Why I Suspect Healthcare People Really Don't Care

This year I was introduced to the Healthcare system and let me tell you, it is not a friendly relationship. At this point it isn't even amicable. I have been shocked by their treatment towards people who truly need their help. Phone calls are not returned, letters are not responded to and the general attitude of employees with the Healthcare system is lackadaisical at best. Quite simply I have discovered that the system could care less about the very people they are trying to help. Maybe this doesn't come as a big surprise to some of you out there but I have been, and still try to be, a firm believer that when people are in dire need of help someone will be there to either pick you up or at least extend their hand to help you up.

It all started for me back in January. My life wasn't going too well in normal standards. To put it bluntly times were extremely tough at that moment. I had been laid off from work in 2006 and had worked only a temp job the month of December. I had had no income for a few months beforehand. On the very morning I was starting another short term job I had to go to the Emergency Room in my town. What I thought was going to be something minor turned into something major. Very major.

After tests and consultations it was decided that I would go to Indianapolis to have major surgery on, of all days, Valentine's Day. A wonderful woman at the hospital in my town helped set up the paperwork for me to apply for Medicaid and sent it in. On Monday the 5^th of February I received notice from the Department of Family and Social Services (DFS) that I was scheduled for an interview and included a list of things I needed to bring to support my case. At the bottom of the page was the date and time of the interview, February 5^th - 11:00 a.m. It was the very day I was reading the letter. The time was 11:30 a.m. I glanced at the envelope and it showed the letter was postmarked the Friday before! There was no way I could have made that meeting and yet DSF saw fit to give me no advanced notice. It was almost as if they didn't want me to show up.

I called the caseworker listed on the letter and left her a long and detailed message explaining everything. She did not return my call. I called again on Wednesday and left another very detailed message. Again she did not return my call. On Thursday I called again but didn't leave a message. I pounded out to the receptionist, explained my story to her and asked to speak to the caseworker's supervisor. She promptly transferred me back to the very same caseworker. Two more calls that day to the receptionist went unanswered with no option of voice mail. On Friday (which was the Friday before my surgery), I called and left the caseworker another message. It was not returned.

Monday the 12^th I left for my surgery as I had to be in the hospital Tuesday and I had to travel a few hours by car to get there. I had the surgery and all went extremely well and I was released the following Monday. I would spend the remainder of February in a daze with pain medication and the pain the medication was prescribed for.

In early March I received a letter from DFS stating that my Medicaid application had been denied because I did not show up for the scheduled interview. I was livid! Thankfully I was given the right to appeal and I fired off a letter to the main office in Indianapolis explaining my situation and how wrong I felt it was to be denied financial aid that I desperately need due to something I had no control over.

I received a letter back stating I would have a hearing at the local DFS office in May. When that day arrived I met with the arbitrator, a woman from the Indianapolis office, to explain my story. Then the caseworker was called in and she blatantly denied ever receiving any phone calls from me and I was chided by their side for not following up after my surgery despite the fact that I was heavily medicated and could barely walk on my own. The caseworker then presented a form which clearly showed that the paperwork to set up my interview wasn't begun until the Thursday before the Monday of my interview. When the arbitrator asked if I objected I heartily accepted it as evidence since it confirmed my case and I stated that for the record. Less then a week later I received word from the Indianapolis office that my appeal had been upheld in my favor.

That was in mid-May. In late June I went back to work in Chicago but the medical bills (stacked up with my regular bills) are killing me month in and month out.

It is now mid-August and I have yet to meet with a representative of DFS to see if they will help me. I didn't do anything for the first month figuring it would take a little time to get my interview set up. After five weeks I called DFS and was told by the receptionist that she didn't know who would handle this situation. On two different occasions I left my name and number and neither time was my call returned.

I consulted with the woman from the hospital that helped me out and she suggested calling the main office in Indianapolis. I did so and was told it would be easier if I wrote them a letter. On July 5^th I wrote a letter. Ten days later I received a response - sort of. All I got back was a copy of MY letter with the original envelope I sent it in. Attached to the letter was a post it note in which somebody wrote something that I have yet to figure out. It's not that it was bad handwriting but it just made no actual sense. And it wasn't signed. The woman at my local hospital also couldn't quite figure it out. So I called Indianapolis and explained the situation to the woman. Her response? Since the note wasn't signed she had no idea to whom I could speak.

So now I am boiling mad and seriously considering getting a lawyer. The woman at my hospital stepped in to help again and called DSF several times on my behalf. Guess what? Her calls were never returned. She finally got the name of the DSF head honcho and forwarded me the woman's name and number. Due to my job I can't afford to take time off so it was suggested I call this woman often.

Well it took 5 messages before I got a response. The woman's response was that I needed to provide her with a social security number so she can look up my account. Apparently my case number wasn't enough. That was on a Monday and she was also quick to point out that she would be out of the office the remainder of the week so I needed to wait another week before calling back.

And that is where I sit now. It's been 7 months since my surgery and I still haven't been interviewed for financial aid. I am being constantly threatened with being sent to collection agencies despite paying a small portion of each bill monthly and having a clean credit history. No one seems to care about those statistics. It comes down to the might dollar, the true God to some heartless, soulless people. They don't want $20 each month, they want the full $10,000 right now even if that is a quarter of your yearly salary. Thank goodness I don't have any children or they may end up on the bargaining table.

The Healthcare people sit in their comfortable offices not returning phone calls to people whose future could rest in their laps. Do they care? In my case I am thinking not. Who am I but just another average Joe who got unexpectedly sick at the absolute worst time and is absolutely at the mercy of people that just don't give a damn? Sooner or later someone else besides me will give a damn and hopefully I can get this taken care of.

Until then I will wait.... And wait.... And wait. If you or someone you know is in this position I highly recommend two things:

1) Make sure to speak to someone in the medical field, your doctor, a finance person and, if they can, have them note in a work database anything and everything. Someone in the field who can back up your statement is a major plus. It was the woman's notes on my account stating when the caseworker wouldn't call me back that definitely helped in my appeal.

2) Make a journal of everything related to what is going on down to the smallest detail including names and times. Do NOT overlook anything when noting it.

I haven't even mentioned the financial aid I have put in for to cover my surgery and hospital stay. This organization contacted me via letter asking for certain information. And each time I provide it they deny me aid because they need MORE information, which I always provide. It's as if they dig and dig and dig until they finally find something I can't provide to them. I am going on try number 5 now since March. Instead of sending me an entire list of everything they need, they draw this out month and month while others await money and don't care that my financial aid has not been decided.

So that is where I stand. The Healthcare Field that is supposed to take care of its people has slowly revealed how little they care about those in need. They don't seem to care about you, your illness or your financial problems. And if you can't turn to them then who in the hell can you turn to?