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Responsible citizen it is never just A $50 lab test
Hi there, I am also a mass health member,or I should say, I am sometimes! I enrolled and after getting the run around for months, I was accepted and was covered for my husband, me and my baby. My husband lost his job and I don't make enough to cover the ridiculous cost of health insurance. Two months later they send me another enrollment form stating that I would need to do the annual income review. Didn't you idiots just approve me two months ago???? OMG, the amount of stress you get from dealing with them is not worth having health insurance( thats how stressful it gets). I have always done what they request me to do even if it seems ridiculous. I send in all my info again, after being on the phone for hours at a time and being disconnected numerous times. I even fax the paper work a few times just to make sure, because they always say they don't receive it. I also of course mailed in all the requirements they needed time and time again. All I ever get is a letter stating that we will no longer get covered because I failed to send in the info they needed! WTF?????? Did I also mention that the letters are always post marked on the same day they are suspending our coverage, which of course means that I receive them after the suspended date. I then call again, to explain that I have faxed and resent the forms over and over. Then of course after being on hold and being disconnected( that's the norm for them) I finally get someone that says " oh yes we did get your info, we will try and expedite this". In the meantime I had to go to the doctor and get all this lab work done and get treated for a staph infection. I have to pay out of pocket hundreds of dollars because mass health was giving me the run around. We will see what kind of BS excuse I get next! I came across your blog because I am so frustrated that I would like to complain somewhere! You would think that they would provide a place for customers to express their concerns, but I guess they already know what they will get.
I have to totally AGREE with you on how fucked up the Mass Health System is ! Spending most of my 53 years in that screwed up state I now reside in a warmer and MUCH more pleasant location. I am currently stuck paying a 1 year old emergency bill to repair my credit( from an out of state hospital ) for my 9 year old son, while I was paying for "Ass Health". I had the unpleasant run in with ALL the rude shit heads that work at that " Romney-esque" agency. Ironically, the billing department is located in New Jersey. I would like SOMEONE to remind me whatthe hell my $$$ went towards ( Probably Duval's knee operation ! ). Regards and best of luck to all the poor bastards that continue dealing with that fucked up agency, from a former "Masshole"
Send it the Globe! Go all the way get on 20/20!!! Why is there no place to complain about anything concerning Mass Health?? My husband has been prescribed Humira and ever since then is continually shut off. We call and are told that they had sent us renewal forms on such and such a date yet somehow we never receive them. Which is funny considering I'm on his list for authorized person and before Humira we would receive double notices concerning renewal (One for him and one sent to me for him at the same address). Another thing I noticed with Mass Health is with one of my children (who has degenerative disks) not only is he shut off even when we return the renewal form but they say they never receive it. Once we sent it back 3x (1 every 2 weeks ) and still they said they never received it. Until I sent it certified they would not admit to receiving the form. I now must pay for our forms to be sent in by certified mail every 3 months. What I want to know is…If a surgery is scheduled can they shut you off during the middle of the surgery just so they can try to avoid paying for it, knowing full well that you may not be able to take care of the problem in the condition you may be in??
Responsible Citizen, your view of healthcare appears to be somewhat simplistic for someone who has supposedly been involved with the health care industry for a number of years. I am going to provide you with two real examples as to how Mass Health is messed up. On September 1 2009 I was declared eligible for Social Security Disability. On September 1 2010 I became eligible for Medicare. It took four weeks of telephone conversations between me, Mass Health and yes even Medicare at one point to determine if I would still be eligible for Mass Health once Medicare took effect. Over the phone no one at Mass Health could tell me if I would still be eligible! The only way I know that I was eligible was when the premium statement came in the mail! So for four weeks I had to forgo all medical treatment because I did not know who would be paying for my treatment; me, Medicare, Mass Health or a combination of all three. The second example happened in the month of January 2011. I received two letters, one indicating that I was no longer eligible for Mass Health until I spent down just under eight thousand dollars in medical expenses. The next letter then told me that I was eligible for Mass Health and what the premium would be going forward. The problem is that both letters were written on the same day January 10, 2011 and were postmark on the same day which was a Friday January 14, 2011. So the question is; would a for profit health insures be as wasteful in the use of manpower, resources and postage as Mass Health actually is. And one more note just too top things off. It also seems that the only time I receive mailings from Mass Health is on Saturdays so I am left to ponder what exactly they are trying to tell me until Monday when I attempt to call them directly. There also seems to be this mentality that it is more than proper to force people to remain on hold for thirty-six minutes no matter what time of day or what day of the week someone calls in on. The main difference between calling in on a Monday and that of calling in on a Friday is that on Monday you are more than likely to be disconnected by the automated system than you are latter in the week! Thank you for your time David C Roy P.S. I am currently trying to find a full time position even though I am not really capable of going back to work because the amount of stress as a result of dealing with Mass Health is higher than what ever stress could be placed on me from working a full time job!
Is there any way to log complaints about MassHealth procedures and poorest interpretation of the law? Seeing routine denials of trasportation requests by them because doctors are unable to fill out 1 page form to their liking. Never followup to fill out completely, simply denial int he style of Roman emperor you describe. Can we fight back?
hi Richard, I like very much what you wrote about mass health. My family and I are going through a similar situation. Only my wife is dying from cancer. I've worked all my life. Then I lost my job that we have no health-insurance. We applied for mass health many weeks ago in the meantime, the bills just keep coming in. My wife goes for treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston Massachusetts. We live in Massachusetts, just to give her a shot in the ass. So she can stay alive cost over $5000. I like to follow your blog. I hope you would visit mine. I'm very uneducated, but I try to put the word out and say what I feel I talk about Massachusetts on twitter all the time.finally sent us an insurance card for our son,he has covered 100%, probably because he is healthy. My wife is on lots of medication for pain and other things. My wife receives two treatments at Dana-Farber. Once every month, and once every three months for the other treatment. That's about $15,000. I didn't mean to say so much, but I really like reading your blog,maybe I can learn from you. Thanks Jim
lobollobo
I agree with everything you wrote. My experience is a bit different. The morons I've been dealing with took my yearly income and put it down as my monthly income, upping my rate by a factor of 4. After 4 months of weekly calls to said morons, who gave contradictory and outright lies to me, I was forced to go to social services to no avail. I'm now without insurance, facing fines, and penalties. Some faceless sub human basically told me tough luck.
August 22, 2017 • Nantucket