Re: is this a form of medicaid abuse?
Ugh, I know someone like this. That is definitely abuse and people like that make me crazy. Mostly because I feel the stares and judement, and have had doctors treat me like dirt, and people in stores turn their noses at me. My two daughters recieve medicaid and my youngest WIC. That is all we recieve because my Husband works two, sometimes three jobs to make ends meet. I stay home because even though I was making $10 an hour and my Husband was making $14 an hour, our daycare costs were more than my paycheck. Add $300 a month to that for insurance and it's nearly impossible to get ahead. So my Husband and I have sacrificed insurance for ourselves, and I stay home to save the costs of childcare. Thank GOD we get that insurance, because if we didn't, I'd have to work and I'd never be able to go back to school as I'm going to do this fall. My Husband works in a nursing home, and part of what makes him so invaluable to the place is his work ethic. With me home he has been able to stay when people don't show up, and always available for overtime and additional help.
I can sympathize with people in my situation, or situations similar. I married when I was 20, my family was poor and ignorant to the many ways they could have helped me to go to college. I had no one to help me or guide me towards furthering my education, and if I'd had one teacher who'd taken the time to show me it was possible, I don't think I would have jumped into getting married and having children so quickly. Unfortunately we live in a poor area, and one teacher was even let go for telling his students they wouldn't amount to anything. A terrible thing for an educator to say - but in this town, a huge percentange of the kids will not go on to college. I honestly thought I'd never be able to go, even though for the past ten years it's all I wanted to do. I just thought college was just something for other people but not for me.
I am grateful for the asssistance we recieve, but it does not come without sacrifice on our part. People who get monthly paychecks, food, rent, utilities, medical, and all these charities drive me nuts. What I wouldn't give for food stamps some days. But from what I've expereienced, these people cannot go on like this forever. I've known a few people whom I was embarassed to be associated with, who did take advantage of assistance and after so many years, were told if they didn't improve their situation, they would lose their children. People like this give honest, hardworking people who hit a rough spot a bad reputation, and I hate that anyone who gets any kind of help is automatically associated with people like this.
But, on another note, thank GOD for the help we've recieved. There will always be those people who take advantage, but I'll tell you what, I don't care what anyone has to say about me - and believe me, MANY people do lose all sense of what is appropriate and DO say things - we are so FORTUNATE and appreciative of what we recieve, and I don't know what we'd do without it. Survive I suppose, but I know that I wouldn't be going to school anytime soon.
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