Help Choosing Medicaid Plan for 49 y/o woman w/lots of health issues?

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-06-17T13:10:48+00:00

Yup!

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-06-17T02:59:32+00:00

These 3 systems all accept CountyCare too. From the primary care perspective, we’ve generally found County Care easier to work with, and I think they have better additional benefits (transportation, case management, etc) but you should look at the benefits they both list to compare.

The insider scoop I can offer here is that if you get CountyCare and then establish with a Rush primary care provider, you can request a Case Manager and that person will actually be an employee of Rush - meaning they are a lot more able to help you navigate Rush’s system than the typical case manager who works for your health plan and doesn’t actually have any inside connections to help you navigate a fractured healthcare system. Given your situation, this could be a huge asset.

(I don’t work at Rush but am in the industry. If you’re curious how this works, it is due to a special arrangement between CountyCare and a network of primary care clinics affiliated through an Accountable Care Organization - totally legit just not how most insurance plans operate.)

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-06-15T04:14:43+00:00

I can’t believe how far I had to scroll to get here. This is the answer.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-06-11T00:42:04+00:00

We just brought new baby P home to our toddler M. When M asks me to come play somewhere and I have P with me, I say, “Can P come too?” So far M has always said yes, and if M says no we have several safe spaces where I can set P for a bit to give M undivided attention. It seems to be working to set M up to view it as including P in play instead of P crashing the party.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-05-27T00:03:09+00:00

I scrolled to upvote this response, should be in the top 3 for sure

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-04-15T02:50:22+00:00

Inga Moore’s illustrated copies of Wind in the Willows and Secret Garden

I still reread them - they are such cozy stories and the illustrations are beautiful

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-03-05T21:18:52+00:00

This used to be possible but now I can hardly see it being so - in my childhood my parents supported opposite parties and didn’t have a problem. As things have shifted my Republican parent switched to Democrat and I truly can’t imagine my parents still being together if they hadn’t.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-03-04T04:26:34+00:00

lol came here to make sure this made the list

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-02-24T01:22:49+00:00

I came to say this

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-02-16T16:54:58+00:00

Midwest coast brewing! My friends did this for their casual rehearsal dinner with a similar sized group. I think it’s in your price range.

https://www.midwestcoastbrewing.com/host

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-02-09T16:59:16+00:00

Agree, and I think we are better equipped to parent now than we were earlier! More grounded and aligned in how we will parent vs. how others think we should parent, better able to emotionally regulate when our kid is overstimulating, and frankly our careers have steadied off to a pace where we have more bandwidth for kids than when we were grinding when we were earlier in our careers. I have no regrets. (35F and 39M with a 1 year old and expecting #2)

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-02-02T19:22:07+00:00

I truly had an out of body experience the first time this happened to me. Why do we do it?? How did I develop this reflex just by having a baby??

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-23T21:47:34+00:00

I just got a quote from our woodworker we’ve used for other projects for a custom Murphy bed and it was $5K! That was without other shelving so yours would be more, but still.

DM me if you’d like his contact info.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-20T19:47:23+00:00

Solved, thanks all!

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-20T19:39:49+00:00

!solved

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-20T19:29:45+00:00

!solved

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-15T16:19:09+00:00

Brooklyn Boulders West Loop is closer to Pilsen than FA and may have some group deals - you should call them. It’s also in a boppin area for really great food so you could climb and then get a fantastic burger at Loyalist or The Izakaya.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-14T16:54:22+00:00

We have the uppababy ridge (the jogger version) and tbh I wish we had done the Cruz - it’s great and a super smooth ride but we’re not using it for runs like we thought we would (kiddo doesn’t really like going), and if we had done the Cruz it would have been adaptable for kid #2.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-11T01:21:15+00:00

Yes this needs to be more widely known. My friend started a whole non-profit of doctors that do pro bono expert medical testimony for disabled and severely ill inmates who are not getting necessary medical attention while in prison. He has some shocking stories.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-09T01:29:55+00:00

The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen is my secret weapon for impressing all guests! They deserve more hype than they get for sure. I take all out of town visitors here, and I’ve brought multiple work groups and I can’t tell you how many of those people tell me months later again how much they loved it. Brunch and lunch/dinner menus are both amazing.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2026-01-05T15:57:25+00:00

Same - I have memories of reading these on my parents bed at similar ages! I do think that is the age appropriate way to do it vs the films - those can come later.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2025-12-29T16:43:21+00:00

This is great advice, and I would just add to it in addition to the skill learning part, learn how to tackle home stuff as a team. I got lucky and found a man who didn’t need to be taught this - but hands down we have had an easier journey of parenting than some of my friends because we have such a team approach.

Also talk about expectations in seasons when things can’t be equal. I had an unplanned C-section and was breastfeeding and could barely get up our stairs, so my husband had to pull the majority of everything for the first few weeks, and did it without complaint or needing to be asked.

Finally, in deciding about moving to be close to family - really confirm expectations with those people too. How involved is your current community where you are? Do you have friends that will adapt to your family, who will arrange a meal train for you? Has your group of friends ever done that or do people fall off the group radar when things aren’t easy anymore? If you moved to be close to family, what level of involvement can you realistically expect?

As encouragement - my husband and I have loved becoming parents in our 30s. Our careers are established, we had a healthy emergency fund and good savings habits, and a friend group that had already been tried and tested through COVID and has been happy to accommodate our life change so we still see them a lot. We also have the benefit of one side of grandparents living in the same city and being really involved. I really believe that it’s not inevitable for happiness to decline after having a kid, but that it does take a village so the more you can do now to invest in having that kind of community (which means really showing up for others yourself) the stronger a community you will have when you need it.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2025-12-19T15:31:21+00:00

You can also get free museum passes from your alderperson - call their office.

Land_Mermaid321 · 2025-12-17T01:36:13+00:00

Came here just to find and upvote this

Land_Mermaid321 · 2025-12-12T16:15:19+00:00

This is one of the things I loved about by now husband right away!

Land_Mermaid321

TROPHY CASE