Big Big Problem.... Please need help and advice!!

[TracyTN 237]

So you're not 'forced' to wait then?

[usagirl12 3]

I dont know much about this but if i was in the same situation I wouldn't do anything. Let me try to get money out of u. Then if they keep sending you notices, tell them to prove that u sent them something which said she was a citizen. They probably keep everytihgn on file. so ... since they can't pull up her citizen certificate, they can't prove anything. Maybe I am being too optimistic but honestly i wouldnt pay them a penny if i was in ur situtatoin. You could consult a lawyer. Maybe just to get advise, it wont be more than few hundard bucks. This will give us a path to choose.

[james&olya 1,121]

Hello everybody. I finally got to talk to a very helpful employee at the medicaid office. She told me that she appreciates the fact that when I found out that they have made my wife eligible for this benefit by mistake. She said that she agrees that this was their mistake, and that they have nothing on their record that shows that we ever claimed that my wife is a US citizen. She said she will have to have to check with her supervisor before she can send me a letter or a statement that there was no wrong doing on our side. I told her I need this statement for immigration reasons because I don't immigration service to assume and accuse my wife of falsely claiming to be a US citizen to gain a government benefit. So I am praying that her supervisor agrees to that, because I really need it.

She told me that even this was the agency's mistake, I still have to pay this money back because this is tax payers money which I don't mind. She said that the total amount won't exceed $10,000 (exactly like couple people mentioned earlier in this thread) and I can still reduce it as this amount includes the bill for labor and delivery which should be covered by emergency medicaid if they find she was eligible for it at the time of the emergency. She said that the whole matter has been transferred to the benefits recovery department and they should contact me soon.

I asked her if emergency medicaid can be applied for the entire pregnancy as my wife had a high risk pregnancy. She told me that Emergency Medicaid only pays for labor and delivery. The only exception is when the patient has to go to the hospital during pregnancy for something that can be life threatening to her or the baby if not taken care of immediately. This is determined only by the physicians not the DCF.

She told me appreciates the fact that I called in and reported this mistake even if this affected me negatively. However, as I mentioned earlier my final amount that I have to pay is not as huge as I thought in the beginning because she told me that Medicaid has its own negotiated rates with the provider. That's why the bill won't exceed $10,000.

I hope this information has been very helpful to everybody. I just wanted to mention couple of things. I appreciate the fact that lot of people here tried to help and give their advice. Some of it was correct, some was not. I just didn't like some comments from people who rush into judgments without carefully reading what I originally posted. I never assumed my wife is eligible for this benefit. That is why I applied, to find out. They told me NO she is not, then they turned around and told me YES. We found a way that makes her eligible!! From my point of view I did the right thing. If people should know if they are eligible or not from the start, then there is definitely no reason for the application.

Some others blamed me knowing that I knew I am the one sponsoring my wife, and now don't want to pay for it. First of all, I never said I don't want to pay. I just want to pay what is reasonable. The only reason I applied in the very beginning was when we first started was when I started getting all kinds of bills asking me to pay $400 for doctors visits that never lasted than 20 minutes and all what the doctor did was making us listen to heart beat of the baby!!! I did the maths and I found out that if things are going into this direction, then my final bill will come up to a huge number. So, that was the only way why I started thinking about Medicaid.

Regardless of me signing form I-864 before, I still blame the system here. What kind of sense says that we immigrated to the country through legal channels, work hard, pay taxes and we are not eligible. On the other end, others come here illegally, overstay, don't pay taxes... they don't pay a penny from the start to the end. I have met at least 10 people in recent years who just came to the country to give birth to their children, make them US citizens, then just leave their big mess and bills behind, and then we tax payers have to pay for that..!!!

Thanks again for everyone, and I hope this was a useful post .....

You have come out WAY ahead of where you would have if they had not made that mistake. What medicaid pays the hospital and doctor are a small fraction of what they actually charge people without insurance. You will never have to even get the shock of that bill! The most you will have to pay is that very heavily discounted medicaid rate and even that may get reduced.

I understand your thinking about this if you look at it from the value system of progressives or European style social welfare governments. But beware, the current republican and 'tea party' members are taking a drastically different view on such things. They seem to be heading toward a society where you are on your own for things such as medical care, education, retirement security, etc. For those who say there is no difference between the parties I strenuously disagree. Think these issues through and go with the party and candidate that best represents your vision of where you want this country to go.

[tru_loves_journey 117]

You have come out WAY ahead of where you would have if they had not made that mistake. What medicaid pays the hospital and doctor are a small fraction of what they actually charge people without insurance. You will never have to even get the shock of that bill! The most you will have to pay is that very heavily discounted medicaid rate and even that may get reduced.

I understand your thinking about this if you look at it from the value system of progressives or European style social welfare governments. But beware, the current republican and 'tea party' members are taking a drastically different view on such things. They seem to be heading toward a society where you are on your own for things such as medical care, education, retirement security, etc. For those who say there is no difference between the parties I strenuously disagree. Think these issues through and go with the party and candidate that best represents your vision of where you want this country to go.

With the government taking from Medicare & Medicaid it seems like they're trying to weed out the poor and elderly doesn't it? It's so very sad to see people going without medications and health care in America as it is now, imagine how things could become