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Without going into too much detail, my daughter has some mental health issues that have resulted in suicide attempts and hospitalizations. During her most recent hospitalization, the inpatient therapist set up a meeting with caseworkers at our state's department of Children and Family Services for follow up care in addition to regular therapy.
Now, insurance pays not one cent for the hospital stay, ambulance trip, outpatient care, or ongoing therapy. I repeat: no mental health services at all on my or my ex's insurance. As you might guess, this has run into several thousand dollars, which my ex and I are struggling to keep up with. We both earn good salaries, which helps.
My daughter and I had a long session with a county social worker, who set up a "team" meeting. It was like a giant curtain had been lifted. No fewer than six professionals attended this meeting to coordinate a treatment plan including substance abuse counseling, crisis intervention, medication management, educational and vocational counseling, and parent support. They will even accompany my daughter to her court appearance next week.
My daughter has been assigned a permanent Intensive Case Manager, who will monitor her weekly for up to the next 18 months. The social worker in charge of the meeting reminded us several times that ANY of the people at the meeting could be called at any time for advice, questions, or referrals.
At the end of the meeting, we were handed a lot of papers. Here's the fine print at the bottom of one of the handouts:
"There is not direct fee for case management services. When applicable, Medicaid is billed for services. No client is denied services, regardless of Medicaid eligibility. Dept. of Family and Children's Services does not deny treatment to anyone because of inability to pay."
Read that again. How much did approximately 8 hours of professional time cost? Zero. At the end of the meeting, I piped up to ask, "where do I sign up to pay more taxes? Because you people are incredible, and I want you to keep your jobs."
Imagine that. A public agency providing, you know, services to people who need them. Give me more taxes.
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