medicaid question

QueenEsther... I know you're in Somerset Co. but not sure where. Straight Medicaid docs are at the clinic on Rock Ave. in Plainfield and Somerset Family Practice in Somerset Med Ctr/hospital. If you call the Medicaid enrollment the 2nd or 3rd day the child is placed to enroll them in an HMO, you'll wait less time. It can take up to 3 days for Medicaid to get the child into the system. If you get a placement before the 15th of the month (and call before the 15th) then you might be able to get them covered by the HMO by the 1st of the following month. But in the second half of the month, you have to wait to the first of the FOLLOWING month. So the baby I brought home on the 19th (and called in on the 19th) won't have Medicaid HMO coverage until Jan. 1st. :( There is nothing to pay out of pocket. If you have a medical emergency in the first 3 days, I suggest going to a hospital ER because they know how to work around Medicaid if they don't show up in the system. If you have to pay anything out of pocket, it better be an emergency or you'll need to call the cw (or cw supervisor, or keep going up the ranks until you get a body on the phone) to approve the cost for reimbursement and write their name down. But this really shouldn't happen. Medicaid has always covered everything. If you have a child placed with you that has any kind of serious health issue (but not medically fragile) then the HMOs will assign an HMO caseworker to follow-up with you each month. We had this when one of our former fcs had a hospitalization for food allergy when she was almost 1 month old. It was good because I could tell the woman what the concerns were and what specialist we intended to see and she made sure it was approved.