WEEKS LATER- I just realized that I posted what I could from my i-phone and am now completing this blog entry! Here it is:
I rarely get on my political soap box but this is a deserving situation. I am sitting at Denver Health enrollment services. I was told to arrive before 8 and at 7:45 was the 30th person in line. After standing in the cold for 15 minutes we were ushered inside, given a number then told that this number doesn’t garauntee an appointment. So I wait. Next to the guy yelling on the phone that he is going to have a seizure. Across the hall from a mom with her three kids. Next to everyone else who is dependent on getting help today… Knowing that we may not.
This started 4 months ago with my initial application for chp plus ( a Colorado program for children and pregnant women). I heard about this program when we found out that the $482 that we pay a month for health insurance didn’t have a maternity rider and our insurance no longer offered maternity. After applying in May, I waited for almost 60 days, though the quoted wait time is 45 days. I received a denial letter claiming that we made too much money (over by $100). I began the appeal process because the application asks you to fill out expenses such as health insurance, childcare, Medical bills…etc, since these are considered allowable deductions. With these we we were well below the income limit. 2 months later I finally get the final verdict that they still won’t accept my application and was told that they would not take me deductions into account.
Now approaching my 3rd trimester, the birth center requires 80% of the cost of care and delivery. $2800 due next week. $1280 if I am covered through chp plus. I have tried every avenue to get this all figured out. I first tried calling the Denver health line which makes appointments at it’s clinics to be seen. I made the mistake of calling at 8am. You must call back at 2 to schedule a next day appointment. After calling back at 2, I was routed to the correct line and placed on hold for 20 minutes. At that time, a recording came on saying that all of the appointments for the following day had been made. “Call back tomorrow after two to make an appointment for the following business day”. Are you kidding me? I have been infuriated and defeated by this entire process. Humbled by the impossibility of the situation. And the worse part is that I am helpless. There is no one To call to yell at and demand service. No threat can be made to “take my business elsewhere”. I can only hope that today I can get seen and hopefully accepted.
WHAT ACTUALLY happened on this day…
After waiting for 3 hours I was able to get in to see someone. Thankfully, a man had given me his ticket as he walked out the door which put me ahead by 15 spots. It took about 30 minutes to review all of my paperwork and at the end of the appointment she said, “You are approved”. HUGE sigh of relief. Unfortunately, I had only grabbed a small protein bar on my way out the door at 6:45 that morning. Now, at 11:30, I was starving and having leg cramps and contractions because I was dehydrated. I got home and laid down feeling completely tuckered out for the day. At least I was done with this whole health insurance fiasco…So I thought.
8:30 AM the next day-
My phone rings as I am on the way to work. It is a lady calling from CHP+. Instantly, I know this isn’t going ot be good. She informs me that the woman who did my application yesterday was in training and she made a mistake. My application was going to be reversed and denied. The reason was that I had private health insurance. I said, “Ok, so you are telling me that the program that covers pregnancy and children won’t cover me because I have health insurance. Even though my health insurance has NO maternity coverage on it.” “I’m sorry she says”. The only possible option would be for me to drop my health insurance and try the process again.
No thank you. Absoloutely not. If this is any kind of foreshadowing for a government run healthcare program (and it is) it is not pretty. Too much red tape. Not enough help or resources to reach all of those in need. And the kicker is that it really isn’t helpful for those of us in the middle ground. We don’t make enough money to easily pay all of our expenses when the unexpected happens. We make too little to qualify for all of the programs that are supposed to help in this situation. My advice is…Get out and vote! We are looking at some pretty unpleasant realities if we are ready to hand over our healthcare to the government.
