Fighting for Answers | Author Archives | Page 95David's Father, Author at Fighting for Answers

Happy One Year Placement Anniversary David

Ironically, the day after we receive notice of denial of coverage of services for our son, is the anniversary of his placement at the current facility. It has been one year since we placed David in a facility 500 miles from home. Today, I am struggling with the stress of not knowing where we are at with my youngest son’s mental health treatment. The denial of continued care is weighing heavily on my mind, and it will be Tuesday before I can file any appeals. He deserves better than this from the system that is responsible in part for his care. When we adopted him, he was ordered by the court to have complete state sponsored medical coverage until he turns 18. This is Medicaid. It isn’t safe for anyone for him to come home. Even the staff that works with him day to day has said that. A month

a new year, more medicaid frustration

So what else is new? right? Received this notice from the facility where our son resides. I am sure you will be receiving a hard copy in the mail, but I wanted to notify you that as of 1/10/2015, David’s Medicaid has denied coverage for residential care and we were notified of this yesterday. (See attached letter) Facility is currently in the process of appealing this decision. I will keep you notified of the results of the appeal process which will be submitted early next week. They enclosed a copy of the notice that they received from the determination company that is under contract to our state Medicaid. The rationale for this decision is: David is a 13 year old boy who is diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and pervasive development disorder. He was in a residential setting in North Dakota for over a year and transferred to the

You can “Get Your Joy Back”

My friends. As many of my readers know, over the past 4 years, we have struggled with getting our son the services that he needs. Initially this began as a struggle with our local education authority. Gradually, it transitioned to psychiatric residential treatment facilities. Constantly being aware of the needs of our children, being ever vigilant of their every move, mood change, or behaviour can be taxing on any parent. After all, we are not able to run our homes like the facilities we find ourselves placing our children in for care. It strains family relationships, marriages, the childhood of siblings and so many other facets of our lives. A short time ago, I was humbled to receive an advance copy of the book “Get Your Joy Back” by Laurie Wallin. The book is like a roadmap for the beginning stages of mental health. I read it the first time