TennCare Insurance, Tennessee, and other things that suck.
Posted: September 1, 2009 Filed under: The Hen House | Tags: Blue Care Tennessee, Chattanooga Tn, MotherClucker's Blog, TennCare Insurance 3 Comments »TennCare Blue Care insurance is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s version of medicaid. My daughter and I use Blue Care insurance. There is just one problem. It is government insurance, and no one wants to accept it. They send me a booklet full of physicians that I can use, and when I call them, they practically hang up on me when I tell them what insurance I carry. I have been trying since June to find another doctor for my daughter. Today, I called one office and here was our correspondence…
Me: “Hi, are you all accepting new patients?”
Rude Receptionist: “What kind of insurance do you have?”
Me: “Blue Care of Tennessee.”
Rude Receptionists: “NO!”
End of call.
The next office I called was even worse.
Me: “Do you all accept Blue Care Insurance?”
Rude Receptionist: “Yes!”
Me: “Are you accepting new patients?”
Long pause by rude receptionist, then a very aggravated “Yes”
Me: “You sound very angry, why is that?”
Rude Receptionist: “Well, I am, I was doing something when you called, and you interrupted me!”
Me: “Well, you can just go back to what you were doing that was so important because I am hanging up now!”
End of call.
At my wits end, I finally decided not to use this blatantly useless insurance, and just pay out of pocket to take my daughter to a decent doctor. I decided to call a very pleasant doctor’s office all the way in Georgia, where I am originally from, and make an appointment. I called the office, explained my situation, and they were kind and helpful. I will now be driving to Georgia to take my daughter to the doctor, and paying out of my own pocket, just so my daughter can be treated on a level of kindness that non-government insurance carriers are treated. This, to me, is a perfect example of why we do NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT, need government run insurance. The insolence, rudeness, and downright lack of concern for people would go straight down the toilet. It is already happening. Just ask anyone who is already on government run insurance.
On another note, my daughter starts kindergarten next year, and I am forced to put her in a private school, because our school system is so terrible here. So bad, in fact, that if you do your research, you will discover that Chattanooga, Tn has one of the largest home schooling populations in the south east. Almost everyone in Chattanooga either has their child in a private school, or they are choosing to home school. Pretty pathetic, and costly, I think.
I made Susie an appointment with a doctor in Ringgold, Ga. They were very nice, and I told them what a huge weight they had lifted off of my shoulders by simply being pleasant to me on the phone. They were a God send. Thank you, Promise Pediatrics. Thank you.
I remember…
Posted: December 13, 2008 Filed under: The Hen House | Tags: Chattanooga Tn, I Remember, Life, Unemployment 1 Comment »It’s that lovely time of year when most of us remember the past, worry about the present, and flinch about the future. Or, at least, that’s what I do. The current state of affairs, in the job market, are getting downright frightening. I am a single mother, who looks after her growing older and more senile by the day parents, and I wonder exactly what in the hell I’m gonna do. I am getting really worried about what the future holds for my little one. Our new President does not help ease my fears. I think that the word politician should just be changed to corruption and vice a versa. That way when we watch the news about our economy swirling down the toilet, unemployment skyrocketing, and automotive company bailouts, we can just say “Hey, look at all those political corruptions on TV! Wow, they sure do talk alot about nothing! He was involved in what? Well it figures…” Christmas is on it’s way, and I remember believing in Santa Claus. I have had to look at the world through my 3 year old’s eyes, and it has humbled me quite a bit. I wish that there were not so many scary people in the world. I remember scary people and things when I was a child, but I don’t remember this many. I remember riding my bike to the bread store without fear of being kidnapped and murdered. I remember staying outside way after dark and running through woods all day and my mother knew I was safe. I remember chasing down the ice cream truck, drinking slushies, and eating ice cream without fear of being poisoned, kidnapped, or murdered. I can’t let my daughter play in a park without standing right beside her. I can’t let her play in her own yard without being outside with her. I can’t let go of her hand when we are out in public. I have to teach her not to smile or talk to strangers because it could be to her own detriment. Yeah, this world is definitely headed in some very wrong direction. I’ll have to tell my little girl one day that it wasn’t always like this….and then tell her all I remember.
Everybody’s gotta make their dollar!
Posted: December 8, 2008 Filed under: The Hen House | Tags: chase child support card, Chattanooga Tn, Child Support Collection, Child Support Tennessee, JP Morgan, Maximus Child Support, State of Tennessee, Tennessee, Tn DHS, Visa Debit Card Program 2 Comments »You Can View More Information About Tennessee Child Support at My Other Blog:
http://mothercluckerblogger.blogspot.com/
Tennessee has a fairly new way of collecting child support. It used to work like this. The non-custodial parent of the child paid the child support, and then the custodial parent got a check in the mail. It was all very simple. But, alas, no more. A few years ago, Visa Card (aka JP Morgan/Chase) saw a hidden money maker. Someone at Visa said, “hmmmm…how could we tap into this child support thing..it’s an awful lot of money that we could sink our chops into!” And so was born the Visa Child Support Debit Program. Yes, that’s right, I received a letter one day stating that I would no longer be receiving a paper check in the mail, but a shiny, new, convenient plastic card. This card was supposed to make my life so much easier. I would receive my payments quicker, and a card is just so much more fashionable, right? Well, that’s not what happened…after I received my card, I found out that it was going to cost me 60 cents everytime I used the card. I have to pay anywhere from 2 – 4 dollars to get my money off the card. So needless to say, after Visa gets finished with my tiny child support check, I barely have enough money left to use it for anything. The icing on the cake came today, when I called to check my balance. I pressed 1 for English, and then received a recorded message telling me that from here on out I was going to be charged $1.70 everytime I call to check my balance. That would mean anywhere from $20 – $30 dollars a month, just to check my balance. This is absolutely highway robbery. I have no other choice but to have my child support placed on this card. To make matters worse, here in Tennessee, since I have never been on cash assistance through the State of Tennessee, and I have managed to fight tooth and nail to collect child support, I get punished. The State takes 25 dollars a year from my child support and redirects it to people who are unable to collect any child support and receive cash assistance. So…to make a long story short, the State of Tennessee and JP Morgan are making a killing off of people like me. I think that it is a shame, because these people know that we have no other option to receive our money. It is a monopoly on the child support program. It really burns my biscuits that some CEO at JP Morgan is living in a huge home, eating steak dinners, and taking luxury vacations with money collected from people who can barely afford a peanut butter sandwich. What’s next? Hey, I know, why don’t we figure out a way to use our child support for the giant automobile company bailout? By all means, let’s help make rich companies like JP Morgan even richer! Woo hoo! As for the State of Tennessee, shame on you! You could figure out a better way to help people who can’t collect child support. Here’s a good idea, HOW ABOUT STARTING WITH DOING YOUR JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE! Instead of making all of us who struggle to get what little we have pay for it instead. How about taking $25 dollars a year from the paychecks of government employees? How about that? No matter how you look at it, it really all boils down to one thing…everybody’s gotta make their dollar!
