How I Made My Insurance Choice for PsA Care

I have written about a hard decision I had to make concerning my health insurance. If you didn’t read it, you can find it here.

For several years now I have been on state insurance better known as Medicaid. It was not my choice to be on it. When our governor signed the Medicaid expansion, I was automatically moved to Medicaid because I had insurance through Marketplace.

At first, I was excited, but it quickly turned into a nightmare that I have been living with for at least 4 years now. I have not been able to get the proper care I need when it comes to treating my psoriasis and PsA.

In fact, I can guarantee you that my PsA has gotten so much worse in that time. My body hurts all day every day.

A tough insurance decision

I have been on a rollercoaster ride trying to figure out the best thing to do. That is exactly what it has felt like this past month.

My mind says leave Medicaid and get back on private insurance. However, how much is it going to cost me? Do I really want to have to go through changing insurance and starting all over?

My husband and my best friend would probably say I have drove them nuts trying to get their opinion on what I should do. The best friend also has psoriasis and PsA as well as being on her state’s medical insurance.

She made her decision about what I should do. It was to leave Medicaid so that I could seek proper care. I can see her point and it went along with what I was feeling for the most part.

Why I chose to leave Medicaid

After much soul-searching and flip-flopping numerous times, I finally made my decision. I am leaving Medicaid and going back to having insurance through the Marketplace.

It is a sad state of affairs when I told the Medicaid representative that I was leaving because I cannot get proper treatment. Do you know she did not even bother to ask any questions? This was not the first time it fell on deaf ears. I have complained many times that I cannot get the care I need concerning my PsA and psoriasis.

When I say I can’t see a private rheumatologist or dermatologist, I have been met with “Well based on what I see, you are getting treatment.” That is so easy for a person sitting behind a desk to say looking at my file.

It makes me so angry. I did tell one person that I would like it if she came with me to any appointment and see for herself how it goes. Of course that has never happened.

A mix of fear and hope

That is what I am feeling now. Once I received the letter saying my Medicaid would end the last day of April, I called the Marketplace.

Starting in May I will be back to having private insurance. I chose to enroll with Blue Cross. It scares me that I must start over.

At the same time, I am excited because I feel like I am in control of my health again. I get to see who I choose. The scary part is trying to find the right doctor.

However, I must do it because I cannot let PsA continue to get worse. My plan is to see if some of the doctors that I was seeing is still practicing so that hopefully I can get back in to see them. I hope it will work out.

The biggest fear I have is that it could take months to get in to see a rheumatologist. My PsA dictates that it needs to be sooner rather than later.

This journey of living with PsA is far from over. The fight is something I am used too.

I also keep in mind that I am not the only one in this community that has had to deal with switching insurance. If you have any advice I would love to hear it.