They gave Obama hell to “prove” he was eligible to be President of the United States. They have given ME hell to prove I am able to get Obamacare!! And it is because I am transgender that I am having unique problems.
My Obamacare experience has been one nightmare after another. I hate to give the Republicans ammunition, but this system S-U-C-K-S!! First, I had a heckuva time finding a plan that my doctor was on. As a diabetic, with continuity of care issues, this was very important to me, to be able to keep my doctors. I had been on Medicare until the end of 2015, due to having been on Disability. I have since gotten off Disability, having launched my own successful medical billing and coding business.
I bring this up specifically, because...in my work, I deal with government agencies and insurance companies all day, every day...and I have had nothing but trouble with Obamacare… now, imagine what people who are not used to dealing with insurance and with government agencies must be going through!!
I finally got a plan through United Healthcare, where all my doctors were in the plan. Problem solved, right? NOOOOOPE...that is where my problems begin!!
So I get a letter from The Healthcare Marketplace. They want documentation to prove that I am no longer eligible for Medicare (no problem, I had the letter from them) and verification of income (no problem, I sent them my W2 and the front page of my 2014 1040 tax return) — by Certified Mail, with Return Receipt requested...to the address requested in the form, in London, KY.
I got the green card back in the mail...and it was signed. Problem solved? NOOOOPE!! I get another letter, about two weeks later, requesting the same documents! So I called them. After being on hold almost long enough to drain my phone’s battery, I get a customer service rep who has the NERVE to tell me that they never got the documents...and that I should send them again.
I said, “Hell no, I am not sending them again, just so you guys can claim to have not gotten them AGAIN...I am calling my Congressman.” And so I did. My Congressman is George Holding, R-13th District, North Carolina. I spoke with an assistant at his office, and they opened a case file for me. I provided Doug (the assistant at Congressman Holding’s office) with copies of everything I had sent, originally, to The Healthcare Marketplace, and requested THEY submit the documents for me. This way, I figured...I would have record that I had provided the requested documents...within the timeframe requested...and, more to the point, EXACTLY WHAT I had sent them (after all, a Return Receipt from the post office does not document WHAT was sent, only that something was sent.)
Problem solved, right? NOOOOPE!!!
And this is where it gets really fun, if you have hung with me so far: NOW...out of nowhere, they are requesting proof of my CITIZENSHIP!! Forget the fact that I have paid taxes every year since 1987. Forget the fact I once held a one-year passport (which enabled me to go to Thailand to get my sex reassignment surgery) Forget the fact that I was on Disability and Medicare for seven years (which they do not give to non-citizens!!) None of this was sufficient to prove my citizenship.
They want MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE!!! And here’s the fun part: I never got my birth certificate changed, because I never wanted to trust what documents I had to the mail...to get them to Springfield, Illinois...in order to get my birth certificate changed...and now, it turns out might be a good thing I have waited to get it changed...rather than having changed it way back in 2002, when I got the surgery! Because NOW...when I get it changed, the original will be sealed, per Illinois law...and it will appear that my new birth certificate, with my CORRECT name and gender...were the only ones ever issued. Thank GOD I was born in a civilized state like Illinois!!
None of which helps me to prove my citizenship to the Healthcare Marketplace by February 9...which is when they will cut off my health insurance! Meaning I will have no access to my doctors or the prescriptions I need to maintain my condition! So I am basically being discriminated against on the basis of being a transsexual...and being denied needed healthcare as a result!
Fortunately, I DID have a legal Change Of Name, executed in 1999, in Jefferson County, Kentucky, where I was living at the time. It shows my original birth name...and the name I legally changed to...which is my current name. It seems, with the birth certificate with my old name, PLUS the name change record...I could prove citizenship, right??
But the problem continues: I DO NOT HAVE THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE!! So I call up the Illinois Department of Public Health, and get to speak to the first helpful person I have spoken to since this entire freaking nightmare began two months ago! It seems Illinois is SO civilized, that they have a person in that office that deals specifically and completely...with transgender people!
Jamie was so kind and helpful...she walked me through ordering my birth certificate online...which I will have in my hands in three days...but it cost me fifty bucks, thank you Uncle Sam!! JAmie explained to me that now, when my birth certificate is changed...the original is sealed, and the new issued certificate, with my correct name and gender...will appear to be the original and only certificate ever issued (which might not have been the case had I gotten it changed way back in 2002!) So then, with THAT in hand, I can go get myself a Passport, which is gold-plated ID that NOBODY can question!!
NOW...my problem is the Healthcare Marketplace people will not accept documents form the Congressman, I have to upload them myself, to healthcare.gov...except that I do not have an account there...and wasn’t getting any email to tell me HOW to login in to upload what is wanted! Worse, the Congressman’s office was telling me there was no way to get an extension of time to get all this documentation to them!!
So...I call the Healthcare Marketplace people again. They help me to set up an account, and get my proper Application ID...where I was able to see my insurance...and the issues surrounding it….and this is where it gets fun…
THE ONLY ISSUE IS THE MEDICARE ELIGIBILITY!! Not a word about citizenship...or needing a birth certificate...or anything ELSE for that matter! Only the letter from Medicare...which I have, and can now upload. ADDITIONALLY, the person at Healthcare Marketplace WAS able to put in a request for an extension (my Congressman told me that could not be done!!) so I don’t have to worry about my coverage being cancelled...in case anything ELSE comes up!
Meanwhile, I am off to upload the letter they want which will hopefully resolve my problem. And the side benefit is, I got help from Illinois to now get my birth certificate legally changed and sealed, so that I can get a Passport, finally...and never again have to deal with this kind of nonsense!!
What a day...