The Post You've Been Waiting For...Or Not

*This gets long, but if you stick with it I guarantee that you'll be as worked up as I am by the end. Good times for all!

So I promised you a self-righteous rant about government-funded health care and I'm here to deliver. I was actually not going to post this rant because I thought I had gotten over it, but I guess I'm still upset. Boo.

First off, let me say that although Eric and I don't have private or job-supplied insurance, Abby is on Medicaid. And I'm OK with that. Eric and I both work. We pay our taxes. We are a functioning part of society. It's not like we are sitting around looking for handouts. I've made my peace with taking a little help from the government so my child can have decent health care. And when this new baby is born, s/he will also be on Medicaid. For the time being, I am on Medicaid so that I can receive good prenatal care, but after this baby is born, I'll go back to getting my paps done at the health department. Whee! Well now that that's cleared up let's get to the main reason for my little rant.

I went to the health department to get a pregnancy test and apply for pregnancy Medicaid a few weeks ago. Since Abby was going with me I had to promise her that this doctor's visit was for me only. She had nothing to worry about since she didn't have to see a doctor. Well, I did the pee in a cup thing, finger stick, and weight check and then I went back out to the waiting room to wait my turn to apply for Medicaid. While I was waiting the lady at the desk asked me if I wanted to apply for WIC as well. I should have listened to my instincts and just said no, but she was kinda pushy about it and insisted that it would be a good idea. So I said sure I'll sign up. Abby too, since she would also qualify. I filled out all the paperwork and went back to the stimulating business of waiting. A little while later, we got called back into the nurse's room again to get Abby's weight and a finger stick. What! No! This is not what I had planned. I told the nurse that I needed a little time to talk to Abby and decide if I was going to do this today. After calling Eric and calming Abby down (who was hysterical at the thought of a finger stick) I went back to the lady at the desk and told her that I was only going to apply for me today and not Abby. I told her that I had promised Abby that this visit was not about her and that she wasn't going to have to see a doctor today and I didn't want to break my promise to my daughter. She was very understanding and told me that after my WIC and pregnancy Medicaid application was completed I was done. Great! By then we had been there for 2 1/2 hours so we were very ready to leave. But then I get called back to the nurse's office again by a new nurse who hadn't gotten the message yet that we weren't applying for Abby. I explained to her my promise to Abby and my decision to not apply for WIC for her today. But then she started to get all snippy and told me that at some point I was going to have to teach my kid that some things have to happen whether she wants them to or not. Oh I was livid at that point. I laid into her like there was no tomorrow. I told her that she had no right to tell me how to raise my child and I that I was doing a great job on my own thankyouverymuch and there was no way that I was going to break my promise to my daughter. Grrr. Don't mess with mama bear! She finally backed off and again I sat down to wait...only this time in tears. By then I was cranky, hungry, tired, and very hormonal. As soon as my applications were done Abby and I practically ran out the door.

After lots icecream and some ranting to Eric and my mom I thought I was pretty much over it. But then it came time to use my first WIC check. I have never felt more like a second class citizen then at that moment. It's like the cashier saw the check and lost her manners. She went from "can I help you" to "oh great, not this" in no time. Since then, I've used the checks three times and have only recieved decent customer service from one store. And I've always picked something that was not WIC-approved. Now I read the list of what I can buy. I'm very careful about making sure that I follow all the directions, but it never fails that the cashier says "nope, you can't get this". I have no problem with WIC telling me what I can and can't buy with these checks. After all, it is their program. But I think that the individual grocery stores are micromanaging things and only letting you buy what they want you too. Like at Kroger today. I couldn't buy Jiff peanut butter I had to buy Kroger brand. So what would have happened if I tried to buy peanut butter at say Publix? Would I have been out of luck since they don't carry Kroger brands? Granted I know that I'm new to all this, but seriously, are the stores trying to make it difficult to shop for WIC items on purpose?

So I'm done. I'll use my last check in this batch and then call the WIC office to cancel. Yeah, it saves me a fair amount of money each week, but if I'm going to be this worked up after every time I use a check, it's just not worth it. Besides, I would have to go back to the WIC office (which is not near by) every month to pick up more checks and they were going to make me take a breastfeeding class and who knows what else. So, like I said, I'm done. I'm sorry WIC. It's not you, it's me. We've drifted apart. I need to focus on my sanity right now. Pick whatever reason you want, but I'm breaking up with you. Good bye. Please don't call.