Any medicaid mommies out there

Im on Masshealth which is the state version of medicaid. I don't know if they are the same but I can tell you that most states offer immediate temporary coverage to pregnant woman. Mine is for up to 60 days while your application is sorted out. You need to call them directly and say I am pregnant, I need coverage now! I received temporary prenatal coverage for all visits etc and then once my application was filed and done I received the permanent benefits.

Also keep in mind any government agency is usually far behind what they say something will take. I would suggest telling them you are pregnant any time you speak to someone and you need immediate coverage while your application is pending!

Also depending on what state you are in, go to their government website and they should have info about the state medicaid system. Don't be afraid of not being covered. Covering pregnant women is one of the few things that the government actually does semi-decently. I was worried I wouldn't be covered too but now I don't even have a co-pay for my visits and won't be paying a penny for the birth itself. I guess its good to be poor sometimes!

Just keep calling. I speak literally hours and hours on the phone with the insurance people. Be persistent and be prepared to sit on hold for a very long time! Good luck PM me if you need more info!

I have medicaid and have been on it 2x's. with my first pregnancy it was way more screwed up than with this time. DSHS messed up my paperwork from the beginning and gave me a "spend-down" of 3500. What was screwed up was that I qualified from day one of my pregnancy, but since they messed up my paperwork, they said I didn't qualify, until I met my spend-down, which I did with my medical bills from our family. Anyway, I had a re-evaluation in June-I was due in Sept, and it was discovered that I HAD indeed qualified the entire time, which I had been arguing with them about from the beginning. It took a woman looking into my file and talking with her supervisor to figure out that my paperwork was screwed up from the beginning. So I ended up getting all my out of pocket money back(whoo-hoo) and everything for the last 4 months was covered.

This time I knew we qualified from day one, I had been through the process before and knew what I needed. I included my confirmed pregnancy test from family planning, 1 month of my Dh's paystubs, and my application. I heard back within a week or so. I was told by DSHS that they were incredibly backed up, but that pregnancy medical were expedited but it still could take 15 days. Have you talked to DSHS about what's going on, have they received all the info they need? That can back things up and make things take longer.

I also would personally also be applying for any other assistance type programs also, like WIC, and FS. That depends on how you feel about it, but I personally would do it. Good luck.

It really depends on what state you are in. Here in PA my doctor's office helped me fill out all of the paperwork and they sent it in for me. Then about 2 weeks later the state sent me a list of required documents (copy of driver's license, etc). Once I faxed all of that in, it took another 2-3 weeks to get my cards in the mail, etc.

Its great that it exists so that pregnant moms can get health coverage (my insurance wouldn't cover the pregnancy . But I can't wait to get off of it.

Even if your application is pending, you should have an assigned number (which should be located on any correspondence they've sent you). That number is what you would need to provide to whomever is giving your prenatal care (as long as they take medicaid). Just explain the situation to your care provider and they should be able to work with you. As others have mentioned, if you are pregnant you are offered temporary coverage for this time period. Even if you (for some strange reason) don't qualify for medicaid, they will still take care of you for the time period between whenever you applied and when they make their decision. You won't have to pay them back for these visits. I would call and discuss this with the office you went through to apply.

Also - have you gone into the office? I went in last week to ask some questions, brought all my documents I thought I might need, and they were able to give me a decision that day. I met with a counselor for their mandatory "face to face" interview, and I got my card two days later.

Quote:
: DH and I looked into health care before we started TTC and I feel like $h!t head for saying that we TTCed a baby with the intention of going on state aid, but we did.

They wanted $200+ a month for 6-12 months before the would cover your pregnancy!

So it was bankruptcy, or medicare. What a spot to be put into.

IMO healthcare should be like the police or fire department. No one worrys about the fire dpt not coming because they can't afford the inflated fire premiums. I hate that HC is considered "welfare" :

Quote:
ditto that. I have regular health insurance coverage and only got Medicaid because I had no coverage for pregnancy. I feel like I get treated much differently just because I show that Medicaid card rather than my Blue Cross card. It's just insurance and it's for situations where people really need it and I'm glad it's there for me. I hate that I sometimes have to feel ashamed of it.

It must be a whole demographic thing. I have never been treated weirdly because of my Medicaid status, where I live the economy is already pretty bad(super poor E. WA county), so no one even bats an eye at having Medicaid. I always find it very sad that it is looked down upon. So many other countries just cover their citizens. I personally think it is so sad that many women have to go on Medicaid who have insurance, but I guess that's life. We have to be on it because DH makes a great wage(although not consistently), but no bennies, that is just reality. We cannot afford his insurance it would cost us nearly $700 a month for it, that is nearly our house payment :. The system here in the states is pretty screwed up .

The state probably publishes the income standards for getting medicaid and if you are qualified, they *will* accept you. My state allows moms to start prenatal care and they will back pay anything for your pregnancy up to three months before you are accepted if you choose a medicaid provider. I would try finding out if they allow for something like this. No shame in using the system in place to help you if you need it.

Quote:
I agree. Plus in this day and time with the economy the way it is, no one knows if they might be in a situation where they need the assistance.

I work as a nurse in a clinic system and there is most DEFINATELY a bias against Medicaid recipients here in SD - and we are not a prosperous state!! I *hate* that that is the case, my children are on Medicaid and it breaks my heart to hear my fellow nurses banter such hateful discriminating comments behind patients' backs. There have been countless times I've had to bite my tongue and/or go to the bathroom to dry my tears because it hurts so much to know that people think that about ANYone based on whether they can or cannot afford insurance. It is ridiculous. It especially outrages me when there are ways Dr.'s could cut costs to patients, but WON'T. I.e. we had a rep come in to demo an at-home sleep study system with all this evidence that it was right on-par with the sleep studies they do now in the sleep labs. It would have saved patients a LOT of money and the Dr.'s at ENT wouldn't even CONSIDER it - not even a trial - because it would step on the proverbial toes of Pulmonary, and from a business perspective it wasn't something they were willing to do. I am a float nurse so I see things like this ALL THE TIME in EVERY department. It is not "patient centered care" it is all about money, they don't give a rip about saving the patient one red cent. But they will sure talk smack behind our backs if we need help paying for their overpriced services.

I was on medicaid for my 1st pregnancy, and now I'm on it with this one. I applied when I found out I was pregnant, we had been paying out of pocket for medical bills for months without insurance.

I told my doctors that I had applied, and they never charged me. They waited patiently for my app to go through, and it did take a few weeks. I even ended up in the hospital while my app was being processed and thank God it went through because that would have cost us $16,000.

I hate it when ppl are criticized for being on medicaid. I've never had it done to my face, but I see it online and it is so unfair. I've paid thousands of tax dollars that goes into BS that I don't believe in, and when I am in need, I deserve to get it back!

I think this country should take care of it's ppl to begin with. I started out the first 5 months of my 1st pregnancy living in England where healthcare is paid for by tax money. You don't have to bother with insurance unless you want to go private, if you need medical help you make an appointment and you don't have to pay a red cent!

And yes, I have applied for Medicaid coverage for this pregnancy as well. I'm sure my colleagues will have plenty to say about that everytime my back is turned.