Submitted by Pinsit t3_11mwbgm in RhodeIsland
I’ve wanted to live in providence for so long but I currently am on masshealth and quite a handful of medications that are almost completely covered by them. I have no qualms about giving up my doctors but I am terrified about giving up medications. Has anyone ever switched over from masshealth to Medicaid? Or similar?
Edit: I honestly didn’t expect to even get one answer so thank you all so much for all your stories and advice!
Thank you for such a detailed response! This explains why everything I’ve read online/personal accounts from friends/people have been so unbelievably varied and I can’t figure out what’s ‘accurate’ and what’s not. I’ve had people tell me it’s absurdly easy and people tell me it’s not even worth trying. I am definitely saving this comment and going back to it when it’s closer to moving time.
Masshealth has really been a godsend and I will definitely miss it a lot, It’s really the only thing holding me back from moving lol.
Chiming in about quality of doctors here. Moved here from MA and switched to an RI PCP. He ordered some bloodwork when I had my first visit. I had a bad feeling about this doctor, like he was barely interested in doing his job. I’m older with my share of medical issues, so after a few months I decided to switch back to my Boston doctors. I had my RI doctors office send my lab results to Boston. A couple of days later I got a call from Boston, telling me there were some alarming results in my bloodwork and that I should come in. My RI doc had these results for months and obviously never looked at them.
So, my story is completely anecdotal and is a sample size of exactly one doctor, so take this with an enormous grain of salt. That being said, it’s a story I feel is relevant here.
I am looking for personal stories like this because I feel like they paint a picture that Google results/plain facts really can’t. Appreciate it! Sorry that happened to you. I definitely have had those vibes in the past where I could tell a doctor was just waiting for their lunch break talking to me..
I moved from Boston to providence. I don't have mass health. But speaking from a person with medical issues. The drs and hospitals are awful!! Agree with above, fatima is the worst. I can tell you horror stories. To long to type, but I am sitting in my lawyers office at the moment..... Move if you want, but at all costs keep mass health and your drs!!!! Trust me!
I have friends on Medicaid with no coverage issues and I've paid for RI's health insurance and didn't have issues until I decided to choose BCBS one year because it sounded better on paper.
But personally, I would be concerned about having to switch doctors. Maybe I just suck at being an adult but finding a new doctor here is a nightmare because of how far out new patients are booked. I once had to wait so long for an appointment with a new PCP that I completely misplaced where it was and who it was with.
Providence is a great city and I do love my home but moving to Rhode Island does come with some hurdles.
watch out for this, RI has a higher income threshold on SS for accepting people on Medicaid. That is you could qualify for Medicaid in Mass & not in RI, I tried to ask RI Medicaid if I would qualify before I moved but they refused to tell me. The Point a service of the United Way working for the Providence dept of Elder Affairs helped me sign up for an appropriate insurance. The worst part was trying to get a new primary care MD. There is a PCP shortage in RI. About 40 doctors told me they were not taking new patients. I found 1 Dr. at Charter Care on line who might accept new patients, When I called the secretary dropped my call (that happened a lot) but I went straight to the office & got that appt after 2 months of trying. By all means keep your Mass Drs but if Mass Health finds out you've moved out of state it's over.
Weirdly enough I have a couple friends who say they have masshealth and a RI address and aren’t even trying to hide it, like their paperwork even has their RI addresses. But I’m not touching that with a 10 foot pole lol.
Thanks, a lot of people have told me finding a doctor is impossible. I didn’t realize it would be so bad. It’s such a catch 22, rent here in mass is abysmal but the healthcare is so good, meanwhile the rent in providence is noticeably cheaper but without healthcare that means nothing…
That is great that they kept their insurance maybe because they didn't register their car in RI. I also really needed nearby Drs in RI. I have gotten good care from Dr. Mohammedridab in East Providence. Good luck, mostly moving to RI has been an improvement.,
I love Providence, but I don't think any place is worth your health. Why not just live 5 minutes across the border?
I have had good experiences on private insurance here, but to reinforce what others have said, the best and most qualified specialist I have ever had was abruptly laid off along with the whole team because their specialty was too costly (and not an uncommon one! Common like gynecology). Now all the former patients seem to drive to Boston to see them since we'd never find someone to replace this doctor here.
RI's loss.
I am thinking about living on the edge of it too, depends on a handful of factors with this one being the biggest. It’s not a bad idea!
Medicaid here is offered by a few insurers and you can choose which one you get. We’ve had Tufts RI Together and it’s been amazing. Feel free to DM me if you want more specifics.
Thank you!! I have tufts masshealth rn and they’re the best I’ve ever had so that’s good to know.
See if a friend will let you use their address ... I drive a hour to keep my doctor's at Lahey.....
To be honest just stay in Mass. Rhode Island is filled to the brim with welfare walruses.
Please stay in Mass and suck on those tax payer’s titties for your life.
I’m coming to Rhode Islands titties sorry
How can you afford to move while on medicaid?
Medicaid does not pay rent. Hope this helps!
Seems that would make a move harder not easier? Living off of savings?
I work full time and can pay my rent in Mass so I can pay rent in Rhode Island. Not buying a house. I have the renting part figured out, I’m asking about healthcare.
It’s not hard to apply.
If you work so hard why don’t you get health insurance from your employer instead of having other people who work pay for it for you?
You do realize that not all jobs offer health insurance to their employees? And that healthcare is a human right. We have the most inhumane system in the developed world here.
Because I want your money specifically :)
Pinsit you are a G 😎
Haha thank you. The reward had me laughing out loud
Should I go get a second job to pay for your and all your friends too? I mean. It would just be cruel to ask able bodied adults to support themselves.
The comments above explain the situation pretty well. Some people can’t afford the $700 for insurance even when earning enough to cover food and rent. And even then, minimum wage is shit, if it had kept with production it would almost $21 per hour but no, we just need to keep people earning the bare minimum while benefiting off their work.
The cheapest labor is slavery, companies just don’t do it because it is against the law. So they will always pay the minimum possible and then expect that our social services will pick up the slack. Owners pay less percentage tax on their earnings than we do, and we bail them out for their shenanigans in the market. And then buy politicians to make what illegal now, legal soon. Just look at what’s happening with child labor laws. You are angry at the wrong ppl. dude
You might want to check income levels for Medicaid. No idea how people at that income level can even afford rent.
Edit: for example, min wage in ri is $13. Full time is 27k per year. That’s way over the income limit.
Not anymore, it changed last year. We make decent money and were forced onto Medicaid because we wouldn't get an insurance discount through the Marketplace at all if we didn't accept Medicaid. So it was either $0 a month for Medicaid or $700+ a month for BCBS (which we had before).
I misspoke.
AhChingados t1_jbkhdz2 wrote
Super candid here.
Nothing compares to Mass Health, but beyond Mass Health the medical system in RI is downright odd and disparate. The quality of your care will largely depend on where you go.
I was on Medicaid when I first moved here. Coverage was good, except for mental health. It is mostly because their rates are quite low and many providers don’t accept them but it is the same in MA. Rates are being renegotiates and I believe there is a bill in place to fix this. There is no PT1 for medical appointment transportation, and a few obscure things. You basically need a PHD to navigate their website and complete the application, it is best if you go to a clinics financial counselor and they sign you up. Gov. slashed human services budget for staff last year, so you will have a hard time getting anyone on the phone and the lines are long for their offices. Basically, don’t even try to do it yourself because you will only delay the process. Once you are on, you are good.
Medically, I had a hard time finding good providers or a place that didn’t change my pcp every year. Specialists are few, I’ve had not great experiences with teaching clinics (which were my go-to back in Boston) , I will explain below. Racism is quite a thing in certain locations. I am now in private insurance but I still go to a Providence Health Center (usually used by folks on Medicaid). People are nice and I am not the odd duck.
My best experiences so far: Randall Square Health Center, Thundermist, Women and Infants, and Lifespan
I would stay away from:
Charter Care: lost my medical records 3 times, and accused me of lying about the medications I was on (which I couldn’t prove because they lost my medical records 3 times, my old clinic had signature proof of this) The student was nice and more knowledgeable than the instructor. The instructor was a rude a-hole. I didn’t sue them because I was too sick to withstand it. Their endo should have retired 20 years ago, nice to me but I felt bad of how he treated the intern. Just found another clinic.
Fatima- in my husbands words “that’s where ppl go to die”. I thought he was exaggerating until I saw the ratings https://data.news-leader.com/hospital-compare/our-lady-of-fatima-hospital/410005/
Roger Williams: part of charter care. I heard plenty of bad things from people around me so I’ve stayed away.
Hope this helps