have you been denied health insurance?

[mopinko]

my son turned 19 in november, and his coverage under our bc/bs employer paid policy ended. we cobra'd him, and began looking for other coverage. now, we have several family members with chronic problems that have worn the paint off of our insurance cards. but not this kid. we have had this coverage for over 15 years, and he has cost them all of about $1000.
but now we cannot get him a new policy. we tried statefarm, and bc/bs, and been turned down by both because of his "history"
he had a hard time in school, typical teenage sleep deprivation depression, went to his doctor, tried some zoloft, which made no difference, and dropped out and got over it. so now he has a "previous dx of depression, with further treatment recommended" he also went out on his 19th birthday with his far more worldly buddies, and was introduced to jack daniels. he had never had a drink before, and, cautious kid that he is, might never again. but he ended up in the er with a near fatal blood alcohol. so now he has a history of alcohol abuse, and needs to go to aa.
we are trying to appeal, but are not optimistic. the bc policy would have cost us about $100/mo. the cobra is costing us $350, and can only go a year. can you say GGGGRRRRR!!!!!
anyone ever win a fight like this?

[Fovea]

1. I am not saying don't try

but don't expect to win this fight.

[Yupster]

61. But once you are denied coverage,

that makes you eligible for the state high risk pool.

I live in Texas and my wife was denied coverage.

That made us eligible for the Texas High Risk pool which we got on within a few weeks.

I assume that every other state has a similar program since Texas is not exactly at the forefront of these types of programs.

Anyway, check to see if your state has a similar program to Texas. It should.

[SmokingJacket]

That really stinks!

It's one reason why I've always paid for mental health care out of pocket, not through my insurer (when I had one!) I knew that info would get into computers somewhere if I claimed it. Paranoia sometimes pays.

(I'm glad you used the term "sleep-deprivation depression" because I do believe sleep deprivation causes a LOT of depression, particularly in teens and new mothers.)

Is he going to go to college? It actually might be cheaper than insuring him... plus college kids have pretty good coverage.

[bottomofthehill]

5. looks like we had the same thought at the same time.

Great minds think alike

[mopinko]

15. he has a weird body clock

one of those people whose body clock is not 24 hours. it was the biggest reason he had trouble in school. having had 5 kids, i knew sleep deprivation when i saw it! as long as he can sleep when he wants, he has no mood problems. we home schooled til 8th grade, so it was never a problem. but it was not that bad til puberty. now he is a night person for a couple of weeks, then he is a day person for a couple of weeks. it is really an impediment to a normal life. but he is also the quintessential genius hermit. like so many gifted kids, he just can't take the bump and grind of the outside world. he was like this as a baby.
so, he is trying to figure out what to do with his life. he takes care of a lot of things around the house, so we keep him. i've known since he was 3 that he would probably never leave home.
he is working up to at least taking some classes at the community college. he will be taking his ged soon. don't know if he will be able to handle a full load, tho. at least not at first. i'm sure he will like it, tho. he loves to learn. he has taught himself several programming languages and builds computers for fun. he is just such a gentle soul. not much room for those in this world.

[Occulus]

20. not much room for those- don't I know it....

*sigh*

[mopinko]

27. is that you?

how do you cope? i know that there is a place for this kid somewhere, but damned if i know how to work that out.

[SmokingJacket]

22. Well good luck!

He sounds like a wonderful kid. I have a sensitive boy, too -- I think it's a rough row to hoe.

(And I wouldn't mind keeping my guy around either...)

[mopinko]

26. kinda trying

to get the hubby to quit his job and consult. he could be big help to him. (both he-s) little did we know when we decided to have our babies at home that people tend to go- home birth, home school, home business.
a friend of our tells me we should turn our house into a b & b. we are actually toying with the idea. it would be a great gift to this child. of course, we would have to dispense with his sibs first, but hey. i have hope that the others will leave eventually.

[bottomofthehill]

2. Life or Health

He may be denied life insurance but you should be able to get him health insurance. Is he in school, even community colleges offer pretty good insurance for young people.

[mopinko]

9. heatlh and

if he would go to school, he would go back on the family plan, no charge at all. believe me, we are pushing this.

[WillowTree]

21. Delete

Put the info in the wrong place. Duh!

[bottomofthehill]

36. Good point

Going back to school would solve all

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

3. Why does the COBRA only go for one year?

(I am a Benefits Administrator) WHen an overage dependent loses coverage they are entitled to 36 months of COBRA under Federal law. Is your COBRA Federal or State?

[mopinko]

8. thanks for this info

i did not know this, i thought it was the same as employee rules.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

14. no problem

Its 18 months for loss due to termination of employment (unless employee is disabled) 36 months for loss of coverage due to change in famliy circumstances (death of emp., divorce, overage dependent)

It doesn't help with the cost, but at least you have more time to explore other options. There is a website called ehealthinsurance.com that lists carriers offering individual policies. You might be able to find another carrier there although I'm not sure what effect the denial by BC/BS will have on other applications (outside my area of expertise!) Or you can hope he gets a job with employer paid benefits as someone else suggested!

[napi21]

4. My suggestion is to have him get a job that has HC benefits.

As far as I know, he would be covered under the employers group plan with no questions asked.

[mopinko]

17. well

don't know how many jobs with health insurance a high school drop out can get, but...
we are trying to get him to get back in school.

[Yupster]

60. Custodian or cafeteria worker

at your local school district would be one.

There are many others.

[Dorian Gray]

6. I don't understand...

I didn't think that HEALTH insurance could deny you. Life insurance... yes. But, for my health insurance, I was asked a bunch of questions, easy to answer, and then I got it. It's expensive as hell, but I wasn't turned down.

[barb162]

13. health insurers deny all the time, it is quite common

[supernova]

16. Yep, they sure can deny you

mostly for the preexisting condition clause.

Usually that means you have to have a diagnoses and treatment for an illness within a certain period of years before you sign up.

[barb162]

19. I am in the field; even people wo can afford private policies

often can't get coverage as the insurers simply won't write for pre-existing if there is something in the history for the last ten 10 years. Gotta have national health insurance in this damned country already.

[supernova]

30. Ah thanks. I didn't remember the statute of limitations

on that. So 10 years is standard?

[barb162]

34. no, but it is used fairly commonly. But for some conditions,

all they have to do is hear things like heart or lung or psych problems or cancer and you'll probably never get covered even if it was back 20 years ago. That's just the way it is. It is their choice to determine who they want to write. Do I agree with this? No. Similar to auto insurance, keep getting in accidents and you'll get dropped and no "good" auto insurer will want to write you.

[MountainLaurel]

35. Absolutely

I've known/known of several people who were cancer survivors, diagnosed with MS and lupus, treated for mental health problems at some point, who couldn't leave their existing jobs because they'd never be covered again.

[paula777]

25. Noooooo no no, you are very wrong about this - see my post below

[Mojorabbit]

7. My husband

who is a family physician had a heart attack six years ago at age 44. He had no heart disease. It was a congenital thing that led up to it and he now has a stent.
His ins. co. decided not to carry policies in fl anymore and dropped him.We have not been able to get health insurance anywhere for him. He has filled out a gazillion applications, all refused.
It worries me horribly. A big hospital bill would wipe us out.

[barb162]

10. call independent agents or brokers whose ads in the phone book

says they deal with health insurance and see what they can do for him.

See if you can get the insurance with an exclusion written in for psych and then they may underwrite him that way.

Or, if he is in school, kids can often get great coverage through the school.

[barb162]

11. I meant to add, this is quite common to get denied.

[supernova]

12. I was when I was a kid

I have a congenital heart defects (most since repaired), but my parents tried to get a life insurance policy for me and I was denied due to the pre-existing condition.

So yeah, I'm familiar with the stupidity that is American insurance.

Edit: Sorry about your son. Never mind the the obvious bias in the treatment of people with mental illnesses. :hug:

Does BC&BS sell individual policies in your state? I'd look into that after COBRA runs out.

[mopinko]

18. bc was one of the turn downs

we really wanted them, cuz our current coverage is fabulous.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

23. I have never in my life been without health cover until now.

I had always had health insurance under either my parents or my husband's coverage - (I always under his plan since it was free to union employees (parents got ex a job with the same company - knowing what I know now - I'm the one who should have gotten the job!). After my husband decided he likes someone 20 years younger than me better I went on Cobra benefits for three years at a cost of almost $450.00 a month. That premium like to have killed me but I paid it each and every month for three damn years. As of last June I had exhausted all of my Cobra benefits and United Healthcare graciously agreed to extend my coverage after the Cobra period for the princely sum of $1,200.00 a month. Just me, no children, nuthin. Single female who is not so young anymore. (Married 33 years.)Tried other companies, turned down completely because right after the separation and divorce I needed a Rx to deal with the stress and depression. Hadn't taken any Rx for over two years by the time the Cobra ran out. But since I once upon a time DID take a Rx I am not insurable.

The State of Kentucky does offer coverage for people who have been turned down for regular coverage. Unfortunately it would also cost me over a $1,000.00 a month. So...after working hard my entire life, never drawing disability, unemployment, welfare, etc. and having the misfortune of a divorce, I am one of the millions of Americans without a healthcare safety net. My family doesn't know, my kids, friends, etc. I can't even begin to think about it without getting upset. I am not getting preventive care, routine tests, etc. because we have a Congress is more concerned with judges and corporate whoreship than the citizens of this country.

[mopinko]

33. maybe we will get it

now that big corps like gm are getting sick of competing with countries that have it.
i just don't understand why the weatlh that is tied up by people being chained to their jobs isn't reason enough in this greedy country. that insurance has my hubby nailed to his job in fear. he could be a consultant, making twice the money in half the hours. this kid is the heatlhiest one in the family! we know that if he makes the break, we will have to settled for a bare bones catastophic policy, if we can get it. the numbers just don't add up. how many more small businesses would we have with national health care? about a gazillion, i'm thinking.

[paula777]

24. Mopinko, yes, I have gone through being 'uninsurable'

I applied at Blue Cross, Kaiser and a few others but they all turned me down due to past medical history. I have had a few medical problems in my life and because of them, no insurance company will accept me - not even if I pay them $500 per month they just say no. The only way to get covered in his situation is through an employer -once your in a job that offers medical insurance they HAVE to accept you. If he's in college and can only work part time - look for a company that offers health insurance to their part time workers. I know starbucks does - there must be others. GOOD LUCK - It's a terrible situaton, I know!

[WillowTree]

28. Check out CHIP.

If he lost his coverage under the group policy because he no longer qualified as a dependent child due to his age, he would be eligible for COBRA coverage for 36 months. See this:

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobra99.pdf

on page 6/7.

If he is in Illinois, he should speak with an agent who sells health insurance and ask about CHIP (the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan) which is available to persons who are unable to get medical insurance through normal channels. Any agent in-state should be able to get him information about CHIP. The CHIP site is here:

http://www.chip.state.il.us /

I'd check that ASAP because it may well be cheaper than COBRA (but be sure to compare the benefits so you'll know what the differences will be) and it could take a bit of time to get him enrolled if he's eligible.

Good luck!

[barb162]

37. Last I heard a few years ago, there is a several year waiting list

for CHIP

[WillowTree]

38. Which is why I said to apply ASAP.

He should still have two more years of coverage under COBRA so that should help to fill the gap. It's better than nothing.

[LeftyMom]

29. That sucks

I read about a hsing family with a special needs kid that kept him enrolled in their cover school (I think it was Conlara) well into his twenties because he could stay on their coverage as long as he was pursuing a diploma.

I don't know if that would work in your case, but it's worth looking into, I suppose.

[Iriemon]

31. Yep

I have a minor case of diabetes. Never had to take meds, just diet and exercise. Nonetheless, when I took a sabbatical and left work for a year, I couldn't get health insurance because of this condition. I went bare as one of the 44 million Americans without health care

[Misskittycat]

32. It takes very little to be declared uninsurable. This hits lots of people

This aspect of the insurance crisis is often underplayed. The 45 million uninsured figure has to be way under the true figure.

[Cleita]

39. Welcome to my world.

So do you still think national health insurance is a bad idea?

Oh the price is only going to get higher and higher the more you need and use the insurance. I know you have me on ignore, but maybe other uninsured people might want to know about this.

[mopinko]

41. i'm sure you will correct me if i am wrong but

i don't think i ever said that we had a perfect system. that argument was about the importance of profit motive to innovation. i think that pure market forces are a good thing. i don't think there is anything pure about the market as it exists today. and i don't think there should be a completely free market in life and death situations, either.
for every complex problem, there is an answer that is obvious, simple and wrong. part of that argument was also that i took serious exception to the simplistic nature of kucinich's plan. i think nationalized healthcare is the wrong answer. i think the system we have now is also wrong.
our heatlhcare system is a serious drag on our economy, both nationally and internationally. a better system would be a great investment economically, as well as morally. but i don't think seeing it as moral issue is useful.
i mostly just don't want the government, especially as it is constituted today, to be making all the healthcare decisions. the closest i have seen to a good plan was teddy kennedy's play or pay. i also think that individuals ought to be able to buy into their states medicaid plans. my main complaint about hillary's plan was that there was too much of a kowtow to the big healthcare companies. it is a difficult problem that will require a complex solution. and most of all, an uncorrupted solution. where do you go to get one of those in america today?


and i never keep people on ignore for long. i don't carry grudges.

[eridani]

44. Profit is not important to innovation

The three most medically significant discoveries of the 20th century were
1. Banting and Best's discovery of insulin.
2. The discovery of antibiotics by Fleming et al.
3. The Salk polio vaccine.

What do all three have in common? The discoverers didn't make one goddamned dime off of their discoveries, that's what! Real producers just want their next projects funded--they don't give a damn about putting roadblocks in the way of access to what they have already discovered merely to get more money.

[mopinko]

45. money makes the world go 'round my friend

thomas edison did what he did to get rich. most inventors and innovators throughout history were after fame and fortune. if you believe otherwise, you are out of touch with reality. yes, there are pure and altruistic people out there. and people who would do what they do with little hope of money. heck, i'm an artist. you couldn't find a more committed, less greedy bunch of people than my friends. but to a person, they harbor the hope of being the next andy warhol. everybody would like to strike it rich, but at the least, everyone has to make a living.
i'm not talking about unfettered greed. i'm not endorsing the kind of crap that goes on today. the human ego needs a check. but it is folly to think it can be stamped out, or that it would accomplish any good to do so.
and just as an aside, many, many of the great geniuses of any time were untreated bi-polars. believe you me, they want fame and fortune.

you can believe what you want on this issue, but the people you cited are the exception, not the rule.

[eridani]

48. The get rich crowd rarely accomplishes anything

I'm a researcher myself, and know for a fact that all the productive people want money only to the extent that it's needed to fund their next project, assuming a basic level of comfort has been achieved. Those who are mainly focussed on blocking access to their prior work are second rate minds, as a rule.

[mopinko]

53. i know a couple of dozen

pharma researchers. they all dream of getting rich. none of them got phd's for fun.

[eridani]

54. That's a good indication that their careers aren't going to be productive

--not in any real sense. Look for me too drugs and zero originality.

[mopinko]

58. you are making assumptions

that suit your opinion. they are quite wrong.

[eridani]

59. My assumptions are based on history

The people whose work most dramatically improved human health weren't driven primarily by profit.

[amazona]

50. thomas edison stole a lot of his "discoveries"

I'm just sayin'

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[ultraist]

40. I've heard similar stories

I was told by a friend, who is a psychologist, that people who have taken antidepressants or any other meds for psych conditions have a really hard time getting health insurance and usually cannot get life insurance. Apparently, they are coded as high risk for med problems and/or suicide. It's very discriminatory against people with mental health issues.

[amazona]

42. it is difficult

In my state you would be most unwise to ever get a diagnosis of clinical depression because you are un-insurable or close to it. Substance abuse/alcoholism on top of it and I'm stumped. He may have to move to another state. A relative with chronic fatigue moved to Tennessee and was able to get insurance there. I've also heard insurance is gettable in Washington state.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Deja Q]

43. Yep. And I am in no position to switch jobs.

I'm in no position to lose it either.

Though the idiocy has prompted me to switch, and my health might require my to lose it in a few weeks.

Fighting does not work.

[mopinko]

46. adding a laugh to this thread

today's non sequitur

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

47. Contact your insurance agent...

that you have your car/house insurance with and ask his/her advice.

Here is an article about the HSA insurance policies.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourhealth/P83670.
asp

I HATE that they are part of Shrub's ownership society scheme .. but I think they can make sense for a young healthy person (if your son can overcome the underwriting issues) Its a high deductible policy, but you can put up to the amount of the deductible into an HSA and it keeps accumulating year after year if you are fortunate enough not to need medical care. If your husband becomes self-employed, it may make sense for your whole family to go this way. We're thinking about offering them as an alternative to our employees next year

[amazona]

49. reactivated is that a good idea? I don't think he should!

I don't think he needs to give his auto insurer ANY clue that his 19 year old son has been treated for an alcohol overdose. He might end up with his auto insurance cranked up as well. No good can come of this in my very humble opinion.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[WillowTree]

55. It is highly unlikely...

....that this information would affect the underwriting of an automobile or homeowners policy in Illinois at all. Property and Casualty insurers don't ask for such information routinely nor are such things the basis of underwriting of those kinds of policies. And even if it was, not only would it be unethical for an agent to volunteer that kind of information, it would not be in his or her best interests to do so.

[mopinko]

52. this is probably the only way

that we can manage if he does go self employed. since we will be cashing in a good sized 401k, we can swing it.
we did talk to our state farm guy. that was the first turn down. he does not drive, has no license, so is not affecting our auto rates. probably will soon, as will his bi-polar 18 year old sister. we already bought the ex-large vaseline for that.

[WillowTree]

56. Have you even looked into CHIP?

[mopinko]

57. i took a look

i am hesitant to apply for such a scarce resource, when there are so many people out there with such greater needs.
we may need to cover the whole family in the next 6 months. this kid will be the least of our problems then. he is still insured for 30 more months under cobra, so he will not be eligible til then. it did not look like i could apply until that time.

[OzarkDem]

51. What state do you live in?

Here's a good resource on how to get and keep health insurance in your state. Download a free copy.

Georgetown University's web site has links to the Kennedy-Kassebaum guides - each one made according to your state and federal laws.

Also, contact your state's Dept of Insurance or Insurance Commissioner and file a complaint, if necessary.