I am so tired. I have had to learn so much of the policy in every single program I have needed to apply to. I feel overwhelmed and have developed anxiety to the point of loosing the ability to speak when I find out "I can not help you because this issue is handled by..... fill in the blank program".
I have Medicaid. In WA state there are 5 insurance providers of Medicaid.
Each of those companies gets to decide what is medically necessary for a person. Each clinic or doctor who will accept Medicaid can choose 1 or more insurance company that they will receive will see patients from.
I have had to switch insurance companies 3 times since September 2021 in order to receive necessary medical procedures.
I am on a program called Housing and Essential Needs. While it is an amazing program that I am grateful to be on, it took from March of 2022, when I got a referral from my social worker at DSHS, to November of 2022 to receive a response from after calling every week. It was only when I sent an email to a nonprofit in my town about this program and the director there forwarded it to the H.E.N. program, that I was able to get the screening process started. the HEN program is administered by the county and is not able to be transferred to different counties.
I am eligible to receive services from Foundational Community Supports, and have spoken with the supervisor in a county I lived in for 18 years and desperately want to return to. That person told me that I would be getting a call from the intake person. That was 3 months ago.
My anxiety level is higher than it has ever been. I am dealing with issues of discrimination and harassment, not to mention fear that stems from early abuse. I need a doctor that will take the time to review my health records and address the excessive scar tissue growth. I had to write an email to the CEO of the hospital to address being told my doctor will not read emails because he likes to be married.
None of these entities communicate with each other. My health is contingent on a home that I can feel safe in, a community that wants to be inclusive, and doctors that are willing to be doctors.
I watch the training videos for the state programs now. But I keep loosing my ability to make words come out of my mouth when asking for help. So it doesn't seem to matter how many RCW's I read or how much I study.