ATLANTA — Deegant Adhvaryu completed his parents’ applications for Medicaid and food benefits in June. Then the waiting and frustration began.
In July, his parents, Haresh and Nina Adhvaryu, received a letter saying their applications would be delayed, he said. In August, the Adhvaryus started calling a Georgia helpline, he said, but couldn’t leave a message. It wasn’t until September, when they visited state offices, that they were informed their applications were incomplete.
The couple were mystified. They had Medicaid coverage when they lived in Virginia, before their recent move to metro Atlanta.
While they waited, Adhvaryu’s parents — ages 71 and 76 — delayed care, fearing they couldn’t afford it. They have Medicare, and, in Georgia, Medicaid pays for its premiums, copayments and deductibles. The lack of extra coverage strained their fixed incomes.
“It was concerning,” Deegant Adhvaryu said, because his family lost a critical financial “lifeline.”