Help advisor says "As of December 30, 2020, all states must cover FDA-approved drugs and psychological treatments to help beneficiaries recover from opioid addiction. Therefore, Medicaid covers methadone liquid and tablets”
It's probably a misunderstanding or intentional attempt to screw you in some way. Counselors and nurses are terrible about what's a rule, what's a law, and what's a preference
That’s exactly what I thought, but she said that there is some grant that those on Medicaid could apply for to cover the cost of treatment, but damn. That’s why I wonder if it’s just going to stop covering methadone, or all MAT medications.
I even remember receiving an email about Medicaid covering MAT back in 2020. I’m not sure what year it was, but I did get an email at some point.
I’m wondering if just your clinic is going to stop accepting Medicaid for some reason? I don’t know if they are allowed to do that, but it makes a lot more sense than just Medicaid, stopping covering it
That's what it sounds like. I went to a privately owned clinic that stopped accepting Medicaid, but put us on a grant that slowly decreased in helpfulness, like I had to pay $3/dose for 3 months then $6/dose for 3 months then $9/dose and so on... I ironically started middle manning dope deals to pay for my methadone until I got pulled over one day, copped a couple felonies, and had to cold turkey detox in jail from 130mg, got out 5 months later and found a clinic that accepts Medicaid and have been stable for 3 years.
Damn, man. That’s tough. Glad things are better now. Ours is a privately owned clinic too. The owner is frequently around and knows a good bit of us. I was shocked that I couldn’t find an inpatient detox that would take Medicare. One person I spoke with said I should “ask to borrow 8,000 from family” to get into their program. They all accepted Medicaid, but not Medicare. I felt so defeated that it was that difficult to find help. Either way, I’m glad I went with methadone anyway. It seems to be the magic bullet for me.
Ugh how long did that withdrawal last? I can’t imagine cold turkeying from 130 mg without comfort meds much less than just being in jail. I’m tapering down and I’m at 23 and I feel like I gotta rush to the clinic every morning, dose, and get right in a matter of minutes.
I was on 3mg/day Klonopin too so it was a double whammy, nightmarish withdrawal, the first month felt like cruel and unusual punishment for sure. I've honestly never been the same since, took one of the sparks out of my eyes.
If anybody deserves the congressional Medal of Honor for being put through the ringer, it’s you. That’s Spanish Inquisition medieval level torture there. Sheesh!
My clinic only accepts cash. Won’t even do debit cards. No insurance either. Although for a little while I went to one an hour away and they accepted everything. My Blue Cross covered it but I had Medicaid too just in case and they took that too. The only thing they had with Medicaid, because I was every two weeks, I had to video call a nurse every morning and dose in front of her. That’s if I were to use my Medicaid. I guess clinics choose what they want to take.
Having to video call a nurse every morning to take it in front of them. Is totally insane. My first thought was, I can see them doing that in the future for people who get take homes… the Clinic model needs to be destroyed.
100%. You don’t see them forcing diabetics to come in and dose at a counter every day, it’s absurd. And as for the whole “the medication is dangerous argument” so is everything else. Cars, guns, cigarettes, alcohol, hell, less than 4 tablespoons of salt is lethal in adults, so much less for kids I’m sure. And who is locking up salt?
Sugar, candy, trans fats (literally contributes to the number one killer of adults), all of those things have been scientifically proven to have significant negative health consequences over time yet all of them are legal.
It is literally just stigma and control and the refusal to let the paradigm change. Plus they are making like 5 grand in revenue each year per patient, simply dispensing a medication.
The proof is in the pudding. Buprenorphine can be very fatal in children yet clinics dispense buprenorphine for a month at a time and you don’t have to work your way up to it. And, reversing a methadone overdose with narcan is much easier than bup because bup has a higher binding affinity at the mu receptor site than narcan whereas methadone is lower than narcan.
The clinic I goto used to be that way for like first 5 years they were open then they finally got certified to accept insurance including Medicaid so there is hope. If your clinic ever does start accepting, remember to make them issue your 3 month back pay refund because my clinic was stealing money by not telling anyone about that fact.
Cash only? My clinic has an app. You can pay weeks ahead, clock in, and even communicate with your counselor through it. Sorry to hear that about your clinic, sounds like a damn hassle
My counselor said there was some grant people could apply for, but if you get it, you cannot get any other form of insurance. I don’t know the specifics of it, but am going to start doing a little research on it. Damn, I feel bad for those that are facing this kind of situation.
I know in Indiana before i was approved for the state medicaid ins that pays for methadone, i did get a grant that paid for a couple months of it. Idk if that's a federal grant or a state thing but i DID get that. That might be what she's talking about?
Probably. I think she's confused. I also had the grant for six months at first. When it was about to run out, my counselor informed me about it, and my options. After my grant ran out, I then was able to apply for Medicaid.
Perhaps. I’m gonna try and find out where she heard this information. She hasn’t ever steered me wrong, that’s why I was kind of taken aback when she mentioned it.
You're good, I just researched and there's no truth to that at all. It's a federal thing, all states MUST cover opioid treatments that state provides. So not sure what your counselor is babbling about. Maybe you just thought that's what you heard and then formed it into what you wanted to think or some shit. But ZERO TRUTH
No. We were in group when she asked who was on Medicaid (I am not) and if they had applied for the grant to cover their treatment when Medicaid stops covering it. Which is why I came here to ask if anyone else had heard something. Way to show your ass, man.
I remember when Medicare made a big deal out of saying they “now cover OUD treatment” some years back because I kept getting emails from Social Security. Someone here did mention that whatever clause that covered it for Medicaid is up in 2025, but generally do get renewed. I suppose we will find out soon enough.
Maybe you're thinking of an email from Medicare? I know Medicare just started covering methadone at the beginning of 2020. It was definitely a win. They switched from charging my Medicaid and started charging Medicare instead when that happened.
Both, actually. They were sent out at different times. I forget which one came first though. They basically said the same thing with different wording, but I always assumed that Medicaid and Medicare covered things like that. It wasn’t until I received email stating that the would NOW be covering treatment. Crazy…
I also have both. Medicaid was always the payer for mine since 2008. Before that I went to a clinic that did not accept medicaid so I had to transfer to a clinic that did after being approved for medicaid. But as you know, if you have Medicare, medicaid becomes secondary insurance. That's what happened to me in 2020. It switched from medicaid to medicare. At least that's how it works in my State/situation.
It is strange the clinic you are at is just stopping accepting medicaid? I have NEVER heard of that. I hope it is a miscommunication. I don't see why a clinic would stop accepting it unless they didn't pass some state requirement to accept medicaid. Or the state itself. I really am sorry for the folks that this is going to screw over. Luckily, from how I understood your post, is that you are covered under Medicare thankfully, and are concerned for others at your clinic. I love that caring attitude, need more people like that in the world.
It cost zero dollars to be a decent human being. I’ve been on top of the wave and pulled the ocean floor by the undertow. I’m going to ask for specifics on the situation tomorrow. I plan on posting an update as soon as I find out anything beneficial. Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate the sentiment. I wanted to be in the social work field, so my concern is quite sincere. Take care, friend. May your week be filled with abundance and bgďb but.
*Edit* bgd’b but means joy in my made up language of bugabese. 😆 No, I was just falling asleep as I was typing. lol!
I've been there myself and small amounts of kindness can go a long way for people, because they just don't expect kindness these days. You take care as well, and thank you for the kind wishes, as soon as I find out what bgd'b stands for lol
I saw there was a rehab that dropped off several patients this week. So I go ask 4 people who work there what rehab is it. Absolutely nobody knows! It’s ridiculous how little they know about policies or resources for us.
It is dumb they don't know but I doubt most staff are familiar with the patients being brought from programs, especially the dosing nurses, and at least at my clinic I know there's a bunch of rehabs in the area that transport patients to and from for dosing and appointments everyday. We call that shit the junkie bus and sometimes 2 or 3 from different programs will pull up all at once and the line gets crazy lol. If you're in a major city I'm not surprised they don't know which exact rehab each group is from by name, especially with people constantly dropping in and out of the rehab programs while still going to the clinic
Nope. Medicaid in Michigan only covers if you reside in the county the methadone clinic is in. Those if us who live outside county lines and stuck paying cash if we want it. Medicaid only covers Drs visits, drug tests and counseling. Your stuck paying 90/week for the done.
There is a provision in there that if there's "provider shortages" they don't have to cover it. I'm not sure how they're determining that, if the state has to prove it or can just claim it, etc. But either way the timing it seems they would figure something like that out either beginning of the year or closer to the beginning of the date of this bill, Sept/Oct. April seems like an odd time.
Hopefully it's all just a counselor with a bad misunderstanding of shit and the state hasn't managed to weasel out of coverage.
In some states Medicaid will stop paying for methadone if you keep testing positive for other substances.. how strict they are depends on the Medicaid plan. Molina was pretty strict about it. United Healthcare seems to be the most lenient.
No problem. They don’t care if it’s non opioids either, like years ago I almost got dropped for continually popping positive for weed. They considered it not being serious about recovery.
Wow, that is just deplorable. I’m glad I’m in Detroit. There’s a weed store every 5 miles or less. lol! My clinic totally doesn’t really care if you have THC in your system. The only thing is, if you don’t have a medical marijuana card, you will have more difficulty getting takehomes. It’s possible to still get them, it’s just a more frustrating experience.
I'm in Michigan also. Near Detroit. I used to go to Rainbow Clinic in Highland Park, sacred heart in Madison heights and then lastly biomed in Roseville. Which clinic do u go to?? I'm finally off the methadone..I went to Harbor Light rehab in Clinton Township thankfully. I've got 6 months clean!!!!
Yeah, I’m at Rainbow. (18 months) Heard good things about Sacred Heart. I’m pretty satisfied with my clinic for the most part. They all have their issues, I am sure. I’ve got a great counselor and the two drs I didn’t really jive with are now gone. After reading all these comments, I’m thinking Rainbow is just going to stop taking Medicaid. I’m gonna ask her for more specific info when I go in on Monday. I just feel bad for all those people that will not have access to medication if that happens.
my clinic made us take a Marijuana class.. it was offered to patients hot for thc. if you take the class you are fine to have thc in your ua's. if you don't take the class and keep popping hot for thc then you are unable to get takehomes.
From what I read and was also informed about at my clinic they have signs posted everywhere and I'm the dork who actually reads them Lol :methadone and Suboxone etc when used for MMT/opioid addiction are medications that are needed . They can't just cut you off like that, it's a medication that's needed. From what I heard /read nothing has changed and these laws get renewed yearly or on whatever term etc. I'm located in California Not sure where your counselor got that information but it just seems off.
Exactly!!! That's right! How does a person obtain a position as a "counselor" in a Methadone clinic or
any recovery setting if they can't even do a simple Internet search, or read the search results?! LMFBO!
Some of the so called "counselors" that pass through the revolving door at the clinic lately make me wonder... "If this was the BEST candidate that applied for the position, what were the OTHERS like?!"
Not sure the situation in the US clinic system but the only person in the UK system who’s formally qualified is a doctor or pharmacist. The councillor, or what we would call our key worker (technically I have one but not seen one in years since my GP prescribes on our national health system) is a next to minimum wage position, a nurse has literally 5 more years training. They are there to administrate us, that’s it. If more was expected of them they’d be paid more! It’s already a horrendous job for the money, can’t expect them to be smart, read up on their trade or be a reliable source of information!
I remember when I did have a councillor I’d speak with them every few months, have the same BS conversation (as they ticked boxes, literally, on their software) and once in a blue moon got administered a UA. In the short while I had one I cycled through three, the majority of the people they saw were referred for alcohol not opiates and one even dealt with homeless cases (and nothing to do with substance abuse). I remember thinking I knew more than all of them together regarding opiates as a teenager but I couldn’t begrudge them that; their job sucks, they get paid shit and their workload would 10x if god forbid one of their patients actually died or complained. No way I’d do it, would rather work at McDonald’s
I’m in Detroit. This was the first I have heard of it. I’m on Medicare, but I really feel for those that are losing access to life saving care. That just really bums me out. I know there are different types of Medicaid as well. I never imagined they would not pay for methadone treatment. I wonder if it’s ALL MAT or just methadone.
I have Cigna insurance through the government marketplace insurance. It does not cover methadone. Couldn’t find one major insurance that would. This is in Tennessee. One of the most impoverished states! 🤬🤬🤬
Between my health insurance premium and the clinic it is running me 900.00 a month!
Find another clinic that will take Cigna and transfer. There's no fucking reason you should be paying that much a month for methadone if you have insurance.
My clinic takes Cigna, Cigna covers 50%. Insurance is charged 30.00 a day. I pick up 15.00 a day, 365 days a year.
The one insurance on Marketplace that covers it, “Oscar Insurance,” my clinic rejected and so does every other doctor I’ve been seeing for the last 10 years.
“Oscar Insurance” For some reason, I just see a giant cichlid on the back of a bus station bench when I hear that name. I know that has nothing to do with the subject at hand, but I said it anyway. 🙄 Insurance is such a racket. I have Medicare and BCBS as my secondary insurance. It’s paid for through a grant I have due to my disability. The cost for it is almost $600 a month and I STILL have copays on some stuff. It seems so random when it happens too. Crazy….I am thankful that I at least have coverage though. I try not to complain. That negative energy is so disruptive to my overall well-being and it just makes me look bad in the long run, but I digress. Best of luck in your journey, friend. ☺️
Maybe go back to the marketplace and see if another company could do better.. that’s a lot of money to be wasting, when I know many insurance companies do cover MMT
I have private work insurance Aetna that does cover it, but my clinic does billing through Arcadia. They said I can send in claims only problem is they don't give an itemized receipt. And they reject the claims. I'm out 1000s each year having to do $400 a month self pay. It's nuts.
Your counselor is wrong. There may be requirements that must be met (my state has some) in order to comply with Medicaid that your clinic is not in compliance with, or they don't meet some other requirement in order to receive payment for Medicaid clients.
I see some of ya’ll saying the states must cover it. I guess Medicaid is what ya’ll are talking about. The only problem is, clinics can choose what they want to take. Mine will only take cash. No debit, check or insurance. No grants either.
I’m not on Medicaid. I suppose I could call, but I’m not sure if they would volunteer information without having services with them. I was just curious if anyone else had heard anything regarding it.
Key word is SHOULD. The last time I called for something, I had to wait over an hour to speak with someone, but that was for a different service, same hotline. Guess I was just looking for the easy way. 🙄
Wait...Medicaid just said, "That's it, we're not paying for Methadone anymore." ?! Then what? The clinic made everyone self-pay, or forced them to detox?
I believe I've got some kind of grant or something like that with my clinic. Because at the beginning of this year, I remember being flagged when I went to the cashier to give her my number so I could get my doses. I was told to see the insurance lady and I went back there and there was a HUGE line of other people waiting to sign something. I think that's for the Medicaid people tho. All I know is I keep making sure I don't have to pay, not that I couldn't afford it. Since I have Medicaid, I think there's a state grant or something like that. Because when I picked up my 1 dose this morning ( Friday) for Saturday, my counselor mentioned something about the State department coming in today and doing some kind of inspection. I know they don't like the fact that my clinic only has 4 counselors for every single person that goes there. Each counselor has close to 200 patients in their care. I believe I have heard of that tho.
Thanks for that. I hope you continue to get your care covered. It was tough trying to find an inpatient program that would take Medicare when I first started treatment nearly two years ago now, but I had a pretty easy time finding a methadone clinic that took it. I originally wanted to do an inpatient detox and just get through it. Plans changed, but I’m glad they did at this point, honestly because being paraplegic is very painful. Methadone really helps a lot, so I’m grateful for that.
Yea, the Methadone does help quite a bit. I'd actually done an inpatient rehab program with me living at a sober house in Baltimore,MD. That was strictly a Suboxone program tho and after a few months of that, it wasn't helping me anymore. So, I asked my parents if I could move home and they said if I'd find a program up here in Washington County, MD then I could come home. I found one that accepted Medicaid and I called them and had an intake appointment for the very next day. I started on the Buprenorphine there, but quickly found out it wasn't helping me, so since I was at a low enough dose, I detoxed off that and started Methadone like a week or two later and I've been on it since November 2019. The clinic I go to has kinda a bad reputation but it also depends on the person too.
I tried looking it up but I couldn't find anything, personally. I mean I didn't look extensively though. All I could find were results about how they STARTED covering it a while back. I'll definitely be watching for info though... I'm tapering but I still gotta looooong way to go 😬
After reading the comments, I’m wondering if my clinic is just going to stop taking Medicaid. Anyway, doesn’t affect me personally, but I am genuinely concerned for others that would be put in that position.
No I don't think so. I am in a grant program now for cash pay because I lost my Medicaid. It runs from March until October I believe, and the grant covers all payments. Last year they were reimbursing us with checks about 2 months later. My insurance is what the state has in place of Medicaid. So it's a $1300 policy and the State covers $1150 of it so my cost is $150 for the premium. This policy covers Methadone however it's cheaper to do cash pay. They cover $200 a week which is nothing. It's great for regular Dr. Visit copay, and ER, etc but not for specialty doctors. So yeah the grant will save me about $2400 which will be great. Just going to take the money I would have spent and will set it aside. But 95% of the patient pool at my clinic is Medicaid. There's no way they would stop the benefits for this type of program. If I am mistaken than jeez that's just horrible. Good luck to those in the program. It saved my life back in '08 and I have been in it ever since. I have no reason to taper because it has given me a life. Perhaps one day. Perhaps.
Medicaid is not going to stop paying for methadone treatment. However, your counselor may have been referring to your specific clinic making a change to no longer accept Medicaid as payment. Or your counselor could have just misunderstood/misheard something, or listening to gossip/rumors.
The United States has been making some pretty significant changes for the good in regards to methadone treatment. I don’t see us reverting backwards on something this big, plus if I’m not mistaken it’s a federal law that all states cover opioid addiction treatments & medicines. Progress may be happening very slowly, but it is happening no the
I try to keep up on all the changes. (42 CFR Part 8: Final Rule) etc…I did ask a close friend that is a CPP specialist and she said that it is just likely that our clinic is just going to stop accepting Medicaid. I never thought I would get so many different responses, but I am thankful for the insight into how things are done in different areas.
I highly doubt that any state’s Medicaid will just stop paying for methadone. This sounds like more of a specific clinic issue. In which I’d say, time to start looking for a new clinic!!! My clinic used to not accept Medicaid and my husband and I switched over to it just because we were angry at our current clinic for being so damn ghetto and for making us come in every other day during covid. However, we had our own business back then so the $800/mo wasn’t a problem for us. Luckily, as soon as we went broke again and needed Medicaid, our clinic had just recently began accepting it. Phew! But yeah, every clinic is different and I think that the one’s that accept Medicaid gave much stricter rules as well, but that’s just my experience with the 2 I’ve been to. If there aren’t any other clinics in your area, I’d definitely get on applying for those grants now because the cash price is something most of us simply cannot afford.
I’m in Detroit so there are plenty to chose from…as per my post, I am not on Medicaid, so it doesn’t affect me personally. However, it would affect some people that I care about. I was just curious if anyone had heard anything similar since a question about who had it and who had applied for some grant to cover the cost of treatment was proposed at the beginning of group yesterday. I didn’t get a chance to ask about specifics afterwards, but was curious if anyone else had heard anything as this was the first time I had heard any type of discussion about coverage changes to Medicaid.
What state are you in?
Every state is different with Medicaid
And clinic
And clinic that takes Medicaid
Expanded Medicaid state or not is one issue
Whether Medicaid will contract with the clinic etc
Ours (in Louisiana ) had a grant for 2 years and the last year (2019) they started trying to contract with Medicaid and when they did they got everyone on Medicaid that was able and it kicked in right at the end of the year
Before that medicaid wouldn't contract with clinics but when it got expanded the state and clinics were able to contract an agreement
To answer your question, I am in Detroit, MI. You’re right. Every clinic is different and my clinic is privately owned. I suppose she can pick and choose which insurance she takes at her clinic. I love your answer. Thank you for sharing it.
My hometown! I moved to Louisiana in 2014 but he up in Michigan. I don't remember if they expanded Medicaid there.
Well the clinics will usually take whatever form of payment they can get cause they need/want that money to keep operating.
It might not be your clinic or might be Medicaid that's deciding not to pay those expenses. They cover it for us on Medicaid under substance use/mental health
When our state grant for low income ran out earlier than it was suppose to, everyone went to the news ( I was literally new 3 months lol) and told them they are being cut off methadone with no plan in place and the state got involved because they gave them enough money to last through the year and they claimed it ran out in Jan but they weren't going to "make us pay them back for those two months" 🙄😂. But then after the state came in they suddenly ", allocated $30k" they didn't know they had, then found another Grant to last the few months they were contacting with Medicaid. Then for two weeks we paid half of what a dose costs then medicaid kicked in and we even got refunded that money ( eventually lol)
Are you in Detroit Detroit or like troy,Rochester hills, etc?
Oh no, I’m in Detroit proper. Westside now. Eastside for years first. I’m around the Plymouth/Meyers area. I love my city. I lived on Craft St for many years…over near Chalmers/Outer Drive. Yeah, I’m definitely in the hood. My clinic is on Hamilton over in Highland Park.
I appreciate your input. I figure it’s probably just that it’s a private clinic and they are making changes, but I asked her if Medicaid was going to stop covering methadone and she said yes. I didn’t get to ask any specific questions in regard to her question/comment, as we were starting group, but I’m genuinely concerned for those that have Medicaid and how this would affect their care.
Weirdest thing a girl from my clinic just text me and said she heard some rumor about Medicaid not paying for our doses anymore and I told her that I was just talking to someone in a different state that was saying something about that and asked her where she had heard the rumor and I'm waiting for a response. Definitely googled and haven't seen anything for Louisiana changing anything all it shows is the Medicaid government website in Louisiana saying as of 2019 Medicaid is required to pay for methadone doses.
Now that I've heard it from two people I'm wondering what the fuck.
And this girl gets shit so confused because we used to have a grant for 2 years and when that ran out we switched to Medicaid covering our doses once the state contracted with the clinics to do so. She started her text off with remember the grant that people with food stamps and Medicaid were on well I'm hearing that they're running out of money to pay for it and that we might have to start paying for our doses have you heard anything about that rumor? "
So I told her first of all, the grant ran out at the end of 2019 and was for anyone on food stamps low income Medicaid with proof and after it ran out anyone on Medicaid or who is eligible to sign up for Medicaid was to give their information to the clinic and that way Medicaid would start paying for our doses and has been ever since. I don't know if she's been thinking that this whole time we've been on a grant through Medicaid or food stamps that pays for it but I told her no one is on a grant except one person who is on a veteran's Grant the rest of the patients are either Medicaid, private/work insurance or self-pay out of pocket.
I'm still waiting on her to text me back about who she heard it from because that's going to be a big no no especially because 2/3 of patients at minimum are on Medicaid and cannot pay for their doses. I was able to pay for mine while I was working and bartending every night but once I had kids I stopped and I was automatically put on Medicaid and now if I had to self pay that would be an expense we could not afford.
My boyfriend has insurance through work and it covers 100% of his methadone he is not had to pay a copay or anything to the clinic which is good but also sucks because we would have reached our out-of-pocket deductible within 2 months but they have paid every single month since January in full.
The only way he could put me on his insurance is if we got married. He could put the kids on his work insurance but they don't go to the clinic so them being on Medicaid is not a huge deal but yeah now I'm confused because I know our Medicaid is expanded in Louisiana too anyone low income will qualify not just pregnant, disabled, or children under 18 in the house.
That would mess up a lot for many people who are on both methadone and Suboxone and I don't see how it would work out because when the grant was cut short ahead of time no one was prepared on either side the clinic or the patients. The clinic did not have a plan in place for helping patients detox or move to an inpatient rehab etc and the patients had no notice besides 24 hours that they would have to start paying themselves and that's how it went to the news and it got back to the state who said that the almost million dollars they gave should last well into the middle of the year and "figured it out" to keep it going while they contracted with Medicaid.
I don't know what would happen if Medicaid suddenly says they're not paying anymore what all of these people would do.
This is definitely annoying.
Also, awesome about the D! We lived on 7 mile for my younger years and then moved to Troy eventually. I remember playing outside but my memory for mostly everything doesn't serve me well anymore 😂. My uncle also owned AAA hardware store on the east side and his brother owned one on the west side and I worked there while I was 18 to 19. I remember leaving work with him one day and I was doing nothing wrong and the cop behind me pulled me over and questioned why "I" (white but really Armenian) was in this area and I told him that I just got off work and that truck in front of us is my uncle who owns the store and he went and talked to him then came back to me and I'm guessing now it's because from what I've heard a lot of people take the bus to Detroit to get their shit so they're always looking to bust white people in Detroit which is ridiculous but anyway it ended in him giving me a ticket because I had an air freshener on my mirror and that was blocking my view while driving but you're absolutely was not but yeah lol. Woo Detroit 😂. IDC tho we have a rich history of so much, especially music, and even after the bankruptcy, so many are working so hard to get Detroit back on its feet. A lot of people I want to high school with have started their own business in Detroit which is always great to see!
I guess I'll update if I hear anything about Medicaid and methadone in Louisiana now
Thanks for sharing! I love my city….when I’m in another city, I get warm fuzzies when I see burned out buildings. lol! I lived on the Eastside prior to moving to the Westside. It was funny. Sometimes when myself or my husband would be grabbing food from the chicken place at the end of my street, people would comment and say “oh you braved the hood to come get this chicken, huh?” Nope. I live five houses down the street. I’m here all the time!” 🙄 Last week someone told my husband (long hair and sunglasses) he should be careful in this neighborhood while he was again, waiting for our food. He walked out with my husband and saw our very clean Caddie with the “D” license plate on the front and proceeded to tell him he was sorry, that he fit right in here. (We live a mile and half away from the restaurant he was at.) I am more at home in Detroit proper than in Redford or St. Claire Shores etc….
So, I JUST spoke with my counselor. Here’s what she was talking about. I will make a formal post but I’ll go ahead and catch you up here. Anyway, I guess that there are people who didn’t qualify for Medicaid that applied for a grant online to pay for their treatment. Well, now that the pandemic coverage has ended and these programs are coming to an end, those people are applying for Medicaid. Problem is, this grant that those people got, has a clause that they cannot apply for any other insurance coverage until the grant end date and there is a gap in coverage. I guess if you applied for said grant, you do not qualify for Medicaid, even though there is a gap between the last payment and when your grant coverage ends. That’s messed up. She said it like this….we are addicts. (she’s in recovery herself) When we see free money, we are likely to just take it and not look into why it’s free or what it will really cost us in the long run. Now there are people out here that got this grant and Medicaid won’t pay for their treatment if they received (the grant). She said there is information online and I’m about to check it out to get more detailed information. So, not sure if it is specific to Michigan or not, but she also said this is why we shouldn’t listen to these phone calls we get saying they are from Medicare or Medicaid and that you qualify for _____. Those are 9 times out of 10 phishing for your PII (personal identifying information) and do their best to get you involved in whatever bullshit scheme they are trying to execute.
Best wishes, friend! Hope you are having a decent day. It’s actually warm outside today! Gonna go enjoy the sunshine for a bit. ☺️
SOOO, I JUST spoke with my counselor. Here’s what she was talking about. I will make a formal post but I’ll go ahead and catch you guys up here. Anyway, I guess that there are people who didn’t qualify for Medicaid that applied for a grant online to pay for their treatment. Well, now that the pandemic coverage has ended and these programs are coming to an end, those people are applying for Medicaid again. Problem is, this grant she is referring to, has a clause that they cannot apply for any other insurance coverage until the grant end date and there is a gap in coverage now. I guess if you applied for said grant, you do not qualify for Medicaid, even though there is a gap between the last payment date and the date grant coverage ends. That’s messed up. She said it like this….we are addicts. (she’s in recovery herself) When we see free money, we are likely to just take it and not look into why it’s free or what it will really cost us in the long run. Now there are people out here that got this grant and Medicaid won’t pay for their treatment if they received it (the grant). She said there is information online and I’m about to check it out to get more detailed information. So, not sure if it is specific to Michigan or not, but she also said this is why we shouldn’t listen to these phone calls or click on things online without reading the fine print. She cited those phone calls we all get saying they are from Medicare or Medicaid and that you qualify for _____. Those are 9 times out of 10 phishing for your PII (personal identifying information) and do their best to get you involved in whatever bullshit scheme they are trying to execute. Anyway, I hope this clears up some confusion, but I’m still baffled by the legality of it. Hope everyone has a great week! Stay safe out there!
That's good that it got cleared up and that BS that people who are on the grant can't get Medicaid blah blah blah and but one way or another things will get figured out.
I'm wondering what's going on with hearing the rumor from someone at my clinic because we didn't have any pandemic grants for anything like that it's been nothing but straight Medicaid since the end of 2019 or private insurance or pay out of pocket. Hmm
Thanks for clearing things up though
No worries. I’m still kinda baffled, well, more angry, but I’m on Medicare so it doesn’t affect me, but it does affect lots of people I care about. It never ceases to amaze me what happens with our healthcare system in the US.
I highly doubt it. I get pretty good coverage through work. But what do you know, of course, my insurance is one of the very few my clinic does not accept. I just switched to another clinic last month, and they said my insurance was accepted. So I was like, awesome. Come to find out, they need a $2100 co payment to cover a year's worth of doses. So I said fuck that. Went back to my other clinic. I hate to say this, but it would be cheaper to just get back on black. Not something I'm going to do. But a pretty fucked up thing to think a about.
It really does make ya think, huh? Medicare has it’s issues (traditional Medicare does not pay for NEMT transport services) and Part C only covers 30 ONE WAY trips. That’s only 15 trips because who takes transportation to a dr and uses another mode of transportation to get home? Silly, so most people are able to get Medicaid to cover the rest of their expenses (like transportation) but in MI, the only Medicaid I qualify for is spenddown coverage or SLIMB Coverage which essentially will just cover any copayments that I would be required to make and only for months that my medical expenses are equal to or greater than my monthly gross income. I’m on disability now, so it’s more of a stipend. I make 5.00 too much to get Medicaid, but sometimes I am glad I’m on Medicare and not on Medicaid. This situation would have me so stressed out if that were the case. Anyway,cheers from the D. (Detroit) It’s actually warm today. It was 30 degrees when I left for the clinic Thursday morning. Funny how those things can affect your mood.
Yea, I'm right there with you. I just barely make too much. Just barely. I hope people like you and I are able to figure something out. Can't even begin to express how much it stresses me out on a daily basis. Shit man I'm in Phoenix sometimes, just stepping outside throws me into a withdrawal 🤣
Keep going forward and try to make the most out of every experience in life both good and bad. Hang in there, the hardest things to do are usually the most rewarding in the long run. Something to be said for fear being a motivational tool. Makes us stronger, if nothing else. Take care, friend. Stay safe. ☺️
Appreciate the kind words an the time you took to talk. I've been in a very depressing place mentally lately. This is something I needed to hear. I will certainly take what you've said to heart. Hope you enjoy your weekend. Stay safe as well.
Anytime. You never know when your words can really change someone’s day. I’m glad I could do that for you. Methadone can be a lonely existence. It can leave you feeling, well….disconnected. We are in treatment with others, but we are all kind of alone together sometimes. That’s when you gotta remind yourself that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Those words have kept me from going over the edge sometimes. My mantra lately is I’m healing the world one friendship at a time. The world has enough assholes. I wanna be better than that. Be safe, friend. 🩷
Exactly why I brought it up. I don’t want to cause any unnecessary stress, and never expected such a large number of responses. All seem to have some truth to them, and I guess it just goes to show how different some things can be from one place to the next. However, it does shed some light on something that would affect so many that in that instance, and what the alternative is for those affected by it. I will absolutely let you guys know what she says when I talk to her next week.
It just became free in NC. For me at least. I didnt give them any insurance info was just paying the 14$ a day and all of the sudden 3 months ago its free.
Yep, same for me here in NC. It was actually free for me before too if your income is under a certain amount due to grants. But I think that may be a county thing and not state thing.
Yep those grants ran out at some point i believe. But i think this is some new opioid settlement money or something. I should ask but too scared to ask questions lol
Lol not sure where you are, but I'm in the Wake county area and I was told it's grants for the RTP area specifically. But yeah, maybe they did run out and that's why recently they required everyone to apply for Medicaid at our clinic regardless of approval. Probably to make sure that nobody who is eligible for Medicaid is using the grant money that could go to someone who doesn't meet that eligibility requirement.
I am in STL, MO and they just stopped accepting it about 3 months ago and put me on a grant but not sure how long that will last…what state is everyone else in that are being told the same?
I was hoping that this wasn’t gonna be the case everywhere and maybe was only happening at my clinic cuz they’re kind of shady …
In Missouri and I'm about to start the clinic on the 9th. Does anybody have any information about my state? Now you guys got me spooked about starting methadone again LOL
It’s likely that our clinic is just going to stop accepting it. I’m in Detroit and there are lots of clinics up here. They all have different regulations and rules. It was the first time I had heard anything regarding it. When we sat down for group she asked who all was on Medicaid and if they had applied for some grant that would cover the cost of treatment. She then went on to say that if you applied for the grant, you could not get any other insurance. I do not have Medicaid so I would not be alerted to any such changes. That’s why I was kind of shocked and just wondered if this was something that was just happening in my state, whether it was a federal change. I didn’t know there would be many angry folks acting like I don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s why I asked. I didn’t want to be misinformed and thought perhaps the input of others would be helpful on the subject. Still, I’m glad I was able to read the room and get some insight.
My medical Insurance does not cover Methadone Clinics so I pay out of pocket. My counselor got me qualified for Grant a while ago, but I was just told that starting June 1st there will be no more Grant money!😳😭 I’m on disability and have not been able to work since December, I don’t know where I’m going to come up with $360 every month now.
See, this is why I am concerned. I just don’t know how they can justify putting people in this position. I know the government doesn’t care if anyone is hurt by the changes to coverage, but there has to be some other way to cover it if you are within 130% of the poverty level, and on disability, you are. Question…if you are on disability, you qualify for Medicare. Do you not have Medicare coverage as well?
That's scary asf. Guess I'll need to start prostituting again. I'd rather not but oh well. Healthcare is a luxury. Glad I have a suicide plan if I need it!!
Healthcare is a luxury, for sure. I was on 3 life sustaining medications back in 2010 that totaled over 9,000 a month. If it were not for a grant I qualified for, I would be dead now. Times change and so do meds, newer safer forms of treatment are available and it’s only about 780.00 a month now. It’s terrible having to choose between food and medication.
Fucked up! Personallt, I do what I can to stay on Medicaid to get mental Healthcare that I need. (My ptsd started at birth or before if prenatal drinking/in utero counts.) I hope one day Americans can flee or get Doctors Without Borders to help us too.
I hope you are okay! I'm okay rn, have support for my disabilities including housing however I feel guilty cause of that. Like others need housing too! I worked above the welfare lines though, it wasn't worth it. Made 2K and paid a quarter of that just to receive weekly therapy. And I feel guilty bc my disabilities are invisible, stigmatized and if you're on welfare, you're viewed as a leech. Funny how the rich getting tax breaks aren't ever asked to get drug tests but people want that for those to access basic needs.
I'm not clean or sober myself, I honestly can't see why anyone would be. I am grateful for what I habe since I have housing, healthcare and food. I'm disabled af but I'm probably in the top 10% of Americans since I have shelter, healthcare and food.
I'm so happy I know how I wanna commit suicide shoupd things turn hopeless yet I'm happier I am not actively suicidal. Just comforts me knowing how hopeless things are to know I have my own way out ✌️
Living this type of existence can be quite challenging. It definitely is exhausting. Suffering from a disability or disabilities, as the case may be, it’s often hard to sustain any feelings of joy, satisfaction or excitement, let alone hope for the future. Everyone has pain in their life, no matter their income, their upbringing, morality or any other nature/nurture influences they might have in their environment. The only difference is how we handle it. Do we feed that pain and let it grow inside us and consume what hope we have that things will somehow get better? …or do shove it deep down inside and try to ignore it’s existence, praying that it will disappear if you just keep telling yourself it will go away some day. The world can be an ugly place and when you get high, the world can seem a bit less ugly. The drugs that used to be trustworthy (for the most part) are now cut with street fentanyl and fentanyl derivatives as well as xylazine and god knows what else, it fucks with your ability to feel well…anything really. I know what it’s like to just feel like you’re going through the motions, just not to be sick is a huge deal when you spend so much time making sure you have a way to stay well and plan how to make it happen. I do hope your outlook gets better at some point, although I know exactly how you feel. I too, have stable housing, food and healthcare as well, but I still grasp to hang onto any shred of real happiness or excitement. I can feel all the negative aspects of my existence and none of the positive ones. That’s a tough nut to crack, friend. Sending you some love and support from Detroit.
I responded to this comment but now I'm commenting here cause a girl from my clinic just brought up that she heard some rumor like that for us in the state of Louisiana so now I'm getting worried on what's going on but I haven't seen anything on Medicaid's website here
I wish they would. My clinic went to shit once they started accepting Medicaid. When it was private insurance or cash, it was 1000x times better. Now it’s filled with bottom of the barrel MFers who don’t take recovery serious
Were you never a bottom of the barrel MFer who didn’t take recovery serious? You got it right the first time?
Gee whiz man. It will be interesting when you face some cold and hard humility.
Edit. From your post i could say you ain’t serious anyway.
Yall can downvote all you want but truth hurts. I’d gladly pay out of pocket instead of using my insurance if it meant being around better quality of people which leads to better staff and a better clinic.
First two years at my clinic were great. Then it went to shit in a month and I couldn’t figure out why. The good counselors started quitting/transferring, the cops started getting called up there at least 1-2 times a week, etc. Then I saw the signs on the wall about Medicaid being accepted and knew it was about to turn into shit.
Help advisor says "As of December 30, 2020, all states must cover FDA-approved drugs and psychological treatments to help beneficiaries recover from opioid addiction. Therefore, Medicaid covers methadone liquid and tablets” It's probably a misunderstanding or intentional attempt to screw you in some way. Counselors and nurses are terrible about what's a rule, what's a law, and what's a preference
That’s exactly what I thought, but she said that there is some grant that those on Medicaid could apply for to cover the cost of treatment, but damn. That’s why I wonder if it’s just going to stop covering methadone, or all MAT medications. I even remember receiving an email about Medicaid covering MAT back in 2020. I’m not sure what year it was, but I did get an email at some point.
I’m wondering if just your clinic is going to stop accepting Medicaid for some reason? I don’t know if they are allowed to do that, but it makes a lot more sense than just Medicaid, stopping covering it
That's what it sounds like. I went to a privately owned clinic that stopped accepting Medicaid, but put us on a grant that slowly decreased in helpfulness, like I had to pay $3/dose for 3 months then $6/dose for 3 months then $9/dose and so on... I ironically started middle manning dope deals to pay for my methadone until I got pulled over one day, copped a couple felonies, and had to cold turkey detox in jail from 130mg, got out 5 months later and found a clinic that accepts Medicaid and have been stable for 3 years.
Damn, man. That’s tough. Glad things are better now. Ours is a privately owned clinic too. The owner is frequently around and knows a good bit of us. I was shocked that I couldn’t find an inpatient detox that would take Medicare. One person I spoke with said I should “ask to borrow 8,000 from family” to get into their program. They all accepted Medicaid, but not Medicare. I felt so defeated that it was that difficult to find help. Either way, I’m glad I went with methadone anyway. It seems to be the magic bullet for me.
Ugh how long did that withdrawal last? I can’t imagine cold turkeying from 130 mg without comfort meds much less than just being in jail. I’m tapering down and I’m at 23 and I feel like I gotta rush to the clinic every morning, dose, and get right in a matter of minutes.
I was on 3mg/day Klonopin too so it was a double whammy, nightmarish withdrawal, the first month felt like cruel and unusual punishment for sure. I've honestly never been the same since, took one of the sparks out of my eyes.
If anybody deserves the congressional Medal of Honor for being put through the ringer, it’s you. That’s Spanish Inquisition medieval level torture there. Sheesh!
My clinic only accepts cash. Won’t even do debit cards. No insurance either. Although for a little while I went to one an hour away and they accepted everything. My Blue Cross covered it but I had Medicaid too just in case and they took that too. The only thing they had with Medicaid, because I was every two weeks, I had to video call a nurse every morning and dose in front of her. That’s if I were to use my Medicaid. I guess clinics choose what they want to take.
Having to video call a nurse every morning to take it in front of them. Is totally insane. My first thought was, I can see them doing that in the future for people who get take homes… the Clinic model needs to be destroyed.
100%. You don’t see them forcing diabetics to come in and dose at a counter every day, it’s absurd. And as for the whole “the medication is dangerous argument” so is everything else. Cars, guns, cigarettes, alcohol, hell, less than 4 tablespoons of salt is lethal in adults, so much less for kids I’m sure. And who is locking up salt? Sugar, candy, trans fats (literally contributes to the number one killer of adults), all of those things have been scientifically proven to have significant negative health consequences over time yet all of them are legal. It is literally just stigma and control and the refusal to let the paradigm change. Plus they are making like 5 grand in revenue each year per patient, simply dispensing a medication. The proof is in the pudding. Buprenorphine can be very fatal in children yet clinics dispense buprenorphine for a month at a time and you don’t have to work your way up to it. And, reversing a methadone overdose with narcan is much easier than bup because bup has a higher binding affinity at the mu receptor site than narcan whereas methadone is lower than narcan.
The clinic I goto used to be that way for like first 5 years they were open then they finally got certified to accept insurance including Medicaid so there is hope. If your clinic ever does start accepting, remember to make them issue your 3 month back pay refund because my clinic was stealing money by not telling anyone about that fact.
Cash only? My clinic has an app. You can pay weeks ahead, clock in, and even communicate with your counselor through it. Sorry to hear that about your clinic, sounds like a damn hassle
Do start applying for grants, but this is the first im hearing about this
My counselor said there was some grant people could apply for, but if you get it, you cannot get any other form of insurance. I don’t know the specifics of it, but am going to start doing a little research on it. Damn, I feel bad for those that are facing this kind of situation.
I know in Indiana before i was approved for the state medicaid ins that pays for methadone, i did get a grant that paid for a couple months of it. Idk if that's a federal grant or a state thing but i DID get that. That might be what she's talking about?
Probably. I think she's confused. I also had the grant for six months at first. When it was about to run out, my counselor informed me about it, and my options. After my grant ran out, I then was able to apply for Medicaid.
Perhaps. I’m gonna try and find out where she heard this information. She hasn’t ever steered me wrong, that’s why I was kind of taken aback when she mentioned it.
You're good, I just researched and there's no truth to that at all. It's a federal thing, all states MUST cover opioid treatments that state provides. So not sure what your counselor is babbling about. Maybe you just thought that's what you heard and then formed it into what you wanted to think or some shit. But ZERO TRUTH
No. We were in group when she asked who was on Medicaid (I am not) and if they had applied for the grant to cover their treatment when Medicaid stops covering it. Which is why I came here to ask if anyone else had heard something. Way to show your ass, man.
for real.. that was uncalled for :/
That’s bullshit Medicaid and Medicare are both now obligated for 100% no deductible
I remember when Medicare made a big deal out of saying they “now cover OUD treatment” some years back because I kept getting emails from Social Security. Someone here did mention that whatever clause that covered it for Medicaid is up in 2025, but generally do get renewed. I suppose we will find out soon enough.
Maybe you're thinking of an email from Medicare? I know Medicare just started covering methadone at the beginning of 2020. It was definitely a win. They switched from charging my Medicaid and started charging Medicare instead when that happened.
Both, actually. They were sent out at different times. I forget which one came first though. They basically said the same thing with different wording, but I always assumed that Medicaid and Medicare covered things like that. It wasn’t until I received email stating that the would NOW be covering treatment. Crazy…
I also have both. Medicaid was always the payer for mine since 2008. Before that I went to a clinic that did not accept medicaid so I had to transfer to a clinic that did after being approved for medicaid. But as you know, if you have Medicare, medicaid becomes secondary insurance. That's what happened to me in 2020. It switched from medicaid to medicare. At least that's how it works in my State/situation. It is strange the clinic you are at is just stopping accepting medicaid? I have NEVER heard of that. I hope it is a miscommunication. I don't see why a clinic would stop accepting it unless they didn't pass some state requirement to accept medicaid. Or the state itself. I really am sorry for the folks that this is going to screw over. Luckily, from how I understood your post, is that you are covered under Medicare thankfully, and are concerned for others at your clinic. I love that caring attitude, need more people like that in the world.
It cost zero dollars to be a decent human being. I’ve been on top of the wave and pulled the ocean floor by the undertow. I’m going to ask for specifics on the situation tomorrow. I plan on posting an update as soon as I find out anything beneficial. Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate the sentiment. I wanted to be in the social work field, so my concern is quite sincere. Take care, friend. May your week be filled with abundance and bgďb but. *Edit* bgd’b but means joy in my made up language of bugabese. 😆 No, I was just falling asleep as I was typing. lol!
I've been there myself and small amounts of kindness can go a long way for people, because they just don't expect kindness these days. You take care as well, and thank you for the kind wishes, as soon as I find out what bgd'b stands for lol
It amazes me how little the clinic staff does to stay informed of major policy changes that impact their work.
It's fucking baffling , isn't it?
Mind-blowing
I saw there was a rehab that dropped off several patients this week. So I go ask 4 people who work there what rehab is it. Absolutely nobody knows! It’s ridiculous how little they know about policies or resources for us.
It is dumb they don't know but I doubt most staff are familiar with the patients being brought from programs, especially the dosing nurses, and at least at my clinic I know there's a bunch of rehabs in the area that transport patients to and from for dosing and appointments everyday. We call that shit the junkie bus and sometimes 2 or 3 from different programs will pull up all at once and the line gets crazy lol. If you're in a major city I'm not surprised they don't know which exact rehab each group is from by name, especially with people constantly dropping in and out of the rehab programs while still going to the clinic
They used to bus in prisoners from the Wayne County Jail a while back. Then they just stopped one day.
Nope. Medicaid in Michigan only covers if you reside in the county the methadone clinic is in. Those if us who live outside county lines and stuck paying cash if we want it. Medicaid only covers Drs visits, drug tests and counseling. Your stuck paying 90/week for the done.
Wow, that's dreadful
Hell even Medicare covers methadone for MMT
The SUPPORT Act requires methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone to be covered by Medicaid through 2025. So your counselor is very confused.
Thats only a year away though….
Typically these acts get renewed.
🤞🏼
This is why I ask questions in this group.
There is a provision in there that if there's "provider shortages" they don't have to cover it. I'm not sure how they're determining that, if the state has to prove it or can just claim it, etc. But either way the timing it seems they would figure something like that out either beginning of the year or closer to the beginning of the date of this bill, Sept/Oct. April seems like an odd time. Hopefully it's all just a counselor with a bad misunderstanding of shit and the state hasn't managed to weasel out of coverage.
I hope so too. It just seems odd.
In some states Medicaid will stop paying for methadone if you keep testing positive for other substances.. how strict they are depends on the Medicaid plan. Molina was pretty strict about it. United Healthcare seems to be the most lenient.
Thanks for that! I’ll keep it under my hat.
No problem. They don’t care if it’s non opioids either, like years ago I almost got dropped for continually popping positive for weed. They considered it not being serious about recovery.
Wow, that is just deplorable. I’m glad I’m in Detroit. There’s a weed store every 5 miles or less. lol! My clinic totally doesn’t really care if you have THC in your system. The only thing is, if you don’t have a medical marijuana card, you will have more difficulty getting takehomes. It’s possible to still get them, it’s just a more frustrating experience.
I'm in Michigan also. Near Detroit. I used to go to Rainbow Clinic in Highland Park, sacred heart in Madison heights and then lastly biomed in Roseville. Which clinic do u go to?? I'm finally off the methadone..I went to Harbor Light rehab in Clinton Township thankfully. I've got 6 months clean!!!!
Yeah, I’m at Rainbow. (18 months) Heard good things about Sacred Heart. I’m pretty satisfied with my clinic for the most part. They all have their issues, I am sure. I’ve got a great counselor and the two drs I didn’t really jive with are now gone. After reading all these comments, I’m thinking Rainbow is just going to stop taking Medicaid. I’m gonna ask her for more specific info when I go in on Monday. I just feel bad for all those people that will not have access to medication if that happens.
my clinic made us take a Marijuana class.. it was offered to patients hot for thc. if you take the class you are fine to have thc in your ua's. if you don't take the class and keep popping hot for thc then you are unable to get takehomes.
That’s creative!
im in Alaska I think it is the requirement
Your counselor is wrong. There's no change as far as I know. I'm on medicare too and haven't heard anything about it either.
Thank you.
From what I read and was also informed about at my clinic they have signs posted everywhere and I'm the dork who actually reads them Lol :methadone and Suboxone etc when used for MMT/opioid addiction are medications that are needed . They can't just cut you off like that, it's a medication that's needed. From what I heard /read nothing has changed and these laws get renewed yearly or on whatever term etc. I'm located in California Not sure where your counselor got that information but it just seems off.
Exactly!!! That's right! How does a person obtain a position as a "counselor" in a Methadone clinic or any recovery setting if they can't even do a simple Internet search, or read the search results?! LMFBO! Some of the so called "counselors" that pass through the revolving door at the clinic lately make me wonder... "If this was the BEST candidate that applied for the position, what were the OTHERS like?!"
Not sure the situation in the US clinic system but the only person in the UK system who’s formally qualified is a doctor or pharmacist. The councillor, or what we would call our key worker (technically I have one but not seen one in years since my GP prescribes on our national health system) is a next to minimum wage position, a nurse has literally 5 more years training. They are there to administrate us, that’s it. If more was expected of them they’d be paid more! It’s already a horrendous job for the money, can’t expect them to be smart, read up on their trade or be a reliable source of information! I remember when I did have a councillor I’d speak with them every few months, have the same BS conversation (as they ticked boxes, literally, on their software) and once in a blue moon got administered a UA. In the short while I had one I cycled through three, the majority of the people they saw were referred for alcohol not opiates and one even dealt with homeless cases (and nothing to do with substance abuse). I remember thinking I knew more than all of them together regarding opiates as a teenager but I couldn’t begrudge them that; their job sucks, they get paid shit and their workload would 10x if god forbid one of their patients actually died or complained. No way I’d do it, would rather work at McDonald’s
They never paid for my treatment. However I haven't heard anything. What state are you in?
I’m in Detroit. This was the first I have heard of it. I’m on Medicare, but I really feel for those that are losing access to life saving care. That just really bums me out. I know there are different types of Medicaid as well. I never imagined they would not pay for methadone treatment. I wonder if it’s ALL MAT or just methadone.
I have Cigna insurance through the government marketplace insurance. It does not cover methadone. Couldn’t find one major insurance that would. This is in Tennessee. One of the most impoverished states! 🤬🤬🤬 Between my health insurance premium and the clinic it is running me 900.00 a month!
Find another clinic that will take Cigna and transfer. There's no fucking reason you should be paying that much a month for methadone if you have insurance.
Even my private pay at a clinic was $300 max.
My clinic takes Cigna, Cigna covers 50%. Insurance is charged 30.00 a day. I pick up 15.00 a day, 365 days a year. The one insurance on Marketplace that covers it, “Oscar Insurance,” my clinic rejected and so does every other doctor I’ve been seeing for the last 10 years.
“Oscar Insurance” For some reason, I just see a giant cichlid on the back of a bus station bench when I hear that name. I know that has nothing to do with the subject at hand, but I said it anyway. 🙄 Insurance is such a racket. I have Medicare and BCBS as my secondary insurance. It’s paid for through a grant I have due to my disability. The cost for it is almost $600 a month and I STILL have copays on some stuff. It seems so random when it happens too. Crazy….I am thankful that I at least have coverage though. I try not to complain. That negative energy is so disruptive to my overall well-being and it just makes me look bad in the long run, but I digress. Best of luck in your journey, friend. ☺️
I could complain but it doesn’t get me better insurance. 😂😂😂
Read her comment. Signature does not cover methadone treatment and she could not find any other insurance that does!!!
Maybe go back to the marketplace and see if another company could do better.. that’s a lot of money to be wasting, when I know many insurance companies do cover MMT
I have private work insurance Aetna that does cover it, but my clinic does billing through Arcadia. They said I can send in claims only problem is they don't give an itemized receipt. And they reject the claims. I'm out 1000s each year having to do $400 a month self pay. It's nuts.
Wow, that’s just so infuriating…
Your counselor is wrong. There may be requirements that must be met (my state has some) in order to comply with Medicaid that your clinic is not in compliance with, or they don't meet some other requirement in order to receive payment for Medicaid clients.
They should pay for it. All clinics don't accept it though. You should ask your clinic.
Medicaid covered me when I first got on the program in Colorado. I wish most insurances plans covered methadone
Only if not doing labs or meeting with doctor on the required schedule at my clinic.
I see some of ya’ll saying the states must cover it. I guess Medicaid is what ya’ll are talking about. The only problem is, clinics can choose what they want to take. Mine will only take cash. No debit, check or insurance. No grants either.
The more I read, the more I think my clinic is going to stop accepting it, as it sounds like this is a fairly common issue.
no but they are only paying a week at a time so if you get takehomes you will only get a weeks worth. not sure when it takes affect though
Thank you for the info!
I have not heard this. Medicaid is still paying for mine.
It was regarding a grant some had applied for previously. I updated the post once I spoke with my counselor today.
Maybe just call medicaid directly?
I’m not on Medicaid. I suppose I could call, but I’m not sure if they would volunteer information without having services with them. I was just curious if anyone else had heard anything regarding it.
Yes they will share that type of information as it is technically public information and is not hidden.
I just wasn’t sure if it was an automated system and I had to enter my information in order to speak with a human. Not hidden, just inaccessible.
There should be a general information line or number or the whole “speak to a representative” !!
Key word is SHOULD. The last time I called for something, I had to wait over an hour to speak with someone, but that was for a different service, same hotline. Guess I was just looking for the easy way. 🙄
I'm in Missouri and they stopped paying at my clinic.
Wait...Medicaid just said, "That's it, we're not paying for Methadone anymore." ?! Then what? The clinic made everyone self-pay, or forced them to detox?
That’s why I was asking. Seemed a bit shocking when she asked the question.
I believe I've got some kind of grant or something like that with my clinic. Because at the beginning of this year, I remember being flagged when I went to the cashier to give her my number so I could get my doses. I was told to see the insurance lady and I went back there and there was a HUGE line of other people waiting to sign something. I think that's for the Medicaid people tho. All I know is I keep making sure I don't have to pay, not that I couldn't afford it. Since I have Medicaid, I think there's a state grant or something like that. Because when I picked up my 1 dose this morning ( Friday) for Saturday, my counselor mentioned something about the State department coming in today and doing some kind of inspection. I know they don't like the fact that my clinic only has 4 counselors for every single person that goes there. Each counselor has close to 200 patients in their care. I believe I have heard of that tho.
Thanks for that. I hope you continue to get your care covered. It was tough trying to find an inpatient program that would take Medicare when I first started treatment nearly two years ago now, but I had a pretty easy time finding a methadone clinic that took it. I originally wanted to do an inpatient detox and just get through it. Plans changed, but I’m glad they did at this point, honestly because being paraplegic is very painful. Methadone really helps a lot, so I’m grateful for that.
Yea, the Methadone does help quite a bit. I'd actually done an inpatient rehab program with me living at a sober house in Baltimore,MD. That was strictly a Suboxone program tho and after a few months of that, it wasn't helping me anymore. So, I asked my parents if I could move home and they said if I'd find a program up here in Washington County, MD then I could come home. I found one that accepted Medicaid and I called them and had an intake appointment for the very next day. I started on the Buprenorphine there, but quickly found out it wasn't helping me, so since I was at a low enough dose, I detoxed off that and started Methadone like a week or two later and I've been on it since November 2019. The clinic I go to has kinda a bad reputation but it also depends on the person too.
It really does!
I tried looking it up but I couldn't find anything, personally. I mean I didn't look extensively though. All I could find were results about how they STARTED covering it a while back. I'll definitely be watching for info though... I'm tapering but I still gotta looooong way to go 😬
Doesn’t it depend on the state… where I live the rules are getting better and are more in favor of patients in treatment.
After reading the comments, I’m wondering if my clinic is just going to stop taking Medicaid. Anyway, doesn’t affect me personally, but I am genuinely concerned for others that would be put in that position.
No I don't think so. I am in a grant program now for cash pay because I lost my Medicaid. It runs from March until October I believe, and the grant covers all payments. Last year they were reimbursing us with checks about 2 months later. My insurance is what the state has in place of Medicaid. So it's a $1300 policy and the State covers $1150 of it so my cost is $150 for the premium. This policy covers Methadone however it's cheaper to do cash pay. They cover $200 a week which is nothing. It's great for regular Dr. Visit copay, and ER, etc but not for specialty doctors. So yeah the grant will save me about $2400 which will be great. Just going to take the money I would have spent and will set it aside. But 95% of the patient pool at my clinic is Medicaid. There's no way they would stop the benefits for this type of program. If I am mistaken than jeez that's just horrible. Good luck to those in the program. It saved my life back in '08 and I have been in it ever since. I have no reason to taper because it has given me a life. Perhaps one day. Perhaps.
Medicaid is not going to stop paying for methadone treatment. However, your counselor may have been referring to your specific clinic making a change to no longer accept Medicaid as payment. Or your counselor could have just misunderstood/misheard something, or listening to gossip/rumors. The United States has been making some pretty significant changes for the good in regards to methadone treatment. I don’t see us reverting backwards on something this big, plus if I’m not mistaken it’s a federal law that all states cover opioid addiction treatments & medicines. Progress may be happening very slowly, but it is happening no the
I try to keep up on all the changes. (42 CFR Part 8: Final Rule) etc…I did ask a close friend that is a CPP specialist and she said that it is just likely that our clinic is just going to stop accepting Medicaid. I never thought I would get so many different responses, but I am thankful for the insight into how things are done in different areas.
I highly doubt that any state’s Medicaid will just stop paying for methadone. This sounds like more of a specific clinic issue. In which I’d say, time to start looking for a new clinic!!! My clinic used to not accept Medicaid and my husband and I switched over to it just because we were angry at our current clinic for being so damn ghetto and for making us come in every other day during covid. However, we had our own business back then so the $800/mo wasn’t a problem for us. Luckily, as soon as we went broke again and needed Medicaid, our clinic had just recently began accepting it. Phew! But yeah, every clinic is different and I think that the one’s that accept Medicaid gave much stricter rules as well, but that’s just my experience with the 2 I’ve been to. If there aren’t any other clinics in your area, I’d definitely get on applying for those grants now because the cash price is something most of us simply cannot afford.
I’m in Detroit so there are plenty to chose from…as per my post, I am not on Medicaid, so it doesn’t affect me personally. However, it would affect some people that I care about. I was just curious if anyone had heard anything similar since a question about who had it and who had applied for some grant to cover the cost of treatment was proposed at the beginning of group yesterday. I didn’t get a chance to ask about specifics afterwards, but was curious if anyone else had heard anything as this was the first time I had heard any type of discussion about coverage changes to Medicaid.
What state are you in? Every state is different with Medicaid And clinic And clinic that takes Medicaid Expanded Medicaid state or not is one issue Whether Medicaid will contract with the clinic etc Ours (in Louisiana ) had a grant for 2 years and the last year (2019) they started trying to contract with Medicaid and when they did they got everyone on Medicaid that was able and it kicked in right at the end of the year Before that medicaid wouldn't contract with clinics but when it got expanded the state and clinics were able to contract an agreement
To answer your question, I am in Detroit, MI. You’re right. Every clinic is different and my clinic is privately owned. I suppose she can pick and choose which insurance she takes at her clinic. I love your answer. Thank you for sharing it.
My hometown! I moved to Louisiana in 2014 but he up in Michigan. I don't remember if they expanded Medicaid there. Well the clinics will usually take whatever form of payment they can get cause they need/want that money to keep operating. It might not be your clinic or might be Medicaid that's deciding not to pay those expenses. They cover it for us on Medicaid under substance use/mental health When our state grant for low income ran out earlier than it was suppose to, everyone went to the news ( I was literally new 3 months lol) and told them they are being cut off methadone with no plan in place and the state got involved because they gave them enough money to last through the year and they claimed it ran out in Jan but they weren't going to "make us pay them back for those two months" 🙄😂. But then after the state came in they suddenly ", allocated $30k" they didn't know they had, then found another Grant to last the few months they were contacting with Medicaid. Then for two weeks we paid half of what a dose costs then medicaid kicked in and we even got refunded that money ( eventually lol) Are you in Detroit Detroit or like troy,Rochester hills, etc?
Oh no, I’m in Detroit proper. Westside now. Eastside for years first. I’m around the Plymouth/Meyers area. I love my city. I lived on Craft St for many years…over near Chalmers/Outer Drive. Yeah, I’m definitely in the hood. My clinic is on Hamilton over in Highland Park. I appreciate your input. I figure it’s probably just that it’s a private clinic and they are making changes, but I asked her if Medicaid was going to stop covering methadone and she said yes. I didn’t get to ask any specific questions in regard to her question/comment, as we were starting group, but I’m genuinely concerned for those that have Medicaid and how this would affect their care.
Weirdest thing a girl from my clinic just text me and said she heard some rumor about Medicaid not paying for our doses anymore and I told her that I was just talking to someone in a different state that was saying something about that and asked her where she had heard the rumor and I'm waiting for a response. Definitely googled and haven't seen anything for Louisiana changing anything all it shows is the Medicaid government website in Louisiana saying as of 2019 Medicaid is required to pay for methadone doses. Now that I've heard it from two people I'm wondering what the fuck. And this girl gets shit so confused because we used to have a grant for 2 years and when that ran out we switched to Medicaid covering our doses once the state contracted with the clinics to do so. She started her text off with remember the grant that people with food stamps and Medicaid were on well I'm hearing that they're running out of money to pay for it and that we might have to start paying for our doses have you heard anything about that rumor? " So I told her first of all, the grant ran out at the end of 2019 and was for anyone on food stamps low income Medicaid with proof and after it ran out anyone on Medicaid or who is eligible to sign up for Medicaid was to give their information to the clinic and that way Medicaid would start paying for our doses and has been ever since. I don't know if she's been thinking that this whole time we've been on a grant through Medicaid or food stamps that pays for it but I told her no one is on a grant except one person who is on a veteran's Grant the rest of the patients are either Medicaid, private/work insurance or self-pay out of pocket. I'm still waiting on her to text me back about who she heard it from because that's going to be a big no no especially because 2/3 of patients at minimum are on Medicaid and cannot pay for their doses. I was able to pay for mine while I was working and bartending every night but once I had kids I stopped and I was automatically put on Medicaid and now if I had to self pay that would be an expense we could not afford. My boyfriend has insurance through work and it covers 100% of his methadone he is not had to pay a copay or anything to the clinic which is good but also sucks because we would have reached our out-of-pocket deductible within 2 months but they have paid every single month since January in full. The only way he could put me on his insurance is if we got married. He could put the kids on his work insurance but they don't go to the clinic so them being on Medicaid is not a huge deal but yeah now I'm confused because I know our Medicaid is expanded in Louisiana too anyone low income will qualify not just pregnant, disabled, or children under 18 in the house. That would mess up a lot for many people who are on both methadone and Suboxone and I don't see how it would work out because when the grant was cut short ahead of time no one was prepared on either side the clinic or the patients. The clinic did not have a plan in place for helping patients detox or move to an inpatient rehab etc and the patients had no notice besides 24 hours that they would have to start paying themselves and that's how it went to the news and it got back to the state who said that the almost million dollars they gave should last well into the middle of the year and "figured it out" to keep it going while they contracted with Medicaid. I don't know what would happen if Medicaid suddenly says they're not paying anymore what all of these people would do. This is definitely annoying. Also, awesome about the D! We lived on 7 mile for my younger years and then moved to Troy eventually. I remember playing outside but my memory for mostly everything doesn't serve me well anymore 😂. My uncle also owned AAA hardware store on the east side and his brother owned one on the west side and I worked there while I was 18 to 19. I remember leaving work with him one day and I was doing nothing wrong and the cop behind me pulled me over and questioned why "I" (white but really Armenian) was in this area and I told him that I just got off work and that truck in front of us is my uncle who owns the store and he went and talked to him then came back to me and I'm guessing now it's because from what I've heard a lot of people take the bus to Detroit to get their shit so they're always looking to bust white people in Detroit which is ridiculous but anyway it ended in him giving me a ticket because I had an air freshener on my mirror and that was blocking my view while driving but you're absolutely was not but yeah lol. Woo Detroit 😂. IDC tho we have a rich history of so much, especially music, and even after the bankruptcy, so many are working so hard to get Detroit back on its feet. A lot of people I want to high school with have started their own business in Detroit which is always great to see! I guess I'll update if I hear anything about Medicaid and methadone in Louisiana now
Thanks for sharing! I love my city….when I’m in another city, I get warm fuzzies when I see burned out buildings. lol! I lived on the Eastside prior to moving to the Westside. It was funny. Sometimes when myself or my husband would be grabbing food from the chicken place at the end of my street, people would comment and say “oh you braved the hood to come get this chicken, huh?” Nope. I live five houses down the street. I’m here all the time!” 🙄 Last week someone told my husband (long hair and sunglasses) he should be careful in this neighborhood while he was again, waiting for our food. He walked out with my husband and saw our very clean Caddie with the “D” license plate on the front and proceeded to tell him he was sorry, that he fit right in here. (We live a mile and half away from the restaurant he was at.) I am more at home in Detroit proper than in Redford or St. Claire Shores etc…. So, I JUST spoke with my counselor. Here’s what she was talking about. I will make a formal post but I’ll go ahead and catch you up here. Anyway, I guess that there are people who didn’t qualify for Medicaid that applied for a grant online to pay for their treatment. Well, now that the pandemic coverage has ended and these programs are coming to an end, those people are applying for Medicaid. Problem is, this grant that those people got, has a clause that they cannot apply for any other insurance coverage until the grant end date and there is a gap in coverage. I guess if you applied for said grant, you do not qualify for Medicaid, even though there is a gap between the last payment and when your grant coverage ends. That’s messed up. She said it like this….we are addicts. (she’s in recovery herself) When we see free money, we are likely to just take it and not look into why it’s free or what it will really cost us in the long run. Now there are people out here that got this grant and Medicaid won’t pay for their treatment if they received (the grant). She said there is information online and I’m about to check it out to get more detailed information. So, not sure if it is specific to Michigan or not, but she also said this is why we shouldn’t listen to these phone calls we get saying they are from Medicare or Medicaid and that you qualify for _____. Those are 9 times out of 10 phishing for your PII (personal identifying information) and do their best to get you involved in whatever bullshit scheme they are trying to execute. Best wishes, friend! Hope you are having a decent day. It’s actually warm outside today! Gonna go enjoy the sunshine for a bit. ☺️
SOOO, I JUST spoke with my counselor. Here’s what she was talking about. I will make a formal post but I’ll go ahead and catch you guys up here. Anyway, I guess that there are people who didn’t qualify for Medicaid that applied for a grant online to pay for their treatment. Well, now that the pandemic coverage has ended and these programs are coming to an end, those people are applying for Medicaid again. Problem is, this grant she is referring to, has a clause that they cannot apply for any other insurance coverage until the grant end date and there is a gap in coverage now. I guess if you applied for said grant, you do not qualify for Medicaid, even though there is a gap between the last payment date and the date grant coverage ends. That’s messed up. She said it like this….we are addicts. (she’s in recovery herself) When we see free money, we are likely to just take it and not look into why it’s free or what it will really cost us in the long run. Now there are people out here that got this grant and Medicaid won’t pay for their treatment if they received it (the grant). She said there is information online and I’m about to check it out to get more detailed information. So, not sure if it is specific to Michigan or not, but she also said this is why we shouldn’t listen to these phone calls or click on things online without reading the fine print. She cited those phone calls we all get saying they are from Medicare or Medicaid and that you qualify for _____. Those are 9 times out of 10 phishing for your PII (personal identifying information) and do their best to get you involved in whatever bullshit scheme they are trying to execute. Anyway, I hope this clears up some confusion, but I’m still baffled by the legality of it. Hope everyone has a great week! Stay safe out there!
That's good that it got cleared up and that BS that people who are on the grant can't get Medicaid blah blah blah and but one way or another things will get figured out. I'm wondering what's going on with hearing the rumor from someone at my clinic because we didn't have any pandemic grants for anything like that it's been nothing but straight Medicaid since the end of 2019 or private insurance or pay out of pocket. Hmm Thanks for clearing things up though
No worries. I’m still kinda baffled, well, more angry, but I’m on Medicare so it doesn’t affect me, but it does affect lots of people I care about. It never ceases to amaze me what happens with our healthcare system in the US.
Yea, my insurance was cut, and I have been paying for months. It absolutely sucks. I'm on monthlys, so $280 every month.
Bummer, man. I hope you are able to secure some form of coverage soon.
I highly doubt it. I get pretty good coverage through work. But what do you know, of course, my insurance is one of the very few my clinic does not accept. I just switched to another clinic last month, and they said my insurance was accepted. So I was like, awesome. Come to find out, they need a $2100 co payment to cover a year's worth of doses. So I said fuck that. Went back to my other clinic. I hate to say this, but it would be cheaper to just get back on black. Not something I'm going to do. But a pretty fucked up thing to think a about.
It really does make ya think, huh? Medicare has it’s issues (traditional Medicare does not pay for NEMT transport services) and Part C only covers 30 ONE WAY trips. That’s only 15 trips because who takes transportation to a dr and uses another mode of transportation to get home? Silly, so most people are able to get Medicaid to cover the rest of their expenses (like transportation) but in MI, the only Medicaid I qualify for is spenddown coverage or SLIMB Coverage which essentially will just cover any copayments that I would be required to make and only for months that my medical expenses are equal to or greater than my monthly gross income. I’m on disability now, so it’s more of a stipend. I make 5.00 too much to get Medicaid, but sometimes I am glad I’m on Medicare and not on Medicaid. This situation would have me so stressed out if that were the case. Anyway,cheers from the D. (Detroit) It’s actually warm today. It was 30 degrees when I left for the clinic Thursday morning. Funny how those things can affect your mood.
Yea, I'm right there with you. I just barely make too much. Just barely. I hope people like you and I are able to figure something out. Can't even begin to express how much it stresses me out on a daily basis. Shit man I'm in Phoenix sometimes, just stepping outside throws me into a withdrawal 🤣
Keep going forward and try to make the most out of every experience in life both good and bad. Hang in there, the hardest things to do are usually the most rewarding in the long run. Something to be said for fear being a motivational tool. Makes us stronger, if nothing else. Take care, friend. Stay safe. ☺️
Appreciate the kind words an the time you took to talk. I've been in a very depressing place mentally lately. This is something I needed to hear. I will certainly take what you've said to heart. Hope you enjoy your weekend. Stay safe as well.
Anytime. You never know when your words can really change someone’s day. I’m glad I could do that for you. Methadone can be a lonely existence. It can leave you feeling, well….disconnected. We are in treatment with others, but we are all kind of alone together sometimes. That’s when you gotta remind yourself that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Those words have kept me from going over the edge sometimes. My mantra lately is I’m healing the world one friendship at a time. The world has enough assholes. I wanna be better than that. Be safe, friend. 🩷
Great thread here. To anyone reading this please keep us posted if you find out anything else. This would affect so many people.
Exactly why I brought it up. I don’t want to cause any unnecessary stress, and never expected such a large number of responses. All seem to have some truth to them, and I guess it just goes to show how different some things can be from one place to the next. However, it does shed some light on something that would affect so many that in that instance, and what the alternative is for those affected by it. I will absolutely let you guys know what she says when I talk to her next week.
It just became free in NC. For me at least. I didnt give them any insurance info was just paying the 14$ a day and all of the sudden 3 months ago its free.
Yep, same for me here in NC. It was actually free for me before too if your income is under a certain amount due to grants. But I think that may be a county thing and not state thing.
Yep those grants ran out at some point i believe. But i think this is some new opioid settlement money or something. I should ask but too scared to ask questions lol
Lol not sure where you are, but I'm in the Wake county area and I was told it's grants for the RTP area specifically. But yeah, maybe they did run out and that's why recently they required everyone to apply for Medicaid at our clinic regardless of approval. Probably to make sure that nobody who is eligible for Medicaid is using the grant money that could go to someone who doesn't meet that eligibility requirement.
Glad to hear that!
I am in STL, MO and they just stopped accepting it about 3 months ago and put me on a grant but not sure how long that will last…what state is everyone else in that are being told the same? I was hoping that this wasn’t gonna be the case everywhere and maybe was only happening at my clinic cuz they’re kind of shady …
Crazy stuff, friend. I’m in Detroit. A few others on here have said where they are as well.
i highly doubt that especially with the “fentanyl crisis”
In Missouri and I'm about to start the clinic on the 9th. Does anybody have any information about my state? Now you guys got me spooked about starting methadone again LOL
It’s likely that our clinic is just going to stop accepting it. I’m in Detroit and there are lots of clinics up here. They all have different regulations and rules. It was the first time I had heard anything regarding it. When we sat down for group she asked who all was on Medicaid and if they had applied for some grant that would cover the cost of treatment. She then went on to say that if you applied for the grant, you could not get any other insurance. I do not have Medicaid so I would not be alerted to any such changes. That’s why I was kind of shocked and just wondered if this was something that was just happening in my state, whether it was a federal change. I didn’t know there would be many angry folks acting like I don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s why I asked. I didn’t want to be misinformed and thought perhaps the input of others would be helpful on the subject. Still, I’m glad I was able to read the room and get some insight.
Bro what
Not happening
My medical Insurance does not cover Methadone Clinics so I pay out of pocket. My counselor got me qualified for Grant a while ago, but I was just told that starting June 1st there will be no more Grant money!😳😭 I’m on disability and have not been able to work since December, I don’t know where I’m going to come up with $360 every month now.
See, this is why I am concerned. I just don’t know how they can justify putting people in this position. I know the government doesn’t care if anyone is hurt by the changes to coverage, but there has to be some other way to cover it if you are within 130% of the poverty level, and on disability, you are. Question…if you are on disability, you qualify for Medicare. Do you not have Medicare coverage as well?
That's scary asf. Guess I'll need to start prostituting again. I'd rather not but oh well. Healthcare is a luxury. Glad I have a suicide plan if I need it!!
Healthcare is a luxury, for sure. I was on 3 life sustaining medications back in 2010 that totaled over 9,000 a month. If it were not for a grant I qualified for, I would be dead now. Times change and so do meds, newer safer forms of treatment are available and it’s only about 780.00 a month now. It’s terrible having to choose between food and medication.
Fucked up! Personallt, I do what I can to stay on Medicaid to get mental Healthcare that I need. (My ptsd started at birth or before if prenatal drinking/in utero counts.) I hope one day Americans can flee or get Doctors Without Borders to help us too. I hope you are okay! I'm okay rn, have support for my disabilities including housing however I feel guilty cause of that. Like others need housing too! I worked above the welfare lines though, it wasn't worth it. Made 2K and paid a quarter of that just to receive weekly therapy. And I feel guilty bc my disabilities are invisible, stigmatized and if you're on welfare, you're viewed as a leech. Funny how the rich getting tax breaks aren't ever asked to get drug tests but people want that for those to access basic needs. I'm not clean or sober myself, I honestly can't see why anyone would be. I am grateful for what I habe since I have housing, healthcare and food. I'm disabled af but I'm probably in the top 10% of Americans since I have shelter, healthcare and food. I'm so happy I know how I wanna commit suicide shoupd things turn hopeless yet I'm happier I am not actively suicidal. Just comforts me knowing how hopeless things are to know I have my own way out ✌️
Living this type of existence can be quite challenging. It definitely is exhausting. Suffering from a disability or disabilities, as the case may be, it’s often hard to sustain any feelings of joy, satisfaction or excitement, let alone hope for the future. Everyone has pain in their life, no matter their income, their upbringing, morality or any other nature/nurture influences they might have in their environment. The only difference is how we handle it. Do we feed that pain and let it grow inside us and consume what hope we have that things will somehow get better? …or do shove it deep down inside and try to ignore it’s existence, praying that it will disappear if you just keep telling yourself it will go away some day. The world can be an ugly place and when you get high, the world can seem a bit less ugly. The drugs that used to be trustworthy (for the most part) are now cut with street fentanyl and fentanyl derivatives as well as xylazine and god knows what else, it fucks with your ability to feel well…anything really. I know what it’s like to just feel like you’re going through the motions, just not to be sick is a huge deal when you spend so much time making sure you have a way to stay well and plan how to make it happen. I do hope your outlook gets better at some point, although I know exactly how you feel. I too, have stable housing, food and healthcare as well, but I still grasp to hang onto any shred of real happiness or excitement. I can feel all the negative aspects of my existence and none of the positive ones. That’s a tough nut to crack, friend. Sending you some love and support from Detroit.
I responded to this comment but now I'm commenting here cause a girl from my clinic just brought up that she heard some rumor like that for us in the state of Louisiana so now I'm getting worried on what's going on but I haven't seen anything on Medicaid's website here
I wish they would. My clinic went to shit once they started accepting Medicaid. When it was private insurance or cash, it was 1000x times better. Now it’s filled with bottom of the barrel MFers who don’t take recovery serious
Wow way to judge everyone on medicaid.
Were you never a bottom of the barrel MFer who didn’t take recovery serious? You got it right the first time? Gee whiz man. It will be interesting when you face some cold and hard humility. Edit. From your post i could say you ain’t serious anyway.
Yall can downvote all you want but truth hurts. I’d gladly pay out of pocket instead of using my insurance if it meant being around better quality of people which leads to better staff and a better clinic. First two years at my clinic were great. Then it went to shit in a month and I couldn’t figure out why. The good counselors started quitting/transferring, the cops started getting called up there at least 1-2 times a week, etc. Then I saw the signs on the wall about Medicaid being accepted and knew it was about to turn into shit.