tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post87785239457618348..comments2023-10-10T05:07:13.577-07:00Comments on En Tequila Es Verdad: Happy Hour DiscursoDana Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00890312745525306991noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-77089287687463006542009-08-09T17:04:30.523-07:002009-08-09T17:04:30.523-07:00Locked a loaded with folks tweeting about ACORN an...Locked a loaded with folks tweeting about ACORN and encourging carrying weapons and violence against those who disagree with them. <br /><br />Lets cut the shit. What they are saying is,"If the niggers and the pinkos show up- shoot 'em."<br /><br />We should be more than concerned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-67403503929603319452009-08-09T10:33:23.188-07:002009-08-09T10:33:23.188-07:00"...you'll discover that Medicaid had no ...<i>"...you'll discover that Medicaid had no problem covering a Down Syndrome child - at least until the family started making too much money to qualify."</i><br /><br />Oh man. Been there, done that, need to make a t-shirt.<br /><br /><a href="http://wiki.hypertwins.org/Josh" rel="nofollow">Josh</a> had <a href="http://wiki.hypertwins.org/Josh/Medicaid" rel="nofollow">Medicaid</a> for six months earlier this year. After months or years of hunting (depending on how you count), we had finally identified a Therapeutic Foster Care home that was willing to take him on -- payable by Medicaid.<br /><br />Which was good, because we've been told over and over again that <i>none of the homes will accept "private pay"</i> -- so even if we had the money, <i>we could not buy this service</i> (unless we were rich enough to set it up from scratch ourselves, I guess).<br /><br />Unfortunately, Josh's Medicaid was up for renewal about a week before the move-in date. Knowing how crucial it was, I called the Medicaid caseworker repeatedly, asking her <i>please</i> to tell me if there was <i>any</i> problem with the renewal... never heard back (except the first time, where she admitted having received the application, but had not looked at it yet).<br /><br />And then these cards arrive in the mail, and I think "oh good, it went through... no news is good news."<br /><br />And then Josh's caseworker (not the Medicaid caseworker but the lady who helps us coordinate between Josh's needs and the many "service providers" of the various different types of services, for which there is no directory much less anything like an "<a href="http://www.epinions.com/" rel="nofollow">epinions</a>" to help you work out which provider would be the most appropriate for you; <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/mental_health/" rel="nofollow">so much for competition</a>.)<br /><br />(Now where was I? Oh, right...) And then Josh's caseworker called to say that <a href="http://htyp.org/Value_Options" rel="nofollow">Value Options</a> (the company which approves or denies mental health care in NC) had said that Josh's Medicaid number was no good... long story short, we took a closer look at those cards which had arrived in the mail (remember them?) and saw that Josh had been switched to NC's version of SCHIP, which does <i>not</i> cover residential care even though their <a href="http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dma/healthchoice/sn_booklet.pdf" rel="nofollow">online brochure</a> says it does (see p. 8, "Residential Treatment Services Level I-IV" - the foster home was a Level II). (Also note that this service we are paying for has DRMed their PDF so I can't just copy stuff from it. WTF??)<br /><br />What seems to have happened is that because Josh's older brother went off to the Navy late last year and was no longer a dependent, that raised the "poverty level" to the point where Josh's mom's income was above it -- so no Medicaid for him.<br /><br />Never mind that she's $165k+ in debt. Credit card bills and mortgage payments don't count against that income. Even if she mostly used them to buy groceries; they don't care how the money was spent. Even if her monthly payments now come to more than her income.<br /><br />As our family conservative would say, that's our "tough luck".<br /><br />The good news is that we just found out that if Josh's doctor signs a form saying that he needs care outside of the home for a period of 12 months or more, then Medicaid only looks at <i>Josh's</i> income -- which is now and probably always will be zero. So he should qualify, and we can get back on that bus again in another 45 days or so after they process our 2nd re-application.<br /><br />Gee, though, it sure would have been nice if they had mentioned that last year. Or when we were renewing Josh's Medicaid back in May. Or when I called the Medicaid office and explained why it was so important that the renewal go through.<br /><br />Did I mention that this whole system is almost entirely undocumented? I had to start creating <a href="http://htyp.org/Medicaid" rel="nofollow">my own</a> <a href="http://htyp.org/mental_health/US/NC" rel="nofollow">documentation</a> just to keep track of the teeth I've been able to pull, er, I mean the bits of information I <i>have</i> been able to find.Woozlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17948248776908775080noreply@blogger.com