Thursday, December 28, 2006

Heath insurance woe

TCBIM just called to tell me that his company is changing health insurance, effective Jan 1. What the fuck? Five fucking days notice? And guess who's not covered? O's pediatrician AND her diabetes team at Joslin. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Fuck.

I do NOT want to go to Bay State. I've heard horror stories.

I hate health insurance. Hate. It.

O is going to be crushed by this. I may have to go get a full time job just to get some decent health insurance.

19 comments:

Erin said...

Wow - 5 days?? There has to be some sort of legal action you can take, read the insurance papers he has because I think by law the employer is required to give 30 or 60 days notice. Seriously, there has got to be something you can do about this!

My sister had Bay State and you're right, there is no worse insurance out there - I'm so sorry for O!!

floreksa said...

I have no idea if my endo does pediatrics, but if she does, I'd recommend her 100%. She is by far the best Dr. I've EVER been too.

Let me know if you'd like her info. She's in Hatfield, right off 91.

Mamma Sarah said...

WOW! Sorry to hear the news. My employer did the same thing a couple of years ago and I got screwed... I hope it works itself out for O's sake!

Kerri. said...

You have to be kidding me. Call O's doctor and see what the deal is with their out of network plan. I had a payment plan with Dr. R. in the past and it was worth it. How often do you see her? When I was with her, I was going 4 times a year. Can you cut back to two times and see an educator in your plan? I did that and Dr. R. worked closely with my hometown endo to make sure things were covered.

This sucks, Julia. I'm so sorry. Let me know if I can do anything.

floreksa said...

I just talked with DH (he works for an insurance company). I guess there is no law that they have to give any notice (as sucky as it is).

He did say that you should contact the new insurance ASAP and try to get an overide at least for Joslin.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

If you can't get it covered, try asking at least for transitional visits (usually they'll give you 1 or 2).

HVS said...

That sucks-right out of the blue like that.Endo switching is the pits, especially when you're forced to! Joslin is like (one of) the best diabetes care places up there, if not the best...(well,from what I've heard)
Hope you can get this worked out w/the new insurance.

art-sweet said...

I have no idea about MA health insurance in particular, I just know that health insurance in general sux ass.

Lyrehca said...

It does seem odd to get insurance change information only five days ahead of time, but what do I know?

Call O's docs and see if they can cut you a deal to pay less if you're paying out of pocket to see them. I know I did this with a NY endo when they were not on my insurance.

Good luck--health insurance changes have filled me with dread more than once.

Kelsey said...

It's such a crime that in the rich ol' US of A, people with health conditions have to WORRY about getting the care they need!

This health insurance system is a joke. Right now I'm covered by excellent insurance at my husband's job, however we live in San Diego, where housing is ridiculously expensive. We'd like to move at some point, but I'll be hard pressed to find insurance that covers me so well. Nice choice.

Keep us posted on what you figure out, hopefully there will be some way to work the system!

Scott K. Johnson said...

Farcking insurance. I hate the hoops we have to jump through sometimes just to live our lives.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I'm not surprised by the short notice. This happened with an employer of mine a couple of years ago. It wasn't fun. I needed an override for one of my doctors, couldn't get an override for another, and had to switch meters and one of my meds because of their rules of coverage.

Now - I'm having to do all of this AGAIN with coverage I got that started December 1st.

I'm so sorry. That's awful. Do try to get an override for the doc thing - or, as Kerri suggested, try to strike a deal with the doc.

This sucks.

Sarah said...

I am right there with you where insurance woes are concerned. Not much else causes quite as much stress.

Angewl said...

I am soooo sorry. What assholes to not give any notice. I hope you can find a way for O to stay with her current DRs.

If not a mother... said...

stoopid insurance.

I think others in the area have offered up good suggestions, better than I can do.

But I'll be thinking about you.

Shannon said...

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this crap. But I hope the insurance company works with you on keeping everything the same.

This is the last thing you need.

Anonymous said...

I don't have any advice that people who are more in the know haven't already said (basically I was going to suggest contacting the new insurance company and asking for an exemption in O's case so she can continue her treatment where they know her best).

I just wanted to chime in and say fucking insurance. And give you a hug dot com. (((Julia)))

Anonymous said...

I work in HR and I know that your benefits department can often get an exemption when you can't. Call them and ask for help.

That totally blows.

Erin said...

Hey! Just a quick note to let you know I moved - it may or may not be temporary, but for now this is where I'll be - www.meandmatt.blogspot.com

Take care!

Erin said...

Damn, I left the wrong address on everyones site - it is www.meandmatt2.blogspot.com