We were told it would take 4 weeks to transfer Rhia’s MediCal from one county to the new one. It took 4 months. A government shut-down slowed the transfer down even more. Plus, there was a huge backlog at the State level from so many people applying for MediCal through the Affordable Care Act. So, four months later, Rhia’s MediCal was approved and we were ready to find a doctor.

Just because you have MediCal doesn’t mean you can have a doctor.

Every clinic I called said they were no longer accepting MediCal patients; they had all reached their quota by February.

Great!

I asked the first two clinics if they were accepting new patients and they said yes. We started the intake process but as soon as I got to the insurance part, the answer was, “Oh… we’re not accepting new MediCal patients.” After that, I started the conversation asking if they were taking MEDI CAL patients. Two more clinics said no.

Finally, the fifth clinic said they were accepting MediCal. And, miracle of miracles they had an appointment open in only 2 weeks! I grabbed it, wrote it down, hung up the phone and burst into tears.

Everything was on hold waiting for a doctor. We needed a doctor to sign the forms so she could start her day-program, but that couldn’t happen until MediCal cleared. While we were waiting I was out hunting for a day program with an opening, so now she’s on two waiting lists. Thankfully one program had an opening in December and they were kind enough to hold the spot for her.

Since December! (Thank you, thank you, thank you…)

Access. The doctors are excellent here, but not everyone has access. How many more openings are there for MediCal patients? Did the clinic that accepted my daughter eventually say no to the people who called afterwards? How many people with disabilities are hunting for a doctor right now?