Stereotyping

The first psychologist I met with regarding Alex asked if Alex was on Medicaid. I really didn’t think anything of it and politely said no and gave her our BCBS medical card.

Then the nurse at the clinic asked if Alex was on Medicaid. Ummm….the paperwork is right in front of you….but, no, he is covered under my medical plan.

Then the physician asked if Alex was on Medicaid. Okay, now this is getting old. I wondered if this was a question they asked every patient or if it was simply because I was a single mom. Nonetheless, I said no and gave him Alex’s insurance information. However, I called my girlfriend Carrie (married woman and mother of three) later that night to ask if she is asked if her kids are on Medicaid. As I assumed, she was never asked if her kids were covered under Medicaid.

Then yesterday, while talking about Alex’s Connors 3 evaluation, the assistant asked if Alex was on Medicaid. I paused for a long time until she interrupted and said “or is there another insurance provider”. I looked at her and just simply asked if she was only asking me that because I’m a single mom. She was stunned and said that she was just wondering who his insurance provider was. I told her that maybe a better way to pose the question would be to just ask “who is his insurance provider”

I’m pretty sure she’ll be aware of her stereotyping next time she crosses a single mom