What It's Like To Be On Medicaid: The Sequel

Before I continue with the series, I would like to introduce my situation for the readers. I am a lifelong diabetic.  I was born in 1970.  In 1971, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus.  It took three doctors to find out that I have that life-threatening condition.  

Why did it take so long and so many doctors? Back then, diabetes was not even considered a health concern. Now, in this day and age, that is the first question they ask you when you wind up in the emergency room. Yeah, it took nearly forty years for the medical profession to take diabetes seriously.  Figure that one out.

In my adult life, I have survived two diabetic comas. On a couple occasions, I was briefly legally blind.  Those  experiences scared the living daylights out of me.  Nonetheless, I came back, stronger than ever. I am still kicking, scratching, and fighting. I may go down sometimes, but I'm not out. Not yet.

Why am I writing about these experiences? They are testaments to how tough I am in my own right. Everybody has stories about their hurdles through life. This is mine. It is because of those hurdles that I am telling you my stories. I do not want anybody else to go through what I had to endure. I am writing this series of articles to help people. I have no harmful intentions whatsoever.  

With that being said ...

PART 2: CHOOSING A MANAGED CARE PLAN (MCP) THROUGH MEDICAID

This part is not so tough.  Why?  You have two choices: Buckeye Community Health Plan and CareSource. They are the only two choices in the Parma and Parma Heights area. I know this from first-hand experience, and I’m going to explain who is better and why. Let’s start with some independent research. Buckeye is not owned and operated in Ohio. They are actually owned by Centene Corporation, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. I found out this little tidbit through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) online. Buckeye is also not rated, because of lack of information provided to the BBB.  CareSource, on the other hand, is owned and operated in Ohio, and they are rated A+ on the website.

Another concern, at least to me, is the convenience of doctors. Since I own both directories, I have the means to look up certain specialists in my area.  CareSource won that round over Buckeye.  In the Parma and Parma Heights area, CareSource provided the most coverage from primary care physicians to chiropractors.  Most of Buckeye’s clientele is on the east side of Cleveland.  For someone on the Buckeye Plan who lives in Parma, that situation makes transportation difficult.

When it comes to hospitals, CareSource, once again, blows Buckeye out of the water. But, when it comes to Parma Community General Hospital, both plans cover it. The down side, though, is that the doctors at that particular hospital have more coverage under CareSource than Buckeye. The doctors that I know and I go to are covered by CareSource.

My primary care physician is covered by CareSource, along with my diabetes specialist, my cardiologist, my kidney doctor, my vascular surgeon (for my varicose veins), my foot doctor, my eye doctor, my back doctor, and everybody else in-between. As far as Buckeye goes, not so much. Okay, just my eye doctor and my back doctor, but that's it.

The bottom line is this.  If I am a person who has a long list of health problems and I need good medical services where it is convenient, I would rather choose CareSource over Buckeye. If I am more likely to get sick, and need to go to the hospital, I would go with the plan rated higher than the other by the BBB. If I needed to go to a doctor closer my home, I would pick the one with the most coverage. Of course, that’s just me.