Medicaid and Treatment in New Jersey

[Guest guest]

Hello,

My mother has severe rheumatoid arthritis and needs to see a

rheumatologist to treat her condition before it gets worse. The

problem is that she has no insurance but has Medicaid. We live in

northern New Jersey and I’ve called all the local rheumatologists to

see if they take Medicaid and as you can already guess, none of them

do. I’ve also contacted the local hospitals and they told me that my

mother would have to go to the hospital’s “clinic†to see a

rheumatologist and get treatment. I know what happens at a “clinicâ€.

I’ve heard conflicting things from the admitting office at the

hospital and from the people at the dr’s offices about these clinics.

Can anyone help me understand how a patient with Medicaid can get

admitted to a hospital and get regular treatment? Is it possible even

to get such specialized treatment with Medicaid? Any information

would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.