OCTOBER.  October 2014.  Let’s all think about what we were doing back in October…  Well, I can tell you that’s when we started the process to get Stevie supplemental MediCal insurance!  Never mind the fact that nobody told us he could have received it the last 4 years, since his first heart surgery.  That’s the kind of stuff that conveniently gets left out, no matter how many specialists you talk to.  But when I discovered that he was eligible, I jumped on it.

And today my friends, nearly 8 months after starting the process, I think we finally got the MediCal all the way approved.  It has been a total disaster.  Started out fine – I finished and submitted the insane packet just under the wire and they sent us a card.  So I thought that was that.

Then we got a letter just a few months later saying that we needed to submit our application for re-eligibility. Say what?  Apparently they were missing our financial information all of a sudden.  Then a string of ridiculous phone calls and customer service reps and so much misinformation, had me in tears every time I even thought about stupid MediCal.  I may not be the smartest cookie in the box, but I’m no idiot.  And whenever I tried taking care of this, I felt like one.  A total dumb idiot.  Fix it, Jesus!

The last person in a long line of people that I talked to over the course of several months told me “Stevie only has emergency MediCal now because we are missing his birth certificate, so he doesn’t qualify for programs and surgery coverage.”

Well OK.  Something that could have been handled easily 8 months ago.  But whatever.  TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT TO DO TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THAT BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

So I was set an appointment.  In BFE City of  GD Industry.  Bring the birth certificate and everything will get straightened out.

I showed up super early for my appointment, coffee in one hand and binder of MediCal information in the other. I was ready to tackle this issue.  And possibly tackle a human person if they couldn’t get the shit straightened out.  Determination was in my eyes, but I made extra sure to coat my voice with honey so they’d want to help the nice blonde lady. Someone. Please. Help.  Me.

Within 5 minutes, we determined that they had everything they needed, but there was a simple (yet critical) clerical error.  Stevie’s social security number was wrong in the system.  Even though we’d gone over it in every phone call with every person, somehow, some way, it still was off by one number.  So my sweet  little Asian case worker told me “It’s not a problem, I can fix that and have it updated in the system by the end of the week.”

And then everything will be right with the world?

Everything will be right.

I almost cried tears of relief.  If she wasn’t behind a glass window, I would’ve jumped right over the counter and hugged that lady til her cute little head popped off.  Maybe that’s why the glass is there.

I headed home and started letting everyone know it was handled.  Not even 10 minutes later, my case worker called me back and said “Well… it’s going to take longer than I thought to update it in the system.  I don’t have the authorization to change it, so this goes to the top. The state has to fix it.  I’m not sure how long it will take.”  Dun-dun-duuuuuun.

And just think, since the insurance has to be approved every single year, I get to do this all over again in 4 months!!!  It will be a miracle if I don’t stab somebody.