able to get something cost-effective for at least the next couple of months.
I asked the question of what would happen if Ethan had signed up for the Insurance offered through his newly acquired position. I was told they would’ve canceled his Medicaid immediately. Thank goodness I took a moment to explore other options before having him sign up for that. I will cheers to that. That would have sucked.
This evening I worked on meal prep. I made 7 meals to put in the freezer. They were carefully prepped and labeled.
Tomorrow night I have a work event that goes past my bed time. I will have someone
Physical therapy has shifted into to muscle building activities. My body is sore from them. Ouch!
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