Honestly, because the good stuff was far too expensive. My husband's policy would have cost us $600 per month to cover the kiddos and myself. At the time I only needed wellness check-ups, and the kids occasionally had a bought or two with strep. We were a 'normal' family; medically speaking. There was nothing high risk about us. K's asthma was easy to keep under control, and so we decided to go with a plan that met our needs, without killing our wallets.
Fast forward one month.
I am now a walking diagnosis of death. (Yes, my tongue is in my cheek). To the health insurance industry I am a nightmare. Never before have I ever cost health insurance companies any money like I will now. Most of us pay into premiums that we never really get the maximum out of. I'm a dollar sign that just increases with treatment options. Even when I was having children, the insurance companies were fine with dolling out checks, because I had paid for maternity coverage. Now.....well now, I have a problem.
When I contacted my insurance rep, she was really quite nice about everything. She walked me through my policy and pretty much explained that I would have a $11,000.00 deductible to be met. Yep. Yearly. So, what went from $600.00 per month (yes I choked on that amount at the time) during our planning stages, has now moved into the crazy amount of $11,0000.00 (I think at this point I've swallowed my tongue). I'll just keep typing the amount and hoping that the extra zeroes on the end will cease to shock me at some point.
Before my insurance will even touch the bills, I have the opportunity to pay a large amount out of pocket.
Now that I've gone off on my tangent, please know this: I believe this will all work out. The more that I think about this, the more I am at peace with the fact that I am well in Hand. So, it's off to bed with me to rest these weary bones, so that I can wake up tomorrow and begin my fight anew. Nothing but love and a reminder to really understand your insurance policies before life knocks on your door ~ Kami
4 comments:
Kami, unfortunately I have a lot of experience with hospital bills and insurance, between multiple IVFs and Alex's 43 day hospital stay. If you ever get overwhelmed with sorting through them I would be happy to help. I also google how other people get things covered by insurance. For example I Read others got special formula covered under durable medical equipment, previously the insurance told me no. Called back and asked about durable and yup covered. Also anestesiologists hardly covered under in network costs but, find out who yours will be ahead of time. Call office and then they will usually accept in network payment so you wont have additional out of pocket fees.
Because Alex had so many bills and payment plans I ended up using an excel spreadsheet to track. Just give me a shout if you need help tackling stuff.
Ugh! Insurance and money is always an added bonus of excitement & fun when you are already stressed out. :( I have been "uninsurable" since I left the corporate world. Insurance companies do not always have to cover pre-exisiting conditions. I know it is different for group policies than self insured, but still a headache to deal with. A hidden blessing is that you had insurance in place a month before diagnosis and not after so that you don't have to fight the label with getting coverage. $11000 is high, but the insurance company with still negotiate lower costs to you and your money will go farther than trying to pay it on your own. Also checking with the billing office of your providers they may write off a portion of your out of pocket expenses. Good luck!
~Jodi
It is so unfair to have to deal with this on top of fighting for your life. Love you, hang in there! I know sometimes the last thing you need is more anecdotes, but when my little sis was diagnosed my parents didn't have insurance. It is amazing to see, but there are a lot of costs that can be worked out. Help often pops up in unexpected places.
Maybe you could take up some target practice- I can design you some insurance agents. :D
After Chloe was born the insurance company assigned me a case manager. It was so nice, she worked for the insurance company but helped me navigate through all the pre-approval paperwork, etc. She also helped make sure that all the test results got to the right people so we didn't have the same thing done twice. It made going Chloe's heart surgery a bit less stressful knowing that I had jumped through all the right hoops first.
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