Overworked and Overloaded

Well, my husband called Bil's Medicaid Service Coordinator and got "the scoop".  I'll blog about what my husband was told in the coming weeks.

What was remarkable - or, sadly, not remarkable at all - was the MSC's comment about his/her workload.

This MSC has almost 40 clients now. Bil is one out of  almost 40. 

Can you imagine someone having that kind of case load?  In New York State, a Medicaid Service Coordinator is a person who assists persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities in gaining access to necessary services and supports.  The job is quite complicated.  He/she must use a  "person centered planning process" and be knowledgeable of all kinds of state and local programs.  There is paperwork - an awful lot of paperwork.

The Medicaid Service Coordinator is supposed to be an advocate for the disabled client.  (I believe the technical term is "consumer" but I will use "client".)  The ideal is:  the client tells the MSC what is needed and the MSC somehow makes it happen.  Of course, this is quite difficult in real life.

And oh yes, the client has to be on Medicaid.  Doesn't matter if  he or she is a millionaire's child.  He or she has to be eligible for Medicaid (and meet other criteria) to be eligible for this service.

At one time the MSC had to visit the client once a month.  Now it is down to three times a year.  A certain percentage of the visits are home visits.  Otherwise, the client can be seen at work or somewhere else convenient to both.

I would really like to give a shout out to Medicaid Service Coordinators.  I can't believe they make huge sums of money.  It has to be dedication that keeps them going.  I suspect a high percentage of MSC's have a family member (child, parent, sibling) with a disability.  Just an educated guess.

And now, with that in mind - I will write more about Bil's situation in the coming weeks.