To deal with any government office, the phone doesn't help you. You have to go there. "Going there," wherever it is, is a lot harder than it used to be. This seems especially bitter when you wouldn't need to go there if you weren't disabled.
I went to the Chinatown Medicaid office on Chrystie Street. By obsessing over Hopstop, plus google & yahoo & mta maps I was unable to determine exactly how many blocks it was. Did I ever worry about such things before? No. I never even had the patience to wait for buses before. I just walked. Fast.
That was another life.
M14 from 6th Street to Essex & Grand. Grand Street to Chrystie Street. Chrystie Street to #115.
The sun was very bright, but not terribly hot. As I was leaving the bus stop on Essex & Grand one of my shoe buckles came loose. With the help of my cane I limped back to the stop so I could lean against the shelter to fix it, awkwardly fumbling the strap into the buckle. Onward.
Step by step, I got there. Getting there, wherever it is, takes such effort that by the time you get there you either forget why you went or the reason, no matter how important, seems beside the point in comparison.
The gentleman at the front desk said my application was denied on June 1 because my husband's income, $400 a week for a family of three, is too high. I told him I was never notified of this decision. He gave me a printout of the instructions on how to request a fair hearing, highlighting the phone number. "Can you tell from this system that the reason I'm not working is I'm disabled? I have multiple sclerosis and have high medical bills?" He gave me a ticket to wait my turn to see someone else.
I waited probably over an hour, but all they could tell me was go back to the place where I applied (12 W. 14th St. At least it's easy to get to.)
Now I realize the instructions on how to request a fair hearing are not the same as the notification you get in the mail, which has some number pertaining to your case which you use when requesting the hearing.
The highlighted phone number is always busy.
I think the most important thing is to get them to send me that notification. I'd like to ask the advice of my former employer, who is an attorney who deals with NY Medicaid all the time.
The trip was exhausting, with very little to show for it.
My former employer the Medicaid lawyer, and my disability lawyer agreed that notification of Medicaid decisions takes a really long time. It is now August 17, and I still have not received such notification.
ReplyDeleteMy former employer did not think requesting a fair hearing on this Medicaid case was necessarily in my best interest. And now my date of eligibility for Disability and Medicare is quite close, so I hope an end is in sight.
2 other things came out of my trip to the Medicaid office. 1. I realized getting all stressed out makes everything worse, and I resolved to stop doing it. 2. I posted the blog entry on Facebook, & my friend Liz offered to drive me on future trips like this. Thanks Liz!
It's now September 3 & still no notification. Also none from SSA. I can't remember what former employer said about why he didn't know if fair hearing was in my best interest.
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