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michigan department of human services can kiss my arseSubmitted by sylvia_p on Mon, 06/12/2006 - 3:46pm.
grrr. i am so disgusted with the way that government assistance programs work. how does anyone cope with this? i called this morning to see if i could set up an appointment with a worker to go ever the application for the healthy kids or group 2 pregnant mothers medical assistance programs. nope. i have to wait for them to call me. so i ask the woman if there is someone who can tell me what the income cutoffs are for these programs. nope. she's just an operator. but is there someone who can tell me? nope. i need to fill out an application. i did that already. well you need to wait for someone to call you and it could take up to 45 days to process everything. well, when i was in friday and there were no workers available, i was told someone would call me monday. someone should call you this week, but there is an in-service tomorrow for the workers so there are no appointments. i will have delivered this baby by the time someone calls me. the gross income thing sucks. not to mention the fact half of our net income every month goes just to our mortgage payment. do they take that into consideration? and that since we've moved here our property taxes have tripled. TRIPLED. we pay just as much towards our escrow every month as we do in principal and interest. possibly more. it is ridiculous. Yeah i also think they make the process of getting any kind of aid so hard so that unless you are seriously in need you don't go there. I was frustrated as hell adn i kept having to go back because until i was actually on maternity leave and having NO income i didn't qualify even my 20 hours a week checks were too much.and i was just trying to get food stamps, then they tell me i qualify for energy assistance (which i didn;t even apply for) right? where they send you a one time check in the winter to help with energy bills and they sent be a check $48. that was like 1/4th of my electric bill. not that i didn't appreciate it but still ya know? Let me say first here in charlotte, you have to be at the social service department at like 5 in the morning to stand in line just so you can full out an app and get an appointment to be seen.then you won;t be seen for like at least 2-4 weeks unless you are in some emeregency as in homeless or no power tomorrow, in which case it is actually better to go the Salvation army crisis center which you have to be at 4 in the am to get in line for the same shit. but let me say worse case scenario even if you do not qualify and you end up oweing the hospital thousands of dollars all you have to do is make small payments, even $20 a month and they will not report you to any credit agencies. i don't know if that makes you feel any better at all but nessa was in NICU for a week and it cost $22,000, i did have insurance but still can't afford to pay it off especially with only one income. If it comes to that just make a small payment every month and they usually won;t even bother you with phone calls. Good Luck.are you actually married? this can make a big difference with socail service. also I can tell you if he maskes more than about $18,000 a year which i believe is the poverty level for a 3 person family. you probably won't qualify for anything.this is just a guesstimate but here if you make more than $600 a month you can't even get food stamps. Don't blame yourself. DHS is a nightmare. It is like this everywhere, this is what poor people have to deal with every day- even for basics like food stamps. I don't know about the two seperate programs, but if you have already turned in your application, your birth will be covered when they get around to approving you. They go from the date of application for medical. And as always, for support check into Welfare Warriors. http://welfarewarriors.org/index.htm Also: You're in Michigan? Look here for a discription of the different medical programs avaliable. "Group 2 Pregnant Women A woman who has income that exceeds the income limit for Healthy Kids for Pregnant Women, may be eligible for Medicaid under the Group 2 Pregnant Women program. If the income is over the income limit, persons may incur medical expenses that equal or exceed the excess income and still qualify for this program. Contact the local MDHS office in your county to apply for this program." I couldn't find the actual income limits. They almost never give up that info. They like to keep it secret so they can deny you for no reason. "Is there a limit on income? i have gone backwards and forwards on that website and cannot find any answers. i couldn't meet with a worker friday because they don't take walk ins after 11 am. nice. but how hard is it for them to say, look, if you make this much in gross income a month you will not be eligible unless you appeal...the only thing i may have going for me is the fact we live in one of the richest counties in the country which i am hoping will set the income limit a little higher. good speedy insurance vibes your way, and calming ones for you and dh. "The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off." |
I so feel you on the gross income bullshit. hello what about the insurance i pay so i'm not getting medi-caid or the effin garnishment that takes $130 out of every paycheck (not child support) or the 401k so my DD can go to college. that sooo pisses me off too.
Jessica
We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children....don't know who to give the credit to saw it outside my library.