Health Insurance – 6 ways to Maximize Your Coverage
When finances get tight, it’s more important than ever to be sure you’re getting the coverage you need from your insurance company. But for people with migraine, or chronic daily headache, et cetera, things aren’t always so simple. Sometimes it turns out that, when you most need the help, the insurance company lets you down.
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We’ve talked about this issue before. We discovered from our online health insurance poll that about 30% of you still pay at least 50% of the cost of your medications out of pocket. From many of your comments I’ve been reminded that we’re often reluctant to use treatments that could help because of the cost. And remember the challenge of getting the drugs you need when you need them.
So what do you do? Well, our visitors have risen to the challenge to share their best tips in the most recent Community Question. I’ll let you read their comments for yourself, but here are some brief ideas to make sure you get the funding you need, when you need it:
- Be involved – be involved in your treatment, be involved with the insurance company – don’t just sit back and accept whatever happens.
- Be persistent – don’t give up! Go through the process, ask questions, ask "why", ask for information, talk to someone else, find another doctor.
- Be creative – think outside the box. Try to see it from the other person’s perspective. Keep your eyes open for other options.
- Be organized – keep records on file, have a copy of your insurance policy, take note of who you last talked to on the phone.
- Be informed – know the facts and myths about your treatment, know the latest options and discoveries (hey, you’ve come to the right place!), know the official policies of your insurance company, know the law, know about the options the drug company may offer.
- Be bold – don’t be afraid to ask and question and ask again. Remember, you’re not only helping yourself, you’re helping those that come after you in a similar situation!
But you’ve heard enough from me – go and see what our visitors had to say in our new article – Insurance: Getting covered with headache and migraine
21 October 2008 @ 8:16 am
Hi James,
Excellent suggestions..I would add one more: Ask your provider to dictate a letter of medical necessity for the treatment, including the fact that you have failed on previous treatment. And then list the treatments.
I have had several patients I have done this for and they have received treatments that were previously denied, including inpatient stays at Headache Centers out of our area (something we don’t offer).
As always..great post!
22 October 2008 @ 7:09 am
Great advice, Mary Kay! Thanks!
25 October 2008 @ 9:22 pm
As two of the 47 million Americans that are unisured (my son and myself), these are some good ideas. But what we really need is affordable insurance that covers more of our medical expenses. With migraine, we have a pre-existing condition so if you change jobs or lose insurance you can’t always get insurance that covers your condition.
27 October 2008 @ 11:19 am
Yes, the challenge of changing jobs and still having good insurance is a big one.
I saw a tip on that, and a few more, over at Good Housekeeping. Check out 15 Ways to Reduce Medical Costs