You know there are car seat police? Yes, they work for Medicaid, or “Mad-I-Caid” as I like to call it. It’s nice to have the insurance to help our adults with disabilities; I do appreciate the help. It does come with a price. And a great dose of patience on the part of the family.
I was notified last Thursday by Molina Medicaid. “They would be sending their representative to our home in the “next three days” to see what our vehicle is like and to see if they will “approve” a new car seat.” It’s very invasive to me and I do not like it, but we play the game so our child does not suffer.
This comes after I went through this same ordeal for a new bed some years ago. For those longtime readers, I blogged about it so I’ll make it short and sweet. Anna needed a new bed as her twin wasn’t working with her turning in the night very often and getting sort of stuck. Her bed was only a mere 12 years old, and a fully contained bed which she needs. I had the orders done, which means an appointment at the doctor with a therapist which takes 3-6 months. Then Molina sends out their rep. On this occasion the rep came into my home, looked at the bed, had me lift her, had me show how I turned her in my arms, how she laid in the bed, if she could sit up, all kinds of maneuvers. She assessed Anna, looked at every other piece of equipment I had for her and acted real sweet. Then I got a letter telling me “Anna did not need a new bed, and if I wanted one, it could be an open bed, “A twin bed with two half rails and that’s all they would pay for.” So I appealed, I lost . . . and then while I was thinking about what to do next I spoke to a longtime friend. She lovingly gave me her daughter’s beautiful queen sized, wooden enclosed dream bed frame and we bought her a nice fluffy mattress. We just had to drive to North Carolina and throw in a nice visit but we got it done and we prevailed. The Warrior Way. I was lucky and am grateful for this bed and my friend everyday.
So when this carseat thing happened I was prepared. I was ready.
The rep called and said she would have to come into our home and look at the equipment I had for Anna. I just said, “Why do you need to come in my home for a carseat? Wouldn’t we just look at things in the driveway? She paused and said, yes I guess I can. I said nothing. I decided that I’m not being accommodating to these intrusions anymore. I mean how much do we need to reveal to them? Trust me, I love people most of the time and I love to be a good hostess but this is pushing my limits and my privacy.
So here she came yesterday at 4pm. The skies were sunny and blue until she pulled up. I was not budging. She got out of her car and said, looks like we’re gonna have a storm. I thought oh well. I just went went to the truck. I showed her the carseat, told her the difficulty of putting Anna up in an F250 with a seat like we have. I told her I could not lift her due to my lifting restrictions from recent shoulder surgery and that she could if she wanted to. She did not take me up on that. (You see, we cannot camp with Anna and tow the camper with a minivan that has her ride in her wheelchair. We HAVE TO put her in the truck, which of course means we need a carseat for her). This also means lifting 72 pounds of flailing limbs up to the seat and then over the ledge of the carseat.
To be honest most of us Warriors need two vehicles that can transport our kids. It’s just not easy to only have one “ride” for them. You can’t only have one car because it takes two to drop and pick up and we do need to have options. But camping is NOT and option with a minivan, you simply cannot tow our camper with it. Anna deserves to camp and travel.
So back to the evaluation we go. We are standing in the driveway and the wind is howling and blowing. I decide to let her take her pictures and I say I’m gonna get Anna so you can “evaluate her.” I wanted Anna in and out before the rain that looked like it was coming any minute. So I push Anna out on the deck. She asks me if she can bend her legs, if she can sit unsupported, how much she weights, etc. I see the storm brewing and I say, “Ok, I’m gonna push Anna in and you can ask me the rest of the questions.”
We stand there and the rain comes. I’m not budging. She has to wipe her phone because rain is hitting the screen. I tell her she can come under the awning with me. We stand there and she asks me so many questions about her I feel like I’m about to adopt her out to someone and they need to know everything. It’s very annoying, I feel like we are being harassed in a way. I mean Anna is very easy to look at and see she is very handicapped. Now I’ve had to endure an interrogation basically to get what she needs. This is insurance for young adults with special needs. You must obey their demands and appointments or I can promise you it is you that will not get your equipment. I held my ground, I stood on my porch. At the end the lady seemed nice but I don’t trust these reps they send out. They are not working for me, they are working for the insurance companies. So now we wait. I hope I don’t have to appeal but I will if necessary.
I invite you all to stand up to these intrusions. We need to let these insurance companies know what is required and what is not. Coming into our homes is our choice, not theirs. I really wish they could just be us for one week. It would drastically change how they do things. So stand your ground but don’t lose faith because then we you any not get the equipment you need. Handle things in your timing and your style, and don’t let the madness get you down.
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