OH HEALTH INSURANCE

Monday, August 23, 2010


I received my insurance cancellation in the mail. And I made my first (super expensive!) COBRA payment. Ugh. This happened to coincide with reaching my out-of-pocket max for the year. Double Ugh. I called the company to inquire about their policies for individuals purchasing their own insurance. I began to explain my situation, told him I had Endometriosis. "You have what now?" This guy couldn't pronounce Endometriosis after I clearly stated it three times & spelled it twice. He asked me to describe it & (annoyed) I responded, "It's complicated."

He needed to check with his supervisor to see if they would even consider offering me any plan at all (given my condition) & get back to me by the end of the day. (Which he didn't & still hasn't). How frustrating! I'm suddenly not good enough to insure. I seem to remember my insurance payments taken from every single check I received. So why all of a sudden don't you want my money? Interesting.

I'm not a health care expert, so don't get me wrong. But I can't help but think this is backwards. When I go to the market, they sell food & if I can pay for the item, I can buy it. The owner doesn't ask me a list of questions to see whether or not he will sell me the food. Why isn't insurance the same way? If you offer plans in my area, why can't I just sign up & pay a reasonable fee for it.

Or better yet, if you need medical care, you can go to a hospital or doctor's office & receive care. It doesn't matter what your job might be or if your insurance validates your condition, if you need help you can get it. I'm not gonna pretend to know the best way to enact this, but it seems morally correct to me.

6 comments:

Amanda said...

I'm so sorry to hear this :o( for all the disadvantages our NHS has (long waiting lists, procedures and meds having to be justified due to lack of funding etc) we are so lucky to have free healthcare over here... I can't imagine having to deal with the issues you do... I hope it all gets sorted soon xx

Jenn said...

Thanks Amanda!

It's hard to imagine how our health care system has gotten to be so complicated.

Jessica Bell said...

Thanks for your donation to The Writing SHow! You are officially entered :o)

So sorry to hear about your health insurance :o(

take care!!!

Jeanne said...

Jenn,

I just sent you a private message. While it's expected to take until 2014 to roll out health reform, I don't know if your health insurance company can legally discriminate against you for a pre-existing condition.

Even if that new part of the law isn't in effect yet, you should be able to purchase insurance by showing your certificate proving that you've been insured without gaps.

The big trick there is NO GAPS. So, technically... as little as one day without coverage could be an issue IF the insurance company decides to fight you.

The sooner you take aggressive action, the better. If you haven't received your certificate proving past coverage in the mail, I would call your former employer and have them fax it to you or go pick it up immediately and fax it or hand-deliver it to the insurance company. Time matters.

This is a major pain but it could mean the difference between being insurable and not.

Good luck!

Jeanne

Jenn said...

Thank you for working to save the Writing Show! I'm so excited about your contest! I already received my articles from Paula B.

Jenn said...

Thanks Jeanne!!

I haven't had any lapse of coverage so I hope I can work this out soon!

I really appreciate your support & link!!!!!