I'm a Medicaid waiver Supports Planner. I help people get waivers to get medical services and supplies while staying in the community. I have two Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Behavioral Healthcare. I've worked social services for 10 years. I've been with this company for 3.5 years, and while it's brutal, it's WFH and I LOVE my team and manager.
In the past 6 months, I've moved into an apartment by myself, had to get tires changed and also just dealing with current events. I am diagnosed with bipolar 2, and my anxiety has been affecting my ability to bill hours (we bill in real time. You're expected to do billable activities 35 hours out of the week). I talked to my boss and HR. Tried EAP but the therapist fell through? Asked for accommodation but I don't even know what they could accommodate. The kicker is the health insurance they offer is “high deductible”. I have to pay $3000 before the insurance covers costs. I'm a single millenial female. If I had $3000 annually to cover healthcare out of my own pocket, I'd be killing it. I need to go back to my psychiatrist. I need a therapist. I need to keep up with my reproductive health. What they don't seem to understand is that if I want to see a doctor, I need to be prepared to spend $120. ANYTHING past a general check up is billed to me. Getting psych meds sorted? $120 a month (or every 2 weeks tapering Lamictal). Gyno wants bloodwork and an ultrasound? That's a charge love. I still owe LabCorp…
I applied for my local health department and got offered a job making $4000 more and from what I can tell, kick ass health insurance. I put in my months notice and my boss totally gets it (because most people in this company are married I guess and don't even use this insurance). I get a message from HR asking for a little bit of my time.
We get on and the woman says “Let's see if you qualify for Medicaid. We don't want to lose you because you can't afford the insurance. When we last talked, you seemed happy with the job and we're happy with you. Let's see your options”. She then proceeded to put my age and income in the website to look at estimates for Medicaid plans. Those premiums are also high for me and I barely qualify for the assistance because of my income.
It's more than that, though. I literally tell people to see their doctors while struggling to budget to see my own. You are telling me I might qualify for Medicaid when I literally contract with Medicaid. Now I'm sitting here feeling some type of way. I hate that I have to bargain just to try and maintain my mental health to work the jobs they want me to work.