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The future looked bright for Kim Riley when she graduated from the University of Missouri and quickly landed a full-time job. The first person from her family to graduate from college and working as a PR professional, Kim was living her dream. But in 1998 things began to change.
However, in 2005 the state of Missouri decided to trim its budget by changing the eligibility guidelines for Medicaid. Due to the severity of her son’s autism, Kim was told that Kendall’s coverage would not change, and it didn’t until last year. With Kendall attending a school for special needs children, Kim decided it was time to go back to work full-time. She applied for a full-time marketing position at Metropolitan Community College’s Penn Valley Campus and got the job. Kim signed up for the company’s healthcare insurance, but didn’t include Kendall because he was covered by Medicaid. A month after starting her new job Kim received a letter from the state of Missouri telling her that because of her new, full-time salary Kendall would no longer be eligible for healthcare coverage under Medicaid. She thought, “O.K., I’ll just sign him up on my health insurance at work,” but because more than a month had passed since Kim started her new job, she was told she’d have to wait for the next open enrollment period, 11 months away. Without insurance or Medicaid coverage, the psychiatrist who’d been seeing Kendall for years refused to see him any more. Suddenly, Kim had an autistic son who needed psychiatric care and medication that she couldn’t afford on her own. “I was angry and frustrated. I wasn’t sure what to do.” Things reached the crisis point when Kendall began hitting, kicking and throwing tantrums. At her wit’s end, Kim turned to two CFC agencies for help. She took her son to Swope Health Services. Despite his lack of insurance or Medicaid coverage, they gave Kendall a physical exam and made arrangements for Truman Medical Center to begin supervising his care.
Next, Kim contacted Legal Aid of Western Missouri. They spoke with Kendall’s case manager, convincing her that Kendall was still eligible for Medicaid coverage. It came with a price, but at least Kendall now has healthcare. Because of her income, Kim must pay $600 a month. She says, “I’m delaying paying other bills in order to pay for his health insurance. Although I consider our family middle class, we became one of the statistics you read about, along with so many others who are uninsured. I can tell you we are really anxious for July 1 to come around so Kendall can be on my health insurance.” Kim says, “There are so many causes clamoring for our attention that sometimes you wonder who you should give to. This experience convinced me that the best way to support a lot of different programs and agencies, that we all might need someday, is by giving to campaigns like CFC & United Way.” |
Kim
became pregnant and her baby’s father didn’t want anything to do
with Kim or his child. To complicate things further, her son was
diagnosed with autism and needed special care. As the
single mother of a disabled child, Kim knew she needed to spend more
time with her son so she found a part-time PR job at Metropolitan
Community College. With help from her mother, Kim managed to
get by on her part-time salary but only because her son’s
treatment and medicine were covered by Medicaid. 