Here We Go Again!

I have had a hate, hate relationship with health insurance companies for years now.  Around the time my son was born my husband started a business.  At that time, he got a contract that until recently (7 years later) has been covering all our bills.

When I had my son, I was planning on going back to work because we needed my income (and my health insurance).  The income from the contract meant that I didn't need to go back to work though.  Which meant we were on our own when it came to health insurance.

I had a family friend who was a health insurance broker and he was able to help us find the best policy for us.  I am a firm believer that you shouldn't lie.  Ever.  And omission is a lie too (especially on an application).  This is where my hate, hate relationship comes started.  When the underwriting form asked if I'd ever seen a chiropractor, I said yes.  You see, I went to a chiropractor while I was pregnant.  All of you ladies out there who've been pregnant probably understand.  I saw a chiropractor every 2 weeks because I was driving 2 hours each way, 5 days a week.  Do that with 15+ lbs strapped to your stomach in an uncomfortable car and tell me the underwriter wouldn't have done the same thing.  Once I had my son and stopped the commute, I didn't go back.

For the most part, it was a good fit and the pricing was very reasonable (especially after I was able to contest the increased fee after not going to the chiropractor for a year).  After a couple years we decided to switch our plan a bit (but still with the same provider).  That required us to go through underwriting again.  This time I answered yes when it asked if I'd been on a prescription for allergies.  You see, I'd been given a sample that I used for 2 days till I determined that what I thought was allergies was actually a cold.  Well, they increased my insurance premium for that too.

Today, I got a letter in the mail saying that we have been approved for insurance by a company in Florida (our company from VA could not cover us here), but with a stipulation.  My daughter's rate is going to be 150% of the normal amount because she's had multiple UTI's recently (and the increase is permanent).  Well, guess what?  She had them because the doctors at the urgent care clinics (in Florida I might add), were not giving her enough antibiotic to clear the infection so it kept coming back only a few days after being off the RX.

Jon has been doing research and figured that our policy would probably go up 100% or more just because most companies are doing that now.  So, when I called the insurance company to find out what the premium would be (it was not included in the letter, so I was a bit worried), I was prepared for more than double what we were paying in Virginia.

Guess what?  It was $11 per month LESS!  Praise God!  I'm still going to contest their rating of my daughter.  In trying economic times like these, who wouldn't want to try to reduce their rates even more?  God is good!  Let me rephrase.  God. is. great!