Elimination Rider For Depression
On the positive side, at least you were able to obtain medical insurance that would cover other unexpected illnesses, unlike the person in California that is unable to get health insurance because of her depression. 1 CommentLeave a comment |
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I just read the blog post about the person in California that could not get health insurance because they were taking anti-depressants. I live in Ohio and I have the opposite problem. I also recently applied for health insurance and Blue Cross told me they would approve me for coverage, but would not pay for anything related to my depression. I was confused by this because my friend has a more severe depression than me and her insurance pays for her therapy and her medications. How could this be?
There could be a couple of explanations why your friend receives medical benefits for her depression, yet an elimination rider was placed on your policy when you recently applied for medical insurance. If she is on a group health plan offered through an employer, the insurance company may not place elimination riders on individual employees. Group health insurance regulations are different than individual health insurance regulations as they pertain to placing exclusions on new policies. The other possibility is that she had her insurance coverage prior to being diagnosed with depression. Therefore, when she applied for coverage, she did not have this pre-existing medical condition for which the insurance company could reject paying benefits.
There are several health insurance options available for those individuals who are trying to buy health insurance, but have problems with getting the best health insurance because their depression is seen as a preexisting condition. The first possibility and the most likely to yield results is to try to get on a group health plan, that would mean, switching from whatever plan you have now, elimination rider or not, to join a group plan provided by an employer. Federal Law (The HIPAA Act) is in place to make sure that new members of a group health plan can not be denied because of a preexisting condition. Another option is to join a higher premium plan that will cover your preexisting condition. Last, there is the option of joining a state mandated high risk insurance pool although the cost will no doubt be higher.
Comment by James — June 21, 2009 @ 11:45 pm