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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by PhoenixGirl on January 16, 2001, at 15:42:45
I am so pissed off at how insurance companies treat mental illness. Many of them never cover mental illness treatment -- not even after the one year pre-existing condition limitation is over. If I get a job without medical coverage, then I will have to buy personal insurance, and they will make me wait a year before they cover pre-existing conditions. Depression is my pre-existing condition, and that's they main medical need I have! All this shit is total discrimination. The insurance companies imply that mental illness is not "real". I'm using the publicly funded mental health clinic now, and it is crap compared to private doctors. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can do? I am so frustrated. I want to find a doc who will help me try foreign drugs that you can't get in the U.S. (I've tried so many U.S. ones that don't work for me), or to help me try Ritalin. I'd have to have a good relationship with a doc who knows me well. What can I do? It seems hopeless. I need insurance coverage so bad. I need a real psychopharmacologist who understands depression as a biological illness. I wish there were some who have a sliding scale for those of us without insurance. Help!
Posted by Noa on January 16, 2001, at 16:22:22
In reply to Frustrated about insurance co. discrimination , posted by PhoenixGirl on January 16, 2001, at 15:42:45
I hear ya.
Thing is, these days, more and more psychopharmocologists are not even participating with insurance companies because they are so fed up with them. Still, if you have the indemnity kind of insurance (as opposed to managed care) you can still get partial (a small part) reimbursement of the cost, so having mental health coverage is certainly better than not having it.
President Clinton did make a change for federal workers--mental health coverage has to parallel other medical coverage. Hopefully, Mr. Bush won't undo this progress......
You might be interested in the organization called Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers. Their web site is:
Posted by NikkiT2 on January 17, 2001, at 16:23:25
In reply to Frustrated about insurance co. discrimination , posted by PhoenixGirl on January 16, 2001, at 15:42:45
I'm in the UK, and very, very few insurance companies cover either mental illness or HIV related. I find this totally disgusting.
OK, over here we have our "wonderful" (joke!) NHS, which gives free health care, but the waits are stupid. My pdoic wants to hospitalise me, but we have to plan itmover two months to get me an "non suicidal" admission. How useless?
The whole attitude to mental health stinks doesn't it... I always get this feeling "it's not a real illness".
n xx
This is the end of the thread.
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