Missoula resident Bethany Zulick recently decided she needed a career change. She kept thinking back to her time teaching English overseas.
“It’s so exciting to me to watch someone learn a new word or have that spark of understanding,” she said.
Zulick decided to go back to grad school to become a high school English teacher. Before she could take the leap, she needed to figure out how to maintain health insurance.
“Because the student health insurance would have run me almost as much as my tuition for the semester,” she said.
Zulick was grateful she was able to get on Medicaid because she could continue going to the dentist and seeing her doctor for allergies.
“It really took the pressure off for me.”
Up to 5,000 people every month will have to show they are meeting the state’s new Medicaid work requirements, according to state health officials. People who aren’t in compliance will have until October before they lose coverage.
Zulick planned to submit paperwork for her exemption as a college student. She didn’t expect that process to start until later this fall, but then she got a letter that confused her.
“Some of the letter says that this information is due at my next recertification, and some of it says it’s due within 30 days of the letter,” Zulick explained.
Policy watchers worry confusing letters like this one may lead to people losing coverage because they don’t know if they need to take action.
Zulick says she’ll be spending her next day off from class calling the state’s help line to see what the state is asking her to do.
