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I finally tried the therapy group for people with disabilities that I wrote about earlier. They are perfectly fine folk, but I don't really think it will work for me. It's basically a support group which is fine but I'm really motivated to work on some recent crap and some continuing stuff that I've been working on most of my life I think.
The facilitators of the group suggested I might get individual counseling from the Berkeley Therapy Institute which is where they work. BTI takes Medi-Cal, so it wouldn't be a huge financial burden. So on their advice I called BTI today. Turns out that they only take straight Medi-Cal. I happen to get both Medi-Cal (the state run program, called Medicaid in most other states in the US). I also get Medicare the federal program. Because I get both, BTI can't accept me as a patient.
I haven't run into this problem too often. When I first came to California I was only covered under Medi-Cal and had absolutely no trouble at all getting the care I needed and the durable medical equipment I depend on to live my life. Quite a few years ago now, my father retired. Because he retired I was required to apply for Medicare. I fought this requirement because at the time (and actually even now, unless the durable medical supplier is pretty savvy about the system) it was almost impossible to get durable medical equipment (things like wheelchairs) or have that equipment repaired when one received both Medi-Cal and Medicare. Both programs have this nifty little requirement that all other insurance must be billed for any services before Medi-Cal or Medicare will cover medical services. This results in Medi-Cal and Medicare bouncing bills from one to the other in a Chip and Dale routine. "I'll pay the bill after you." "No, no I'll pay after you!"
Since I get my wheelchair repaired at Wheelchairs of Berkeley, I haven't had much trouble with this routine, but apparently I will have trouble getting any counseling services. Very discouraging.
The facilitators of the group suggested I might get individual counseling from the Berkeley Therapy Institute which is where they work. BTI takes Medi-Cal, so it wouldn't be a huge financial burden. So on their advice I called BTI today. Turns out that they only take straight Medi-Cal. I happen to get both Medi-Cal (the state run program, called Medicaid in most other states in the US). I also get Medicare the federal program. Because I get both, BTI can't accept me as a patient.
I haven't run into this problem too often. When I first came to California I was only covered under Medi-Cal and had absolutely no trouble at all getting the care I needed and the durable medical equipment I depend on to live my life. Quite a few years ago now, my father retired. Because he retired I was required to apply for Medicare. I fought this requirement because at the time (and actually even now, unless the durable medical supplier is pretty savvy about the system) it was almost impossible to get durable medical equipment (things like wheelchairs) or have that equipment repaired when one received both Medi-Cal and Medicare. Both programs have this nifty little requirement that all other insurance must be billed for any services before Medi-Cal or Medicare will cover medical services. This results in Medi-Cal and Medicare bouncing bills from one to the other in a Chip and Dale routine. "I'll pay the bill after you." "No, no I'll pay after you!"
Since I get my wheelchair repaired at Wheelchairs of Berkeley, I haven't had much trouble with this routine, but apparently I will have trouble getting any counseling services. Very discouraging.
