Uninsured Chldren? Welcome to My Nightmare!
by Denise

When I volunteered to be a Blogher Health & Wellness CE I thought I might someday write about health and wellness topics that touched me personally but I never dreamed one of those topics would be uninsured children. This just proves the point that you should never say NEVER and it CAN always get worse...

Last week I discovered my daughter no longer had dental insurance. I discovered this when what I thought was her insurance company denied a $600 claim for dental work this year. I tried to remain calm and told myself it was just a mix up because her father had retired from the USAF and had neglected to inform me of her new dental insurance information. I sent him an email. I left him a message on his home phone. I waited. I tried not to panic.

Hours pass and the phone rings. "I cancelled her dental insurance because it was expensive." OMG. Time to panic. I reaffirmed that he had, in fact, kept her health insurance. Thankfully he had, but he did not renew my son's insurance, either dental or health, even though that was our agreement - he would maintain insurance for both children til they reached the age of 25 or were able to acquire their own insurance.

So now I sit here with a completely uninsured 20 year old and a partially uninsured 16 year old with $2500 worth of dental work scheduled for the year. Did I mention I never thought I would be in this position? Being a military dependent all of your life does not prepare you for such a thing. Military health care has always been a given. When you retire you simply transfer your health care to the retiree plans. I'm divorced from the man and have the option of using military offered health insurance. Why am I in this position? Why are my children uninsured? Blah!

Oddly enough, this week is Cover the Uninsured Week. Kate Steadman of Healthy Policy (by the way, Kate is closing her blog this week - she got a job!) blogged some good info and links to kick off the week.

So while others will persist with their false claims that the uninsured receive care, and therefore the problem is not immediate, remember this:

· 41% of the uninsured adults reported skipping medical care because of cost last year. This number doesn't include the 20% of children who lack health insurance.

· 23% of uninsured adults report their health as "fair" or "poor," compared with 12% of insured adults.

Have you seen any other bloggers talking about the plight of the uninsured? Do you have any personal experience you can share? I could use all the help I can get - and looking at those numbers, it looks like I'm not alone.

~~Denise
Daily Dose of Denise

Submitted by Denise (view blog) on Thu, 05/04/2006 - 07:45

Comments

 

The Underinsured and Mental Health Coverage

Excellent points Denise.  I would just like to add two thoughts:

Being insured doesn't necessarily mean everything is all right.  Many people I know, including myself, aren't utilizing insurance because their coverage is so inadequate they cannot afford the copays.  I also know people who avoid getting proper medical care because it involved months of haggling with the insurance company after each and every appointment or procedure.  They feel it is not worth the hassle.  (But then this is what the insurance company has to be banking on.  I can think of no other reason to invest so much of their employees' time and the company's paper in haggling about payments unless it saves them money when people avoid using the coverage because it is too much of a hassle.) 

At this time many plans offer minimal or no mental health coverage. For families and/or individuals who suffer from mental health issues this is a serious deficit that can rack up bills they will never be able to pay.  This doesn't make sense to me since there is plenty of research showing that our mental health affects our physical health. 

So tell me again why we didn't vote for Hillary???

Submitted by kellenvh on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 10:14
 

What a terrible situation

It is completely irresponsible of your ex to cancel his kids' health insurance. I hope that he understands that in saving a few bucks, he will now have to pay for the rest of her dental work out of pocket. (And I hope he is responsbile enough to do so.) I think your plight actually reflects two disturbing trends:
1. lack of health insurance
2. divorced fathers (or sometimes mothers, but usually fathers) refusing to provide appropriate care for their kids

Universal health insurance can at least provide one solution. I'm not sure that can be done about parents who are assholes.
Suzanne, BlogHer Contributing Editor - Travel & Recreation
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman on Thu, 05/04/2006 - 12:21
 

What a terrible situation

It is completely irresponsible of your ex to cancel his kids' health insurance. I hope that he understands that in saving a few bucks, he will now have to pay for the rest of her dental work out of pocket. (And I hope he is responsbile enough to do so.) I think your plight actually reflects two disturbing trends:
1. lack of health insurance
2. divorced fathers (or sometimes mothers, but usually fathers) refusing to provide appropriate care for their kids

Universal health insurance can at least provide one solution. I'm not sure what can be done about parents who are assholes.
Suzanne, BlogHer Contributing Editor - Travel & Recreation
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman on Thu, 05/04/2006 - 12:21
 

double the usual outrage!

Sorry about the duplicate posts - let's chalk it up to my double level of outrage at your plight.

Suzanne, BlogHer Contributing Editor - Travel & Recreation
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman on Thu, 05/04/2006 - 12:24
 

Sorry to hear that Denise!

Sorry to hear that Denise! Unfortunately I haven't had any type of experience like that to be able to give any advice. I didn't know a man could legally cancel insurance on their kids like that, but what do I know?

Submitted by Trisha on Sat, 05/06/2006 - 14:59
 

I was uninsured!

When I was diagnosed with colon cancer last summer, I was completely uninsured (although, I was working as a temp for an insurance company). I knew something was wrong, but I avoided going to the doctor because I was sure that I would be getting medical insurance soon. Well, my colon finally perforated and I couldn't ignore it any longer. I have since been approved for Medi-Cal (California's medicaid) and that approval was retroactive so it covered my emergency surgery and hospital stays. Some days though I can't help but wonder if it would have been caught sooner had I been insured. If you want any more info about my situation, just let me know.

Christine
Colon Cancer Sucks Ass

Submitted by Christine Helena on Sat, 05/06/2006 - 17:10
 

Sorry to hear that, Denise.

Sorry to hear that, Denise. Aren't divorce agreements put on paper in the US? Isn't there a way to force him to insure his kids the way he should or at least pay the expenses if he refuses to insure him? And the least he could have done is discuss it with you before doing it.

The health care system in the US really scares me.

Every knot has someone to undo it (Syrian proverb)

Submitted by Daily Dog on Sun, 05/07/2006 - 01:45
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