A Democrat Living in a Republican State

During this time in history when we are on the verge of political history it is easy to get swept away in what can be. That is, until as a mom I had to deal with today. The idea that you can beat down a population into submission has become an art form in the republican state of mind. I knew that this was possible by watching the stock market crash, reading news papers that have stories of just the regular Joe trying to make it in this economy and getting pimped out by John McCain and the Republican party.



It seems to me that the state of Arizona is a beautiful place to live. Let's face it, the sun shines every day. There is everything you need within a 3 mile radius. There are opportunities every where to apply yourself and make a great career for yourself. These are just some of the reasons for moving here with my husband and my son from Michigan where the job market has all but disappeared. I thought to myself, we can have our American dream of working hard and live in a good neighborhood with great schools.



When we lived in Michigan, (a democratic state), my son was on medicaid for health insurance. This was not something I was proud of but it gave me peace of mind to know that if something went wrong with him he would be taken care of. Like all first time moms the ability to just pick up the phone and call the nurse at his doctors office to ask simple questions was irreplaceable. When we moved to Arizona we hit a road block with coverage for my son. He was diagnosed in Michigan with an ear infection in both ears the day before getting on an airplane to finally move to Arizona. I took him to the doctor and they prescribed the proper anti-biotic. After we had been in Arizona for a week or so my husband arrived and he continued to look for employment. In the midst of all of this my son's ear infections have not gotten better and we are forced to go to the emergency room to treat him. This was not bad. They were very kind. They explained that if we did not have medical coverage for him we can speak with a social worker and they will set up an application for ACCCHS. This is not my idea of a good time. I always felt like I was doing something wrong by using the medicaid while in Michigan and I always felt uncomfortable revealing our dire financial situation. I also felt that there were people much worse off than my family so I felt guilty using these services. The truth is when you really look at our situation we more than qualify for help. I tell myself that I have worked and paid taxes my whole life and have never asked for help from anyone. So, if I have to do it now for my son then I will. I speak with the social worker and she starts the application process. This leads to the bureaucratic nightmare that I have encountered so far with the state of Arizona while fighting to get my son covered under some medical coverage.



It started with a letter from the Department of Economic Security or DES office stating that they would need to set up an interview date and that they needed information to verify our citizenship, and income, living expenses etc. When I tried to call the DES office and just wait for someone to answer the phone instead of trying to find your way around the maze of automated options that don't answer a single question I have yet to have during this whole experience there is no answer. Just the empty ringing of a badly run government office.

After giving them all the information needed I waited to here that my son would be approved. After all, when both parents are unemployed and have the bare minimum savings to get by until my husband finds employment seems to be the staple of who the state of Arizona covers according to their website. I wait for 3 weeks and make 6 phone calls to a social worker who makes it her personal mantra to never pick up her phone or return a phone call. If I called the number for the office in our city and used a different extension number I always managed to get a person. Not the one I need but at least they were human.

So, with no interview and no word from my social worker I finally spent an hour attempting to get her on the phone. When I succeed I am so grateful to speak with her I ask if she is in need of any other information. I give her my case number and she supposedly looks up any information relating to my case. So why is it the next week I get a denial letter because I failed to provide proof of income? I am still trying to figure that one out.

This is when I realized that I lived in a Republican state. I had to go back down to the DES office and fill out yet again another application. I was told by my case worker that I did not complete my original application so it was my fault that I was denied. I find this way of thinking to be ridiculous. How is it that the individual that is applying for help is the one who is supposed to know how the process works. Where is the accountability of the case worker? Why is it when I go to that office the ability to get anyone to give you any information is almost impossible? Why is it that the people who work the front window of this office are allowed to give false advice and information?

This whole process disturbs me greatly for two reasons. The first is that it should be federally mandated the all states cover pregnant women and children who qualify should be covered under medicaid. There should be a streamlined process for this. There should be NO QUESTION about whether to cover children in this country. The second is that for the state of Arizona there needs to be a re-organization of the entire DES. It like, FEMA, is a total disaster. I believe that the general theory for this part of the government in the state of Arizona is to confuse the poor, uneducated, beat down, hard working and honest people in need in this state to the point that they just give up. Like me, if they can't make it through the maze of red tape they just get denied. It's just one less case someone might actually have to look at. How sad.