Mission to Medicaid

Earlier this week we had a Medicaid home visit to get Evan approved for the Medicaid Disability Waiver.  In the state of Colorado, in order to get disability Medicaid it is quite a process.  First you have to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance, even if you know you are going to get denied, as we did because of your income.  You have to have that denial before you can proceed in applying for the Medicaid.  Once you apply for the Medicaid they come out to do a home visit to assure that your child is truly disabled.  After the home visit, if you qualify, than you are put on a waiting list to actually get the Medicaid.  A 3 to 5 year waiting list... 

Colorado only has 1300 spots available for disabled kids at any given time.  We were told that right now we are approximately number 400 something on the waiting list.  So once you are on the waiting list you wait for a child to:

1. Get better
2. Turn 18
3. Die

I can only hope that a ton of kids get better or turn 18, and quickly...


It's a funny thing that they sent someone out to observe my sons disability.  The woman came and asked a ton of questions about Evan. After she left and I was replaying the scene in my head, I realized that a lot of my answers were, not embellished, but maybe dramatized.  I don't usually do this.  I often find myself telling people that his needs are just part of our day to day routine, that he is strong and can overcome his challenges.  I realized I did this though because I really wanted him to get approved.  We have great health insurance, but it costs us a lot of money out of pocket.  Also, sadly, there are things that we can't get for Evan through our regular insurance which we able to receive through Medicaid, and receive them for free. 

Now, we wait.