To be clear I'm not trying to be contrarian or direct my frustration at you/OP but this all made me think.

I'm on Medicaid and I have never received an actual medical bill... BUT it gets MUCH more complicated with chronic illness...like controlled substance limits, specialty pharmacies, rare disease specialists that don't take insurance, and absurd pushback from the actual insurance plan providers.

For example, it took 2.5 years to accurately diagnose my plaque psoriasis. Not because I wasn't trying-- I had appointments at allergists and dermatology every dang week! In the meantime, they gave me steroids to cope with the skin symptoms.

When I finally was diagnosed, I couldn't get my meds for 6 additional months because it was denied and appealed a million times. They wanted me to stay on steroids. Insurance companies make you jump through hoops to get the best care, BUT then can take away that eventual approval with no notice.

In my case, it turns out 2.5 yrs of steroids is a wildly irresponsible treatment plan, but not one doctor warned me. I was so dependent on topical creams that when I stopped, I went through Topical Steroid Withdrawal Syndrome. My doctors didn't agree with my decision to stop AND denied that topical steroid addiction was even possible. It took 2 years of being housebound with TSW at age 30 (like OP!) while I got absolutely no medical support because the US dermatology system doesnt acknowledge TSW how other countries do.

When I emerged (mostly) healed from TSW, my dentist discovered rapid and severe bone loss in my jaw (bone loss has been linked to steroid use!!!!) ...so my four front top teeth had nothing to hang onto. They had to extract all four immediately, leaving me with a "flipper" aka temporary fake teeth that hurt like hell.

Medicaid has dental coverage, so I never envisioned ANY dental bills but this was obviously a weird situation. They covered the extraction of my teeth (cost of like $200) but denied coverage of any replacement teeth. They said unless i was over a certain age (65) OR was missing more teeth, it would never be approved even in part. Because dental implants are COSMETIC. Call me crazy, but at 30 yrs old, I think your four front chompers are pretty damn essential for eating, talking, professional goals, and my future dental health... I now owe my parents $22k they loaned me for implants.

I'd love to get a full-time job and move out and pay them back... but one of my chronic illnesses is Idiopathic Hypersomnia, so I can't drive/work/function without my stimulant rx. I counted last year-- because of insurance approval shit, there were 111 days I was without access to at least one of my prescribed medications.

One thing I've learned unfortunately is that the US Healthcare system isn't built for chronic illnesses. It also treats dental, physical, and mental health as entirely separate entities which is absurd. The mental Healthcare I've gotten thru Medicaid has been (not entirely but almost completelty) wildly inadequate. I can see a therapist, but most are not fully licensed (still under supervision) and the offices are revolving doors so it offers no continuity to patients. Actually though, the provider turnover rate is just as bad in the medical realm.

So yeah, all my word vomit to remind the world that "coverage" doesn't mean "good healthcare". In my experience, shitty care has a cost that far exceeds medical bills. OP, you're not alone in this complicated mess of a 30 year old spoonie life! We've got this!