I feel sorry for old people.

Yep. Seriously. Sure do. I'm 35 (ok, almost 36) and I think that I'm a pretty intelligent person. Plus I have the added benefit of past employment as a health insurance benefit specialist. It shouldn't be rocket science. But, hell, it is.

We moved. Obviously - just read the other posts. My mom is disabled. Has been for almost 10 years now. She's got diabetes with all of the resulting complications - vision loss, CHF, renal disease, peripheral neuropathy, etc. Plus high blood pressure & high cholesterol. In addition, in the past 5 years she's broken both her right arm & right ankle/knee. In the midst of one of those hospitalizations she developed atrial fibrillation. In short - she's a train wreck. A real train wreck. So, because she's disabled she receives Social Security Disability - which is a paltry sum every month. Since that sum is so minimal - one can't live on it and she resides with me (well, that & the fact that she really needs some assistance). Again, given the paltry sum she has qualified for Medicaid. I won't get into the hoops one has to jump through to qualify for Medicaid, but trust me - they are many....

So, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be an easy process moving from Nebraska to Florida. But, thank God, I'm smart, right. I mean, really, I can figure this shit out. Or can I? So after a fairly painless online application & submitting some innocuous proof of residence, income, etc. I wasn't prepared for such a swift response. I mean, really. Most states are behind the times. Not online & definitely not swift.

Did you know that the state of Florida is pretty sure you can live on $200/month? Can you pay for all of your living expenses on $200/month? Yep, that's right, momma didn't qualify for traditional Medicaid. What she did qualify for is conditional Medicaid. If dear mom meets $821 "Share of Cost" in a month, then she will be eligible for Medicaid for the rest of that month. Think about that. If she has medical bills that are >80% of her income, then & only then will Medicaid pay - but just for the rest of that month. It's scary. But at least it's there if something "big" happens.

And, as a I perused through the pages of information about the differing Medicaid programs, qualifications, & explanations I soon found that it wouldn't have mattered had she qualified for traditional Medicaid. In Florida if you have Medicare then Medicaid will not pay for ANY prescriptions. Shit. Yep, I said it. Mom's drugs are anywhere between $700-900/month. Well, thank God for Part D, dude. And now, I relish in learning about doughnut holes (and I don't mean the yummy glazed kind!). Through further research I have found that she may qualify for a federal low income program through Medicare that will help with her drug co-payments & the dreaded doughnut hole. Barring that there are applications to the drug manufacturers that will supply her with free insulin (that's her most expensive drugs). I'm going to need my own notebook to keep track of all this crap. Yikes. I see mounds of papers, faxes, & Excedrin Migraine in my future......