medicaid

denjen

I have an employee that has only been here 6 months. (doesn't qualify for FMLA)
She has stage four cancer and will be gone for treatment. She is a good worker. If she can recover from this, we would want to get her back. Her husband wants me to get her back on medicaid. She is likely to loose her job, unless someone has something clever to prevent her from doing so.
My question is how do I get her on Medicaid? What is my part in this?

NaeNae55

You probably have nothing to do with medicaid. Medicaid is state insurance that is generally for those who can't afford regular insurance. There might be an issue of medicaid not stepping in as long as she has insurance through you. That is really up to her family to find out. They should apply directly with the state and get a social worker who can tell them what needs to be done.

Do you have an EAP? If so, they might be able give the family some direction.

Good luck!

Nae

denjen

EAP is a great idea.

joannie

In addition to what Nae said, you might need to be very careful. If Medicaid regulations are like Medicare regulations, you can not encourage employees to sign up to get them off your insurance.

stilldazed

Agree with the others. I think your part is to direct your worker and her husband to the local SS and/or Medicaid office for info. Try not to let yourself get caught up in the emotionalism. Then, ensure that you are admistering your company's policy consisistently, including the FMLA part. There is probably no way to know right now with the worker what the future will hold, and the last thing you want is to set a precedent that will difficult for your company in the future. Without knowing what kind of rehire options you have for workers, a viable alternative might be to allow the worker to resign (only if your attendance policy allows it), and permit reapplication at some point in the future if/when the worker recovers and can work.

Food for thought is a situation I walked into when I took my present job several years ago. An extra compassionate manager had allowed a worker to remain on the payroll with insurance benefits after a terminal diagnosis and prognosis of 6 months or less to live. By the time I showed up, the worker had outlived the prognosis by 1 year. When I started raising questions about why we had this nonworking worker enjoying full benefits, we found that the worker's health improved significantly after not having to report to work on a daily basis. The opportunity for rest and relaxation was a wonderful addition to the treatment regimen. Unfortunately, we had insurance benefits to deal with, and I was shocked then to find that the same manager actually sent a letter to the person saying something to the effect of "too bad you're still alive, but we're going to stop your benefits now because you lived." It was awkward, embarassing, and difficult as a benefits administrator. Please try to keep yourself from getting into a situation that comes anywhere close to that, for yourself and your company's other workers.

best wishes.

Rockie

Good advice from all. Employers should not direct or get involved in employees applying for Medicaid. Direct them to the local SS office for assistance.

What a nightmare "stilldazed"! I am sure there were good intentions at the time, but WOW...what a mess to have to clean up.