talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

Rats are looking better and better.

Some insurance companies are now denying or limiting coverage if an individual has taken antidepressants. What?! I'm not a fan of treating every condition with pharmaceuticals, but this is utterly ridiculous step in a dangerous direction.

Ridiculous but not surprising given the way insurance companies substitute the judgment of a claims clerk for an accredited doctor, base their compensation on what they determine you "should" pay, not what you actually pay, and prefer that insureds defer treatment (or undergo an interim treatment) rather than take care of a problem at an early stage. Or just don't use common sense: for example, my insurance carrier denied my claim for an annual check-up. It wasn't covered because it was only 350-some days after my previous check-up. The rule is that you can only have one check-up per year, and a year = 365 days. Stupid me--trying to schedule a doctor's appointment when it was convenient, rather than waiting another two weeks and having to find a happy medium between my class schedule and the doctor's appointment schedule. The insurance representative told me I should keep better track of my appointment days to avoid this type of denial. That's not the advice I want to hear when I'm paying the insurance company a chunk of every paycheck.

You know the Pivot questionnaire that James Lipton uses on "Inside the Actors Studio"? Well, if I'm ever asked, the job or profession other than my own that I'd not like to participate in is insurance. That's a circle of hell unto itself.

Some people would like a lot of money to buy a particular car, or a home. Those things are nice, and I'd put them on my shortlist, too, but what I'd really like is enough money to self-insure and free myself and my loved ones from the insurance industry.