Sunday’s column: Snared in government red tape
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It’s doubtful you’ve ever heard of the Recipient Audit Unit of the Division of Program Integrity of the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services.
But with such a daunting 17-word title, you can bet it ranks up there with other government agencies in terms of its capacity to snarl a wife and mother of two in the finest grade of bureaucratic red tape.
Her name is Melissa Cadwell. She’s been tangling with the RAU of the DPI of the VDMAS for months now. They’ve dunned her for $1,108.98 and are threatening to send the debt to collections.
Cadwell’s saga is interesting, frustrating and littered with other acronyms, too: DSS, COBRA and FAMIS. Permit me to add another just one more: SNAFU.
Cadwell and her husband, Joel, live down in the Pulaski County community of Fairlawn with their two children, Cody, now 17, and Alicia, 14. Joel’s a disabled veteran who fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Until March 2009, the family’s health insurance came through her job at Goodyear. They lost that when Goodyear shut down its Radford operation and laid everyone off, she said.
The Cadwells couldn’t afford expensive COBRA insurance (which requires a former employee to pay the entire cost) on her unemployment checks. So through the Pulaski County Department of Social Services, Melissa signed up Cody and Alicia for a health-insurance program for low-income children called FAMIS, which essentially is Medicaid.
By April of 2010 Melissa had landed another job with a large national bank. Her health insurance there started that June, so she called Pulaski County DSS and told them that the kids no longer needed Medicaid coverage.
“The caseworker at the time told me I needed to submit that in writing,” Melissa told me. “And so I did, to the local Pulaski Department of Social Services. I did not send it certified. Now I wish I had.”
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
February 17, 2013 - 6:00 AM
Good job in finding that advocate for her, Dan. A lesson to always request acknowledgment of receipt for important documants, and keep paper copies too, not just computer ones.
And we want this same government to run our health care through Obamacare.
Very unfortunate for this family. This is case where a family needed help to get back on their feet, and quickly did that: got back on their feet. But classic example of government inefficiency. I’m mean our tax dollars are also going to pay the portion of the salaries of the system that continues to shake hardworking people like this down. Imagine this on a much larger scale commonly referred to as Obamacare.
Thanks to Melissa’s husband for his service to our country. She should be equally proud of herself for working hard for her family.
We need to bring in some Polish fixers from Marks column.
Hooray for Wallis for being reasonable and going with his gut but it’s also clear that Melissa made some very basic mistakes, mistakes that will also ensnare you in private business red tape. What do you think your bank, or utility company or health insurance company will say or do if you go to them and plead that you sent them a notice but, no, you really can’t prove you did? My computer crashed is often today’s version of the dog ate my homework. And given the fraud that goes on, don’t we want out bureaucrats to be suspicious of unproved claims?
We’ve had to deal with the IRS twice, once because of their error and once because of ours, and in both instances, it was cleared up with hardly an eye blink. OTOH, we fought epic battles with Sears and with Blue Cross, both over matters that started with their mistake that then got caught up in their red tape machines.
Yeah, Henry, get back to us after you tangle with a private health insurance red tape machine.
How did I know Henry would be the first right winger to post a completely biased and unbalanced reply?
Back in 2011 we got totally hosed by Anthem. I spent hours on the telephone, talking and pleading to faceless Anthem bureaucrats in Virginia, Georgia and Missouri. They were all like, sorry, that should not have happened, but there’s really nothing I can do. This all had to do with coverage for my daughter who had been through a series of mental health crises.
Then I found the email address of Angela Braly, then CEO of Wellpoint, on Consumerist. And I spent a couple of hours crafting what I thought might be an effective email to her and sent it. Her assistant was calling me in less than 3 hours, to straighten the mess out.
This story is unfortunate, but no worse than, as people have pointed out, dozens of stories of private health insurance fiascos.
The fact is, this family was being provided a government service, on the taxpayers’ dime, for which they were ineligible. She says she informed them and she likely did, but when people beat the “Eliminate welfare fraud!” and “Welfare queen with a Cadillac”" drums, stories like this are going to come up. The government is trying to get “our money” (per the anti-tax folks) back. The right should be applauding it. Just because you know her name and story doesn’t make her any different.
This is typical of what goes on in so many places today, either private or government. It’s surprising today when you actually find competency.
I, too, have run into red tape with both private firms and the government. It’s never any fun, but in my experience it is easier to find that ONE person who will listen and understand you in the private sector. Once upon a time I had a problem with GI bill benefits. I sent letters. I got back ever more threatening computer generated messages. It took intervention by my congressman’s staff to straighten it out. And did everyone read the article about the VA ? I believe it is taking them 9 months to process benefit claims, with an error rate of 14%. Wow
It is funny how the worm turns with some on this blog.