So, I thought I’d be honest with the government and tell them that my utility bills have nearly tripled since I was in rehab. All of them. I went on our Medicaid website and updated my bills, which hadn’t been touched since 2023.
What a cascade of errors.

This caused them to send me a questionnaire. “Are you on LTSS?” I took that to mean “Long Term Something Service” which meant to me, rehab. So I said no.

Three days later I get a notice I’m being booted off of Medicaid.
Panic ensues.

Trying to get through to Department of Human Services is like trying get Taylor Swift tickets. On hold for 2 hours, to find out that LTSS means Long Term Social Services, such as dialysis. Ohhhhh, I said. Ohhhh, she said, “We’ll fix this.”

I get another note. “Please provide documentation from your application dated 4/2023”. I did this already! Call them again. Talk to the same person. “You’re okay,” she said. “The whole thing is automated.” Lovely AI from the 1950’s. Our state Medicaid was notoriously breached three years ago and they supposedly overhauled the computer system. Not.

Anyway, it’s all cleared up now. But by the Gods, it was scary. I was calculating Uber and Lyft costs to dialysis ($150 a week) on my disability income since I have no car. Medicaid Ride Share is notorious as well–I hear it’s like that all across the country. We take the Ride Share to appointments, and sometimes Uber home because it can take upwards of an hour to get back. Yesterday, I got out of dialysis at 2:30. I didn’t get home until 5.

So that’s my complaint for the week. Medicaid is helpful in keeping you in your home, but you have to be patient.