ohhhh my god----

----I just wanted to say Hi-- Ive been a lurker for some time now-and because of what has happened i need some advice. heres my story-- I am currently without a job. so im collecting unemployment.I have no children. Last month i was diagnosed with diabetes and fibromyalgia. I applied for for insurance through social services and after a month or more of paying for countless doctor bills nevermind all the farging prescriptions, I was praying that i would get the insurance and that would Help pay for my wls also. keep in mind that Ive had an appointment with Dr. Giles and have waited 6 months for it ---its on Feb 2nd. I called my worker a few minutes ago and she said i was aproved for medical insurance but i have to pay a deductible of $4,000 every 6 months, and this is because i make $235 a week on unemployment. in this very short conversation she said if i didnt like it i should call my congressman. if i could have gone through the phone and strangled that B****, I would have. I have struggled soooo hard to pay my doctors bills in cash up to this point ---and im soooo angry and i cant stop crying---I m sooo broke. I can BARELY survive on what im being paid now on unemployment. I neeeeed insurance soooo bad ----if anyone knows ANYTHING i can do please please write me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toni, I know a bit about Medicaid because many of the clients I work with have it. I don't think they are basing the spendown just on your unemployment. Do you own a house, a car, have life insurance or any other assets? They take all that into consideration. I can only suggest that you do appeal it. Alot of times when you make noise they change their minds. Not having seen the original application I don't know if there are things you might have done differently. You can email me directly if you want to go over it in more detail. [email protected] Linda

Hi Toni. Welcome. I am sorry to hear about your troubles. This certainly can be a frustrating process. Add the State Government into the mix and it's sure to drive you batty! How does it make sense that they think you should have a $4000 deductible every 6 months? So, lets average that there are 26 weeks in 6 months... You'd make $6110 in unemployment benefits in that six months. They consider a deductible of 65% of your income to be acceptable? That's just nuts. How would they propose you live on the remaining $2110 for six months if you did wind up with $4000 in bills? Crazyness! Anyway- you can appeal the deicision. But, good luck- it will probably take forever. Does Dr. Giles even take the insurance that they were offering you? I'm assuming that you can work (but haven't found a job you want) since you are not on disability...and that assumption drives my suggestion... If you really want this surgery...My advice to you- unpopular though it may be- is to look for a job (and I do mean ANY job) that can provide you with insurance. It would be faster than fighting the state. I happen to know that most department stores and some smaller national retail stores (I'm talking about Filenes, Nordstroms, JC Penny, etc NOT ABOUT WALMART) offer insurance even to part timers. You'd not have a huge challenge finding a retail job. Just check out the insurancce benefits before you accept a job. You'd make at least as much money, but probably much more working in retail (as an example) than you do on unemployment and insurance benefits are generally not too steep in the industry, so even paying insurance, you'd still make more. Anyway- it's just a suggestion. Take it for what it's worth. Good luck to you whatever you decide to do. It's a rough road, but I'm sure you'll find a way to traverse it.