…about Being Up Close and Personal with Idiocy.

I’m sure you all have heard Obamacare this Obamacare that… well, this is not about that. This is based on personal experience with Connecticut’s wonderful health care system as it is now. My experience. Period.

You have heard about the latest raging issue of gun control… Everyone has their opinion and this is not for that either. I will just say that I never saw a gun shoot anything all by itself… and the horrific tragedies like the one here in CT will not be prevented by this law. The overall Health Care system in this state sucks. The thing that is gaining a bit of momentum is that we should focus not more on guns but more on not making cuts on any type of health care… including mental health. Here is the latest info as of this draft.

Most people do not realize just how assbackward and patient UN friendly the system is. Health Care & Mental Health Care are in a much sadder state than you can imagine… unless you are in the midst of it. I’ll say right here and right now that if anyone were to tell me some of the things I am about to tell you I would give them a look. You know… The Look: eyebrows raised, sideways glance, lips a bit snarled in that wtf-are-you-kidding-me-what-are-you-on-do-you-think-I’m-an-idiot? The Look. You will probably have that look a few times while reading this.

I live it and STILL have a hard time believing the idiocy and racket they have. Do your own research… Check where you get your verifying information. If you go right to Wikipedia… shame on you! Seriously, anyone can edit that. I would never expect anyone to take anything as a fact unless they did their research or had first hand experience.

Even though everything on the internet is true *cough cough*

Oh… wait! That’s not good… a cough! What shall I do? Oh no? Eiw, coughing and wheezing. OMG Now I have a fever… can I go see my doctor? Between coughs I call… No. I cannot be seen there now due to the insurance, once it is out of spenddown status I can make an appointment then, instead they tell me to go to the emergency room in a hushed voice. What? I was able to see them before? Even with no insurance I was able to see the doctor… now? No. (Confused yet? If not you will be appropriately bewildered soon.)

Oh wait!

Depression is setting in because of this and oh no! Wait! Now I’m anxious too…. can I go back and see the therapist I went to when I was “covered”? Why… NO. No no nonoooo. You cannot continue seeing a mental health professional either when you are in  “spenddown” status with the State of CT. Seriously, they cannot see you again once you have another $6K spenddown to meet. (Each person has their own amount to meet.) If you come up with your amount of unpaid medical bills from the earlier 6 month time frame when you were covered and therefore had no unpaid medical bills… then you can see them again. That’s the catch they never tell you until it’s too late. Do you see the problem here? Confused? Don’t worry… it will be clear enough soon… and if you think you just read what you read… you did. It’s a horrible catch 22.

This is the system that instead of fixing it they call it an entitlement and want to make cuts to it. I have made probably close to 100 calls into my case worker since May of 2011. Not once… NOT ONCE have I spoken to any of them. (I get robo letters with new caseworkers names but never once spoke to one…  hmmm are they real or just evil fictional characters?) I would call and get nowhere then call back and try hitting random extensions and sometimes get lucky and get a human… not the human assigned to me though. Usually I end up with a message telling me to please hang up and call back on their new number… and as they read the number off I realize it is the same number I am calling… the circle of psychosis continues… (And still no calls returned… )

So you say “Get to the point already… Do you have insurance or not?!” Do I have insurance? I have no idea… I don’t think so yet I do think so, but I’m not quite sure because I am not able to use it and will get turned away if I try to make a doctor’s appointment because I have it. So, you tell me!

Thank God I do Reiki! Here is a link about Reiki, I picked this site because she is the Reiki Master I am studying under and I would not just post something without being able to back it up. With that and perseverance I am gaining in the run towards my perfect health as well as keeping my head from exploding from all the stress. smdh

When I started looking into applying for help from the state: CT DSS Site info here. Unemployment and other circumstances should surely qualify me to get medical coverage. Hahahaaaa Not even close!!! For me to get coverage through the state I had to be in a program called Spenddown. That program is the curse on low-income families and a way for the state to deny health care, and especially mental health care to low-income individuals. (I bet that part of the program won’t get cut… ) Unless I jump through the hoops that are impossibly tiny I simply must stay sane and healthy. Simple as that. I cannot afford it and morally I cannot and will not use the emergency room for anything other than an actual emergency. Besides, the universe is full of free ‘therapy’. Have Faith… I do.

I was “lucky” enough to end up in the ER in April 2011. A real emergency. (Which is why I needed to get medical coverage.) That was how I was also “lucky” enough to have enough in unpaid/outstanding medical bills to satisfy the state’s criteria for my “excessive” income. Meanwhile this excessive income has led to me being in foreclosure and owing so much that even if I won the lottery I’d still owe. (I needed over $6k of medical bills outstanding within the past 6 months). So, during the months from June to November (which is the 6 month period I was to have the insurance until the next review) I finally was approved for the benefit (or entitlement as the politicians call it) in late August. That meant I had only 10 weeks of coverage out of the 26 week time frame I had to submit that $6k to satisfy. I had no idea that the 10 weeks of coverage I had would not only be the only weeks with coverage but it would also prevent me from getting any further appointments with my regular doctor or brand new therapist! I just talk to Coco now… she’s great therapy!

Imagine my shock when I found out that I would have to come up with another chunk of medical bills… different and new unpaid medical bills to keep the insurance usable for another 6 months! Thank God I had a wonderful group of doctors that helped me race that timeframe to get everything I needed taken care of.. (this was from the er visit back in April 2011!) Cancer runs in my family and took my mom when she was only 42 and let’s just say I needed to make sure I was not following suit. (I am NOT) So God Bless Dr. Simon!!! The world needs not just more doctors like him but more people like him in general. He treated me like a person and not a faceless nameless file!

Before you are “in the system” you can be seen and not turned away from places when you need medical help, however after spenddown and during spenddown? You are a pariah in the healthcare system. I was told flat-out by medical personnel that if i need to be seen, go to the emergency room. I’m talking even if it’s something minor like bronchitis. Go to the emergency room. I’m sorry but I do not feel comfortable using the emergency room for something that I should be able to just call my doctor for… but calling my own doctor only gets me a “sorry… go to the ER” in a quieter than normal voice over the phone. Emergency Rooms should be just that… for emergencies not for the state and doctors offices to use for financial reasons.

Mind you, it has only been the medical personnel that I linked to here that have told me to go to the er if I needed to be seen after the insurance went to spenddown status. I have not gone and wasted the er’s time but instead focused more on my Reiki and natural remedies as well as at least one doctor that is not affiliated with the linked place. Some doctors honor the Hippocratic Oath while others are simply Hypocrites.

So, yes, that is how the wonderful “entitlement” called State Insurance really really helps. *cough cough* oh no… a cough! I think I will have a nice cup of Mullein Tea and do more Reiki… and Just for today I will not worry….

Thanks for reading, even if you think I made it up… I really didn’t and if you looked at the links and did your research you would know I’m telling the truth.

Love,

Alyss

 

…if a colonoscopy will fix everything.

Frustration, hopelessness, anger and depression are trying to take root… I am fighting to not let them win out. It’s really hard though when you keep getting tossed aside by the medical profession and other state agencies that are supposed to be there to help. Not all of them, I am talking about one specific place and only a couple… or maybe it’s only one person or a bunch… I don’t know.

I have been trying to get the follow-up with the specialist for Pancreatitis that landed me in the Emergency Room over a month ago. Mind you they don’t know yet what is causing it. I have been doing everything I can but it is not enough and the pain comes back like a raging bull boring into my midsection and back.

I try to see the positive, like wow! I lost 31 lbs in a month and a half. Nice to have more clothes that I can wear now but what does it matter if I can’t go anywhere anyway? I can save money I don’t have because I can’t eat so the grocery bill is a lot less too.

If you are wondering why I don’t just try another doctor? It’s because I have no insurance and no income so I am at the mercy of this clinic that is more like basketball for people with no arms seeing all they do is drop the ball. I am fighting the fight of my life right now to keep my home, my health and find a job so don’t even go there.

With your health shot to hell (hoping it is just temporary) and no way in sight to get the treatment you need to get it back there is not a lot you can do. If it was a cold or something you can treat with a little TLC then there would be no issue. When I saw an interview online  (WTNH) and our asshole governor said to “just find jobs” I wanted to spit in his face. He pretty much shamed this mother and daughter who committed suicide because of their dire situation by saying they should have reached out to the many agencies that are there just for people in their situations. I say like hell they are, I can bet that those poor women did reach out to agencies and are getting the same run around as I am. No one will ever know now.

That is another issue though, today I am pretty pissed off about the treatment I am getting – or not getting from Hill Health.

Like I said, I have been trying to get the appointment with the specialist so that I can follow up and not end up back in the hospital’s emergency room. I can’t afford that! What happened? I will try to be as succinct as possible here… I am sure you don’t want to hear this anymore than I want to be living it. I’m sorry, but I am in a bit of pain and feeling rather angry.

First I called to get the referral for the appointment about the third week in April (the week after I was in the ER). I was given an appointment for June 15th. Then told that the GI Dr would review my chart and get me in sooner due to the pancreatitis. Ok. I waited because the Dr. only see’s patients in New Haven on Friday mornings so I had to wait until she came in.

Second I get a call by someone else at the clinic telling me they gave me an appointment for June 25th. I asked why they pushed it back instead? They had no idea and come to find out I had 2 appointments that both got cancelled.

Third I find out that my June 15th appointment was canceled, was not being rescheduled and I was told to schedule a colonoscopy. It was not the GI Dr’s fault I was told. It was due to the clinic Dr. Personally I think that she either had me confused with another patient or has no clue what pancreatitis even is. She did look it up on WebMD while I was in the exam room WTF!? I can do that for free at home. Thank God I know what a colonoscopy is and I said “How the heck do they plan on seeing my pancreas by going up my bum?!?!?!!!” No one had any answers for me. All I got was “I don’t know’s” and “it was because of what the clinic Doc wrote on your chart”. I spoke to a couple different people and they are working on fixing the mistake and getting me the correct appointment. I will say, there are 2 nurses there that are very helpful as well as sympathetic and I am grateful for that!! (I’m NOT being sarcastic there.) Needless to say, I am still in pain, cannot really eat anything substantial and praying to God something comes up in my favor here.

It still befuddles me as to how a colonoscopy will help someone who has pancreatitis!

Finally, I called to get a refill for the medication that was prescribed by the Dr who screwed up the referral request and that very same Dr who also decided a colonoscopy would fix everything denies the refill! She only gave me 2 weeks worth to begin with anyway and I figured that would be fine seeing that I was going to see the specialist soon (or so I thought). It didn’t take the pain away totally, but it was much much better and I really didn’t mind a mild ache to keep me reminded that this is a very serious health issue that needs to be addressed. So now I have no pain relief and still no appointment.

At this time I am fighting to keep my home, my health, find a job and have some freaking income, also find transportation and time is not stopping to wait for me to catch up. How may more doors can get slammed in my fucking face until there are no more doors to slam – or no more face left to be slammed?

It is beyond me how medical professionals can just totally disregard someones health issue and tell them to go have an unnecessary and unrelated test that can potentially make their issue worse.

Yes Mr. Gov’ner you get laid off, have no more savings, no income, go on job interviews with companies that only care about culture and not qualifications or job skills (that would be Junk My Car), no health care, a mortgage company that dicks you around (that would be Wells Fargo) and a variety of other things that life may bring about… then try to get some assistance when you have no other choice left right now. Let’s see how YOU make out. If I am not mistaken, Cornell Scott Hill Heath Centers are part of these wonderful agencies out there for low or no income residents.

So, NO, a colonoscopy will not fix everything! However I will find a fucking way to get through all of this and come out on the other end all shiny and new! I do not know how to give up!

 

…about The Culture Club

that she does not belong to. Yea… my ‘break’ is over. I was gone for a while because I was focusing on getting a great job. **Disclaimer** The names have been changed to protect the guilty – well not really, it will be very easy to figure out the company and I didn’t put anyone’s names in here.

I spent a month from start to finish. Started with the application of course. The next day I got an email with a few questions as the interview process had begun. Typical questions I suppose. 3 of them. One asking what the company does. Easy to answer. The next asking what motivates me to work and in life. Another easy one. Finally the third, what is your dream job. Again easy question. I answered all 3 and then took the skills test. After completing these steps the information stated that in about 2 business days I would hear back. I did these on a Sunday evening. I got a phone call Monday afternoon to set up a phone interview. I was thrilled!!! It was not even 24 hours after finishing the 2 interview tasks! I had researched the company prior to putting in my application and they did not have any negative reviews that stood out, they provided a service to people who needed to junk their cars. (Hint right there as to the company) I also checked out their Facebook page. This seemed like a company I would love to work for! I even “liked” their page!

This was a customer service position, actually a Loyalty Agent is what they call it now. I love working in customer service… true, it can be a horrible job at times… but well worth it. This company seemed like a perfect fit for me. It would have meant starting back at the bottom… but that was ok with me. I believe that in order to succeed and move up in a company you need to learn the basics and what the company is all about. Another bonus, it was in the same corporate complex in Shelton, just a different tower, that my last job was in – before they moved and then were swallowed up by the competition. So happy not to be there anymore. Location and distance were not an issue. I also knew some of the people who now work there from the old job. Another bonus… friendly faces!

So, the phone interview was the following week and lasted about 30 minutes. After that I was told again to wait. I did. Then I got a call to set up an in person interview… not 1, but 2 of them! Cool!!! At first he wanted me to come in the next day, he did realize this was extremely short notice… too short for me to try to make it. I opted for the next week. Interview day comes, I get there and have to wait only about 5 or so minutes for the first interviewer. The questions go back and forth with some conversation mixed in… he had worked at my old company for about a week or two. I didn’t remember him, but I was also in a different department when he was there.  In between the 2 interviews, an old co worker popped her head in to say hi and I saw another one as well! It was nice to see them. 🙂  Then the girl came in for the next interview and same thing… back and forth etc. I found out more and more and was really liking what I was hearing. I was taking mental notes. So, interviews over and again the wait. I was sure that I was going to be offered the position and be in the next training class that should be starting soon enough by now.

Here is the kicker. This time there was no phone call. I got an email. I didn’t even have to open it and I knew it was not an offer. The email said in part: “, but we feel that there wasn’t a strong enough of a match for the position’s requirements.” I read through the email and was like WTF? I fully met all the requirements! If I didn’t meet the jobs requirements why on earth did they even start the interview process with me and take up a month of my time jerking me around???? My requirements and skills were all on my application. We had talked about everything I did in the past and what skills and experience I had right from the beginning. I jumped through all the hoops and aced each step. What changed their mind about me? Oh… everything was on the fast track UNTIL we met face to face. I didn’t smell, I was dressed appropriately for an interview, I was on time, polite… Clearly had the experience for the job and the flexibility.

I decided to follow up, I was devastated to think that I lost some or all my skills during the time I have been laid off. I was totally confused… not even mad (yet) but confused. Friends gave me moral support telling me that I was probably over qualified, it was their loss etc. They were confused as well. So the follow up. I replied to the email, never received a response so the end of that week I called and left a message. Again, no reply. Now I was changing my mind about all the good things I thought about this junk car removal company in Shelton. I decided to call again the next week. Low and behold I got a hold of the guy I had been communicating with from their HR Dept. I posed the question regarding what requirements was I lacking. (Honestly that would have haunted me at each future interview… wondering what skills I needed to brush up on – even though I could not think of a one.) I got an apology because I was sent the wrong email! (My heart skipped a beat there… I wondered for a split second if they were going to offer me the job after all) Nope. It was nothing to do with my skills or the requirements for the position. I was a top runner in that respect. So, why the rejection? Apparently I was not a “Cultural Fit” for their company. A WHAT? WTF does that mean??? The only thing I know is that there are less qualified people in the next training class because they all had one thing in common…. they were a cultural fit. Sure, there may be some that have qualifications and experience like mine as well… but there are some that do not and made it past me because they were a cultural fit and I was not. (That is what I was told on the phone anyway) I still do not know what that means. He did not do a very good job of explaining it either. Probably best for him and that company. If you are going to not hire someone fully qualified for the job and decide to go with less qualified individuals because of some mysterious cultural aspect well, I am glad that I will not be working there.

Geeze, I graduated High School long ago and didn’t think I’d have to deal with the High School mentality in a corporate setting. Well, not my problem now. If this is part of their business practice they won’t make it if they keep shoving fully qualified people aside. I will probably never know what Cultural aspect I lack according to them… Is it because I love cats? Is it because I wore brown dress pants? Maybe it was my red hair? Was I too tall? (5’11” with my heels) My perfume? (I chose Obsession that day) Because I love NASCAR? Oh, maybe it was my cheetah print handbag!!!

I guess I should have gone in there with ripped jeans, my fuck me heels or maybe jordans, boobs popping out, tats showing, snapping gum and my girlfriend on my arm. Maybe I should have taken the office bike for a spin, played one of their video games or watched a dvd while I was waiting?

I will not be calling them if I ever have to Junk My Car…(another hint… very obvious hint as to the company name) if any of my friends need that service I will be sure to let them know what kind of people run that company… they can make their own mind up. If I know of anyone who is looking for work, I will let them know that they really don’t care about the qualifications a person has, just as long as they fit in to whatever Cultural image they want… weird seeing that the work is not done face to face with prospective customers anyway.

BTW – I un-liked their Facebook page.