With that being said I will speak from personal experience about our truly flawed health care system. I don't have the answers on how to make it perfect but I can say for certain it is beyond confusing. Since Mom's health issues began, navigating Doctors, insurance and benefits have single-handedly been the most difficult part. The hours spent trying to just understand the resources available have taken from my precious time with Mom.
Some of you have offered help, advice, knowledge, and assistance. So here's the update...
-Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) - Robin was determined "disabled" under a compassionate care allowance due to the nature of her disease. They backdated to November 2012 and she was paid benefits starting 5 months later. The amount is based off of what she has contributed in her lifetime of working and paying taxes - with no regard to her rapidly progressing disease.
-Medicare - Federal benefit to supplement medical insurance - Robin is not immediately eligible because she is under 65, so there is a 2 yr + 5 mo waiting period from determination of SSDI. Therefore April 2015 she would be eligible ... to apply.
-Medicaid - MN State benefit to supplement medical insurance - Robin is not eligible for this until there is very little money in her name and her income is minimal. Her income is only from SSDI and goes straight to her care facility costs.
-MN Sure - Minnesota's version of ObamaCare ... it could be called many awful names but I'll keep it PC for now. Most anyone is eligible to use MN Sure but how much the state will help subsidize varies person to person, mostly based on income.
I went through the first year of MN Sure in early 2014 and the site was terrifyingly confusing - so much so that I accidentally purchased her a PPO but only with Allina Network - not sure how they can define it that way. So all of her medical expenses this year have been "out of network" with a very high price tag deductible of $10,000.
Now I'm in the process of purchasing her insurance for 2015 ... I filled out the application on day 1 and it's still processing 2+ weeks later ... meaning I can't enroll her in a plan until the application is processed. Besides that, getting logged into their site that crashes multiple times while using, navigating the numerous plan options, and really understanding what's best for her short term needs is a nightmare.
I work with benefits in my job, am educated on ObamaCare through trainings, and yet still feel completely incompetent in the entire system. Enough of my ranting ... if anyone ever needs assistance with the above mentioned, I'm willing to share my knowledge over a glass of wine or strong coffee.
Some of you have offered help, advice, knowledge, and assistance. So here's the update...
-Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) - Robin was determined "disabled" under a compassionate care allowance due to the nature of her disease. They backdated to November 2012 and she was paid benefits starting 5 months later. The amount is based off of what she has contributed in her lifetime of working and paying taxes - with no regard to her rapidly progressing disease.
-Medicare - Federal benefit to supplement medical insurance - Robin is not immediately eligible because she is under 65, so there is a 2 yr + 5 mo waiting period from determination of SSDI. Therefore April 2015 she would be eligible ... to apply.
-Medicaid - MN State benefit to supplement medical insurance - Robin is not eligible for this until there is very little money in her name and her income is minimal. Her income is only from SSDI and goes straight to her care facility costs.
-MN Sure - Minnesota's version of ObamaCare ... it could be called many awful names but I'll keep it PC for now. Most anyone is eligible to use MN Sure but how much the state will help subsidize varies person to person, mostly based on income.
I went through the first year of MN Sure in early 2014 and the site was terrifyingly confusing - so much so that I accidentally purchased her a PPO but only with Allina Network - not sure how they can define it that way. So all of her medical expenses this year have been "out of network" with a very high price tag deductible of $10,000.
Now I'm in the process of purchasing her insurance for 2015 ... I filled out the application on day 1 and it's still processing 2+ weeks later ... meaning I can't enroll her in a plan until the application is processed. Besides that, getting logged into their site that crashes multiple times while using, navigating the numerous plan options, and really understanding what's best for her short term needs is a nightmare.
I work with benefits in my job, am educated on ObamaCare through trainings, and yet still feel completely incompetent in the entire system. Enough of my ranting ... if anyone ever needs assistance with the above mentioned, I'm willing to share my knowledge over a glass of wine or strong coffee.
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