Michigan Medicaid Helps (sometimes)

A quick call yesterday to the Michigan Medicaid help line to check on authorization for Danny's new wheelchair, turned into a twenty minute tour of elaborate menu options and no answers to my questions. I did speak to two actual human beings, however, and found out that without authorization to communicate on behalf of my son, their lips are sealed.

I fell into possession of a Medicaid phone number to help providers (doctors, venders, wheelchair providers, etc.) and a tracking number for the wheelchair authorization that had been requested two months ago.(Wheelchairs, other expensive medical equipment, some medical procedures, and some medications need prior authorization before they can be ordered and paid for by Medicaid.) I called the number and was quickly connected with a woman who asked where I was calling from. When I revealed that I was a parent checking up on what had happened to the wheelchair order and offered her the tracking number, she said darkly that I was not supposed to have that information. I love to have information that I am not supposed to have, so she had trouble shaming me into apologizing for being involved in whatever potential fraud I was attempting to commit.

I must admit, I began to feel sorry for the people who have to answer these phone calls. The woman said that there is a terrific backlog, case loads are extremely high, and all they can do is work on orders as they come in. Her office is short-staffed and they were closed for 4 days over the holidays. More than a year ago, before Michigan's economy became even worse than could be imagined at the time, I stood in line at the local Department of Human Services waiting to straighten out a problem with my other son's food benefits. It was a miserable sight to see so many jobless people signing up for benefits and the problems have gotten much worse.

The woman told me to call the Medicaid Beneficiary Help line at 800-642-3195, although she didn't know that it would do much good. The wheelchair provider is in a better position to find out what is happening with the authorization. I called anyway, and after trying a few menu items, ended up with Michigan Enrolls. Michigan Enrolls is generally for enrolling people who have Medicaid in a managed health plan, I think, but in this case the man who answered the phone was also taking other questions to help beneficiaries. I explained that I was calling for my son and wanted to find out what was happening with the wheelchair authorization.

Then the man (Derek) asked if Daniel was available to speak with him. Danny was at his group home and, available or not, he has never spoken an intelligible word. He can be loud and obnoxious when he needs to be, but I don't think that would be very helpful to the poor man from Medicaid. Then Derek said that his computer did not show that I was Daniel's "authorized representative" and he could not give me any specific information. I asked if anyone else was listed as Danny's "authorized representative", and he replied he could not say. His lips were sealed.

Here is what I did find out:

If you are the guardian of person receiving Medicaid benefits and want to be listed as the authorized representative of a beneficiary, you need to write a letter to the Privacy Officer. Include in the letter the date of birth and Medicaid ID # of the person who receives the benefits, and your phone number. Send with the letter a copy of your driver's license showing your photo, license number, and signature, and a copy of the relevant guardianship papers. Sign and date the letter. Send it to:

Privacy Officer
Michigan Department of Community Health
201 Townsend St.
Lansing, MI 48913

You have a nice day, Derek. Thank you for the information and next time maybe we can speak more freely.