A Father fights for guardianship of his son because he hasn't filed for Medicaid. Who is right?
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By ALEXIS SHAW
A North Carolina father is embroiled in a legal battle with a hospital that wants to assume guardianship of his comatose son.
A hearing was held on Tuesday to determine who will make the medical
decisions for Freddie Lempe, 18, of Smithfield, N.C. The teenager has
been in a coma since a car accident on March 6, 2011.
Lempe was in the passenger seat of a car that spun out of control on
Highway 39 in Johnston County, N.C., throwing him out of the car. While
the driver walked away with only minor injuries, the accident left
Freddie with both brain and spinal cord trauma.
Now, WakeMed, the Raleigh hospital in which he has been receiving care
for over a year, has filed a suit in Wake County Courthouse to replace
Lempe's father as his legal guardian to ensure that the overwhelming
amount of paperwork is completed so that the teenager is eligible for
Medicaid.
Read More: http://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-dad-battle...
"Freddie Lempe is now 18. His Medicaid coverage expired – apparently in April, but that’s not clear, said his father – and someone needs to reapply on his behalf so that the cost of his care at WakeMed is covered.
A court filing on behalf of WakeMed says Lempe was denied Medicaid because his father failed to pull together the proper paperwork when asked. Frederick Lempe and his lawyer said Tuesday that wasn’t true. They blamed Johnston County’s Department of Social Services, which is charged with handling the application because Lempe’s hometown is Smithfield.
Medicaid is the government health care program for people and families with low incomes and limited assets that’s funded by the state and federal government and administered by the state. Lempe initially qualified, but there was confusion over his coverage after he turned 18 in October.
“To be honest with you, they all tell you something different every time you talk to them,” he said.
Eventually, his father said, Lempe’s eligibility expired, apparently in April. After that, he said, Johnston DSS demanded a confusing and ever-increasing swirl of documents, which slowed the reapplication.
Frederick Lempe’s attorney also said that WakeMed had moved too aggressively in seeking to have Lempe’...
"Freddie Lempe is now 18. His Medicaid coverage expired – apparently in April, but that’s not clear, said his father – and someone needs to reapply on his behalf so that the cost of his care at WakeMed is covered.
A court filing on behalf of WakeMed says Lempe was denied Medicaid because his father failed to pull together the proper paperwork when asked. Frederick Lempe and his lawyer said Tuesday that wasn’t true. They blamed Johnston County’s Department of Social Services, which is charged with handling the application because Lempe’s hometown is Smithfield.
Medicaid is the government health care program for people and families with low incomes and limited assets that’s funded by the state and federal government and administered by the state. Lempe initially qualified, but there was confusion over his coverage after he turned 18 in October.
“To be honest with you, they all tell you something different every time you talk to them,” he said.
Eventually, his father said, Lempe’s eligibility expired, apparently in April. After that, he said, Johnston DSS demanded a confusing and ever-increasing swirl of documents, which slowed the reapplication.
Frederick Lempe’s attorney also said that WakeMed had moved too aggressively in seeking to have Lempe’s father removed as his guardian, and that the hospital’s sole focus seems to be money.
“The only reason they’ve given is saying that his father was not able to procure Medicaid, and maybe someone else could,” said attorney Marcia Stewart."
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2...
I don't know why they're saying that things were more difficult after he turned 18--Medicaid covers children until at least 19. All entities involved are blaming someone else...who know if any of them are telling the truth? In any case, I hope it's resolved soon.
The kid needs care.
Here's my emotional question. Why hasn't the father lived up to his repsonsibilities to help his son?
I have no idea what the legal implications would be.