[coquinarock]

I never thought that my rather limited private health insurance would prove to be such a disability! When my COBRA was exhausted my ex-husband was required to continue my health insurance through an individual (private) plan. The plan is very limited, has extremely high co-pays (each dr visit is $75), only covers generic medications and doesn't cover any behavioral health inpatient treatment. I have Type 1 (childhood onset) diabetes and use an insulin pump. So,.....

My income is non-existent and I have been trying to get some financial assistance and/or mental health assistance through the county system to no avail; however, since I have insurance I'm not eligible for any help. I have spent several weeks on this and talked to every dept in the social services system. It doesn't matter that the policy doesn't cover mental health, it only matters that its on record that I have insurance. I've been advised to drop the private policy yet no one will guarantee that I will be accepted by Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Medicare, etc... I can't go without insurance because of the insulin pump isn't covered by the Medicare system. I've been without my Bipolar medication for three weeks waiting for the inevitable mixed episode to begin.

This is quite a "catch-22" and I've exhausted myself trying to get help!

Just my rant for the moment.

[Perna]

Talk to your psychiatrist or doctor prescribing your bipolar meds; California has a parity law in effect and it includes bipolar treatment; I think your insurance has to cover you:

http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/dmhc_consumer...entalhlth.aspx

[coquinarock]

This insurance mess has rapidly become a quimire! If I chose to resign from my insurance program I must wait six months to apply for the state's "pre-existing conditions" health insurance program with no guarantee that I will be accepted. My ex is required to pay for my health insurance premiums; however, if I decide to drop my personal policy he won't be required to pay for it at a later date. I've tried to change companies but no one will even let me apply since I have pre-exisiting conditions. Yet, I have no income and can't afford the $75 co-payments for doctor appointments. I have tried every social agency in the county and get the same response ... with insurance of any kind there isn't any program that will help me with the co-pays or medications. The answer is employment but that doesn't seem to be a sustainable option. Sooooooooooooooooooo

[dragonfly2]

Do you think you'd qualify for Social Security disability of any kind? You might not have recent enough credits for SSDI, but you may qualify for SSI, at which point you should be able to get Medicaid and other services if you're not already (food stamps, housing and utility assistance, etc). I'm not sure if you would be allowed to keep your current insurance and get the state insurance even with the disability, but you are able to have Medicare and the additional insurance at the same time, provided that the other insurance isn't through COBRA (which it sounds like it's not anymore, correct?). It takes a while for Medicare to kick in once you've been declared disabled, but the additional income can help pay for copays in the meantime. Be sure to go back as far as you can in deciding what to list as your disability date. If you became sick two weeks after being laid off and haven't quite gotten back on your feet, then that could be an appropriate date to use. I would check with your unemployment insurance information to make sure there wouldn't be a conflict. (For example, where I live, a person has to be physically able to work to collect unemployment. So, if I were collecting unemployment and then said I was disabled, I couldn't collect unemployment for the time I claimed disability. But I think if my disability date overlapped with my unemployment collection dates and I was approved for SS, I would just have to pay back the unemployment somehow.)

Sorry to add the thought of another potential red tape headache to your list, but applying for disability may be your best option at this point.

[Perna]

I would go back to the judge and see if your husband can help pay for the co-pays or get a part-time job to pay for a monthly doctor appointment.

Originally Posted by coquinarock

I never thought that my rather limited private health insurance would prove to be such a disability! When my COBRA was exhausted my ex-husband was required to continue my health insurance through an individual (private) plan. The plan is very limited, has extremely high co-pays (each dr visit is $75), only covers generic medications and doesn't cover any behavioral health inpatient treatment. I have Type 1 (childhood onset) diabetes and use an insulin pump. So,.....

My income is non-existent and I have been trying to get some financial assistance and/or mental health assistance through the county system to no avail; however, since I have insurance I'm not eligible for any help. I have spent several weeks on this and talked to every dept in the social services system. It doesn't matter that the policy doesn't cover mental health, it only matters that its on record that I have insurance. I've been advised to drop the private policy yet no one will guarantee that I will be accepted by Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Medicare, etc... I can't go without insurance because of the insulin pump isn't covered by the Medicare system. I've been without my Bipolar medication for three weeks waiting for the inevitable mixed episode to begin.

This is quite a "catch-22" and I've exhausted myself trying to get help!

Just my rant for the moment.

what are the names of your medications?