I need some advice, please! I got my RN Acceptance letter from Hostos the first week of June. My Health Insurance was cancelled a few days before I got my RN letter because the HHA agency that I work for decided my 200+ work hours a month didn't qualify me for their Health Insurance plan since my patients pay out of pocket not through government assistance.
My job told me that I can either pay $669/mth for their insurance or go through the health Insurance Marketplace. Well, I've been trying for a month to get health insurance through that site and failed each time. I've called them each time the site failed to enroll me and I get a "We'll sent your issue to the Technical department" after they have tried to enroll me themselves and run into the same problem.
On the other hand, my job has been messing up my hours and not paying me what I worked for. So I'm constantly fixing their errors and having to wait longer to get properly paid. That means my savings is almost gone and my bills are piling up.
Anyone know of a free or low income clinic in NYC that I can get the blood work and physical before my classes start at the end of August?
And who do I contact to help me with this Health Insurance issue?
It's really unfair that I've done everything right and I'm being screwed because of technical difficulties that aren't my fault.
Can you do it through your school by any chance? At my school, we paid a clinic fee (separate from the health insurance fee) that qualified us for free care at the school-run clinic, and was included as part of our tuition. If you haven't tried that already you could contact your school and ask.
That's okay. I'm more interested in assistance, not debating the accuracy of the title.
This quote is an interesting response to another poster's point that perhaps the title to your forum message is not quite accurate to your actual situation. If fellow nurses seem nitpicky about something as seemingly benign as a forum title, it is not because it is an opportunity to be mean to others, but it's because the field of nursing requires accuracy in almost everything we do. If one can't be bothered to contemplate the accuracy of something as simple as a forum title, then where does it stop? Accurate nursing paper citations? Accurate vitals? Charting? Sounds more like employer policies and perhaps online technical difficulties that are preventing you from obtaining insurance; not Obamacare. You may find that a proper title may field more responses to your questions on this board. I'm not trying to be mean, but just hopefully providing some helpful FYI.
That said, I was easily able to navigate the Obamacare marketplace website, so it might be helpful to use a different computer, or perhaps bite the bullet and talk to a telephone customer service representative to see if they might be able to help you out, however long that may take. An alternative is to use a community clinic to get some of the lab work and tests done. Also, I did notice an earlier post affiliated to your posting history that stated that you were in the Military? (Not sure, it's a post affiliated with your profile, but under a different screen name) If so, and if you were honorably discharged and are classified as a vet, you may qualify for free or reduced priced care at the VA.
Here's the last thing I'll say about the title, I think it was meant to be click bait. I do however hope the OP finds a solution because I'd like to see her succeed and get in nursing school.
What issues are you having in enrolling on the Healthcare.gov website? Are you able to complete the application? Is is a verification issue? Are you able to get to the point to look at the plans?
I just registered through the marketplace a few weeks ago, and it was problem free. I'm just wondering what exactly you have been having a problem with to give some better insight into your problem. Otherwise, try the health department.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
Go to your local unemployment office and see if they can offer any help...you'd be surprised to find all the help available through government agencies, like grants/available monies for nursing students, that just isn't ever advertised!
I read over my post and I still don't see where the confusion is. My first paragraph gives a reason why I have to use the marketplace. The second paragraph shows how my attempts at using the marketplace failed for weeks. And my next paragraph shows why I need low pay options. The Marketplace has better pay options, at least in NY.
I'll try the health department, nyc marketplace says I don't qualify for what's offered at the health department, maybe that's an error or there is more info on site.
This is not completely the fault of Obamacare. I would actually consider this the fault of your employer. They took your insurance and have messed up your pay. A few things here.
Yes, the healthcare.gov site is glitchy. It either runs perfectly or not at all. I went through the entire profile set up process, filled out the app, then needed to verify my identity. Even faxing paperwork to the customer service center didn't work. So I called in and had them fill out the app for me. Took about an hour and was told that I didn't qualify and there was some glitch preventing them from seeing why. Instead of just giving up, I just set up a new profile. Same SSN, just a different email address. Verification was fine and application was approved within an hour. Insurance started the next month. If you are having all these problems associated with your current account, then set up anew profile with a new email address and start the app over. Of the people I have talked to with a similar problem, a new profile seems to be the solution. Try that.
Second, if you havent been paying your insurance, then you can use the premium money you would have paid to pay out of pocket. Either the health department or some local hospitals will have an occupational health office with discounted rates for titers and physicals. I believe I paid about $200 for everything. Maybe a bit more.
Last, a lot of insurance will not cover blood titers needed for school or work. So having insurance likely would only cover the physical if you havent had one in the last year. Which means you would have to get all the vax series again if you dont have proof of childhood vaccines. And even then, sometimes insurance wont cover those either because they are childhood vaccines. This would lead you back to the health department.
What you need to do is stop blaming everything for why you arent moving forward. If what you are doing is obviously not working, try something else.
Go to your local health department. They will do free or low cost vaccines for you. Many offer blood draws for titers that are paid for on an income based sliding scale. They usually have NPs that will do low or no cost physcal exams. Especially for women since womens health exams are usually covered at the health department for uninsured women as a cancer prevention innitiative. GL. dont give up or keep getting mad. Try something else until you get what you need done.
As previous posters have mentioned, try public health or another low cost clinic. Google your city and sliding scale clinic to get an idea of some. Most free or low income community clinics have hired navigators just for people like you, who are having issues getting transitioned. They have a vested interest in getting you covered as well.
Remember, computer glitches do not equal a poor program. Use your resources. As a nursing student, you have to know when and where to go for help. Good luck.
dee789
98 Posts
Can you do it through your school by any chance? At my school, we paid a clinic fee (separate from the health insurance fee) that qualified us for free care at the school-run clinic, and was included as part of our tuition. If you haven't tried that already you could contact your school and ask.