Medicaid is personal.
Here are our stories.
Ms. Williams didn’t have healthcare when she had a stroke. She didn’t know how to access healthcare. Then a good-hearted neighbor reached out.
What can we do to make sure coverage never drops on eligible Medicaid clients?
Shelby
Sheridan: I’d be in a heck of a lot of debt if not for Medicaid. My daughter is on expensive inhalers, it’s like $1000 a month. One of her medications is $200 a month, so I’m really glad she’s on Medicaid.
Her coverage was dropped once. It’s because I forgot my annual paperwork on time. Because I’m on food stamps, and if I don’t get my food stamps turned in on time, they’ll cancel all of our services.
I’ve had Medicaid my whole life, so I get how it works. I go now in person to get my paperwork renewed.
Valencia
Little Rock: Being on a fixed income, I can’t afford private insurance, and I had a special needs child. My youngest son got dropped from our coverage with no notice when he turned 1 year old. I applied online to restore his coverage, but I got totally confused to the point where I applied four times.
We got it straightened out after a few months, and now we have good healthcare services through Medicaid. I’m thankful. But it was scary at the time. There needs to be better communication and an easier online application so this doesn’t happen to other families.
Michele
Pine Bluff: I had my arch collapse in my foot, and it was an emergency. I had been on Medicaid, but before my arch collapsed, they cut me off and my daughter off. DHS almost cut off my two sons, too, but then they realized the two boys had SSI. I had to go fill out a whole new everything on different occasions to get Medicaid back, and they did straighten it out after a few months. By the time I had to go to ortho for my foot, I had coverage again. But during that gap in my insurance, it was a scary struggle to get help.
Different offices in different places do things in different ways. Like in Jefferson County, staff can be rude and lose stuff. If you don’t have a job, or the staff *thinks* you don’t have a job, you get talked down to, like they think they’re better than you. I’ve had my paperwork lost twice. Clients get frustrated, but it’s your job to explain. And if a client’s getting irate, then go get your supervisor. That’s what I do in my tax preparation work, try to be patient and explain confusing stuff, and that’s what I think DHS staff should do too.
How can we make sure the end of the COVID Public Health Emergency doesn’t negatively impact eligible families?
Larry
(as told by his daughter Brittany)
Little Rock: My father sustained a major head injury in 1989 and was comatose for 27 days. I am his only family and have been responsible for his well-being since I was 22 years old (2011).
There is almost no support programs for his condition (he's not over 65 and not developmentally disabled), even though he requires 24-hour supervision and mood stabilizers. I felt like every option was a dead-end until I found the Waiver program.
I know that I'm not alone in my struggles in being the sole supporter of a loved one who needs constant care, and I know I'm not the only one getting terrifying letters about this program/his coverage ending as if it's tied to the COVID emergency.
How can we speed up the application and notification process?
Dawn
Little Rock: I am unemployed. I cannot go to the doctor’s. I applied for Medicaid a month ago and still have not received any notice of status, even while I’ve struggled with a back injury.
I had a really hard time with the process, going through the website, and completing requirements about verification. They ask too many questions over and over. They ask for your gross income, and then turn around and ask the same question in a different form.
I would like for it to be easier for everyone to be able to navigate through the website.
Taylor
Prescott: I needed healthcare for myself, when I turned 26 and came off my parents’ healthcare, but was still working my way through pharmacy school. I had someone fill out the application for me because I wasn’t aware of how the process worked. It took a few weeks for it to process. I asked for updates from two different DHS representatives, and they gave me different answers. It was frustrating. I decided to start a new application in order to get better answers and speed up the process.
I now have good medical care with Blue Cross, through Medicaid’s ARHome program. I believe there’s a stigma to using Medicaid, though. I feel like because my card says Blue Cross Blue Shield, my coverage is viewed by providers as “better.” It shouldn’t be that way.
Antonio
Jacksonville: Insurance is very high. Medicaid could pay bills that I can’t afford. I went to the hospital with migraines, before I got coverage, and they said they can’t do anything because I need a primary care doctor. But I couldn’t afford a doctor, because I still owed for another hospital visit earlier. I applied for Medicaid, but I don’t know where I stand because they keep asking for additional documents.
I feel everyone should be able to have healthcare coverage. Medicaid helps out a lot of people, definitely single parents.
Sometimes the folks most in need of healthcare are also the people who are least able to navigate technologies and applications without help.
How can we find funds to provide Medicaid navigation for people applying for and renewing their coverage?
Wendy
North Little Rock: There was a neighbor doing my Medicaid application for me, but she couldn’t figure out my password, and I couldn’t figure it out either. She had to talk to two or three people to get it figured out. I about lost patience. I let her do the talking, I couldn’t do it. I’ve had a couple of strokes, and I don’t have the patience to talk to other people. I get tired of talking, of explaining myself.
Jacqueline
Jacksonville: I had a massive stroke, and so the application process ended up being a lot easier for me because I got extra assistance. So me personally, I have not had to worry about a delay in care, because I also learned the system. But I work with people who don’t know the system.
I’m an advocate for people who need Medicaid, and need social security, and I’ve seen how the process is stressful. People have immediate needs for healthcare, but the process can be so difficult and long. A person may need their medication, and they can’t wait.
I want to share my story because of the significant need for healthcare coverage for people who are already facing a major illness or life-changing illness, and they can’t afford to pay for their medications or pay their doctor co-pay.
Perspective From a Former DHS Employee
“When I was working at DHS, a lot of people can’t read or are short on understanding the instructions, and my job was to help people fill out the application.”
“People don’t need to be all in their business, there are too many questions in the application process.”
“Everyone does not have computers. Older people don’t understand the new technologies, and they’re not going to get on the computer anyway. But also, often they can’t read the paper applications, or their eyesight was very dim.”
“If I gave between a 1 and a 10 on the level of how much help people are getting these days, the level of help is a 5.”
“The front line workers struggle. DHS needs to add more workers so the caseloads would not be so heavy. Then the work would go smoother and faster, and staff will have more patience with those who are signing up.”