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Stacey L. Lacik

~ Common Sense Christian Counsel

Stacey L. Lacik

Tag Archives: Business

Healthcare in America

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by Stacey in The Journey

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Business, Christian Living, Financial Services, Florida, Health care, Health insurance, Insurance, Medicaid, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, United States

I can be difficult, but I am rarely confused. (Or if I am, I’m not aware of it.)

Call to Medicaid this morning:

“I have a question about this form you mailed me, and I made some mistakes when I tried to fill it out.  Can you please send me another form?”

“Let me put you on hold.”

Long wait.

“Ma’am, the reason you lost your insurance is because you failed to provide us with the correct information.”  I lost my health insurance?  Was anyone going to tell me?

“I haven’t yet provided you with any information;  can you please send me another form?”

“Let me put you on hold.”

Long wait.

“Ma’am, I think I know why you’re confused.  You failed to provide us with the correct information when you called to re-certify, so we dropped your insurance coverage.”

“I never called to re-certify;  I was filling out the paperwork, and made some mistakes, and called over a week ago to get a new form.  I haven’t received anything.  Can you please mail me a new form?”

“Let me put you on hold.”

Nothing, not even elevator music.  An entire cup of coffee later:

“Ma’am, I spoke with my supervisor.  You actually have no insurance because you did not give us the correct information, and did not tell us everything about your financial situation.”

I now have to go to the bathroom, so am getting a bit impatient.

“I actually have yet to tell you anything, correct or incorrect, as I need a new form to fill out.  As soon as I get it, I will fill it out and mail it in, and then you will have all of my information.”

“Ma’am, I think I know why you’re confused.  We’re all just trying to help you.”

“Can you please ask your supervisor to send me a new form?”

“Ma’am, you filled out your forms incorrectly.  That is why you have a problem.”

“I haven’t filled them out at all, or mailed them to you.  How can they possibly be incorrect?  And what did you base your determination on?”

“The incorrect information you gave us.”

This was all said with great patience and authority, as though she was explaining things to a small child.

Then she says:

“What we’re going to do is mail you a new form so you can provide us with the correct information, but until this is resolved, you have no insurance at all.”

Okay.  So what about the appointments I have had this week, or last week?  Or the week before that?

Oh, that.  Well I guess you will have to pay out-of-pocket for those appointments.

My pockets are empty, Lord.

Yesterday was a very bad day.  The Kidnappers (AKA:  The Ex-Husband and The Girlfriend)  showed up at 7:00 a.m. to take my daughter to Florida for two weeks, and then I got ready and left for a dentist appointment to see if they can tell me why my jaw won’t open.  When I signed in, I was informed that they couldn’t see me at all, because there Appears to Be a Problem With My Insurance.

After that (and an unexpected phone call from my Therapist-Who-Insists-She’s Not-My-Therapist) I went to my primary care physician to fill out disability forms.  He said “I can’t fill these out, I just met you.  I don’t know anything about you.”  This is the same doctor who, back in 1999, was called into the room to look at the inexplicable rash covering three-quarters of my body (cortisol overload) and jumped back, exclaiming: “What the hell is that?  Do you do drugs?”

No, it’s from finding out that my husband has been sleeping with an elf for the last couple of years.  (I can explain, but not now.)

Another call to United Healthcare to find out what is going on assured me that there is no problem, and as far as she can tell, “my insurance is fine and there are no changes.”  I then called the Department of Social Services, where a bright and happy young man assured me that even if I were to lose everything, I will still have Medicaid “which is the best health care there is.”  (And I quote.)  Never mind that none of my doctors accept Medicaid.  And does this kid not realize that perfectly good people die every day on Medicaid, usually while standing in some over-crowded, un-air-conditioned hallway waiting for Their Number To Be Called?  Not to worry, though;  I also qualify for Family Planning, which means that although I cannot get treated for any of my other problems, if I want birth control or an abortion, it’s on the House.  Well, thank you, Mr. President.  Should I accidentally get pregnant while going through Menopause, I’ll take you up on that.

Until then, I just want my Zoloft.

And this, my friends, is how we create Mental Illness in America.

Creating Room for Growth

21 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by Stacey in Uncategorized

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Tags

Arts, Bible, Business, Colleges and Departments, Dictionary, Education, God, Health, John C. Maxwell, Religion and Spirituality, success, Ted Engstrom, United States, Zondervan

 

Sunday Morning.

Sunday Morning. (Photo credit: meg_williams)

In the current issue of Success magazine, publisher Darren Hardy (www.success.com) describes how his wife approaches  interior design.  First, she takes everything out of the room.  Then she adds back only what is necessary and what fits, and what is needed becomes evident in the process.  The analogy is made by the publisher that this process works not only in interior design, but in business, and in our personal lives.  When redesigning your life:  take everything out, and then put back only what you actually need and want.  (This is best done on paper first.)

Why is it that when we are blindsided by crisis, our dreams and visions seem to grow exponentially?  I think it’s because of the space the crisis provides:  it wipes the slate clean, and as long as there is a good foundation, a whole new life can be rebuilt.   When things fall apart, take the opportunity to examine your life, and what you were doing.  Was there anything of value? What elements do you want to keep?  What do you never want to do again?  Unless you are living an intentional life, you will unintentionally recreate the same mess you were in before.

In the same issue of the magazine, John C. Maxwell discusses how he decided years ago to implement two qualities, being intentional, and being consistent, and how this has led to success in his own life. We tend to keep adding to our lives in a frenzied attempt to look for what is missing;  what we don’t do is take out what isn’t working, or isn’t necessary so we can get a better look at what we actually have.  We have untapped resources and opportunities already built into our daily lives that we don’t take advantage of because we can’t see them.  We are emotional hoarders of relationships and activities that no longer serve a purpose.

This is what it looks like in practice:  We go to church and hear the Pastor speak on how we as a church are not ready.  We leave the church parking lot blessed and highly motivated, and full of good intentions.    On the way home, we stop to get the Sunday paper, put gas in the car,  go to Wegman’s to buy food for lunch, or go out to eat with friends and/or family; maybe run to the mall, or throw in some laundry, do the dishes,  and watch television.  The next morning, we wake up late, get ready, run out the door, and get sucked back into another day  of mindless, unfruitful activity.

Unless we intentionally put our bottoms in a chair, and sit down with a Bible, a notebook, a pen, and at the very least a dictionary, it is just not going to happen.   I happen to like to study;  I listen to motivational teaching, or messages from church in the car; I have stacks of books by my bed, and I’m always studying or researching some topic, even when I’m not in school.  I carry notebooks, pens, highlighters, because it’s fun for me.  I realize it’s not for everybody, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be intentional in your own way about studying the Word.

At some point over the next twenty-four hours, take out a blank sheet of paper.  Draw a circle in the middle;  this represents you.  Now draw lines extending from the circle to smaller circles, and label them with the parts of your life that are necessary;  these will be specific and different for different people.  Most people will have circles labeled with family, work, friends, church, school, or whatever pertains to their own lives.  Those are the circles you need to examine;  the work you do, the classes you are taking (or not taking)  the church you attend;  the friends and associates you claim as your own.  What you are basically doing is taking inventory.  Now get another sheet of blank paper.  Put you in the middle.  Now, only put the circles back that are necessary, or that you actually want in your life.  And each smaller circle will have only the people, or activities you actually want and need for you own health and well-being.  What gets left out?  Or who?  I recently got a new cell phone;  the only names I put in immediately were my parents and my daughters.  I am gradually adding other family members, and have added a couple of close friends, but when I looked at the contact list on the old phone, I realized I don’t want to add all those numbers.  Too much stress, too much noise;  too many distractions.  So I will be very careful about what I add.  Same thing with work;  being out of a job is like having a clean slate.  I’m still a counselor;  still a writer;  still an educator, but in terms of a paycheck,  my  options are open.  Intentional living means we create space for growth in our lives;  sometimes life does it for us, whether we intended to or not.  Either way, it’s an opportunity.

“Now is the time to develop new habits, new goals, and new perspectives that will give your life a quality that will bring honor to the God who loved you so much that He gave His life for you.”   ~ Ted W. Engstrom  The Pursuit of Excellence  (Zondervan, 1982)

 

"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you truly believe." -Gustave Flaubert

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