Ever have this problem with Medicaid?

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I posted about the incident in the Haven, but I wanted to ask parents here if you ever had this kind of run around or problem with Medicaid.

Yesterday my 17yo son cut the tip of his pinky off with a refrigerator. We went to two ER's, the small one in town and then the big one in the city by ambulance. It was hanging by skin and a little meat and they stitched it back up but the bone is broken jaggedly and he will need surgery. They told him to see this group of orthopods that we have used before when three of our other kids had broken bones and my mother used them recently when she fell.

I called today to make an appointment, and I've never had any problem with that before. This time I had to make several calls to his regular doctor and the ER to get them to fax referrals over because they wouldn't see him without those first. They don't fax referrals immediately anymore, the parent or patient has to call and ask for it to be done. I can understand tha in some cases, but in a time sensitive thing like this, wouldn't you think they would just go ahead and see him? We got the appointment and I jumped through the hoops I needed to, but I am wondering if anybody else in the US who has Medicaid type insurance has this problem. Medicare doesn't, because my mother has that and she didn't have to do this. Also, I'm wondering when this started taking effect.

BTW, the first thing he did when it happened, before he even got in his friends truck to fly to the hospital, was get out his phone and take pics. Then while he was riding to the hospital in the truck, with his hand in a cup of ice, he uploaded them to facebook. He would have called an ambulance but the friends house he was helping move to doesn't have an address so this was faster.

Anyway, anyone had this type of problem with medicaid?

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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I haven't had that exact problem before which is good because I wouldn't be able to make myself make all those phone calls but the day I got out of the hospital earlier this month my mother stopped in the pharmacy on the way home and they wouldn't give my mother any of my medications because they required preapproval from Medicaid. She had to go back later to get them.

Short answer, yes. I have had that sort of run around with medicaid and with regular insurance when I was working for that matter. And I'm in the same boat as you hanyo, I can't make myself make all the calls I need to make to get help (I've tried and I'm so sick of the run around & brush-off that my spirit is broken) and I need help.

I'm the aspie in the family but I'm pretty assertive if not downright aggressive when I need to be. The phone calls frustrate me but I'm more determined than ever to get it fixed when I get the run around like that.

I ended up getting it worked out and he's having surgery Tuesday.

Medicaid here in Alabama has changed a lot and it's all messed up right now because they are waiting on the governor to decide on health care reform and he's taking his sweet time.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

I am in IL. Illinois is basically bankrupt. Having medicaid in IL has changed in the past few years. A situation like you described used to be easy, like you said. Now because IL doesn't pay their medical bills for over a year and often denies legitimate bills all together, the doctors either don't accept medicaid or make sure they have approval for the visit prior to accepting the patient. Medicaid is a joint state/federal program. I suspect this may be the issue in your state as well.