After much searching, my husband and I have finally found affordable health insurance. The insurer has mailed us a fat booklet of information that gives details about our health plan. I am hoping that if I read it, I will learn what my health insurance plan actually covers.
A while ago, we were sent a booklet that contained information about what the dental portion of our new health insurance plan covered. I was greatly disappointed to learn that my dentist is not a “Participating Dentist”. I haven’t quite made a decision about what, exactly, I intend to do about that yet.
The booklet that contains details about our health insurance is about three times the thickness of the one for the dental insurance. Part of the reason why it is so large is because it includes a copy of the entire, gigantic, online application form that it took my husband two hours to fill out. It seems that we are supposed to meticulously scour this form, and report to the insurer if we made any errors when we first filled it out.
This is followed by a page full of information about the MIB, which stands for the Medical Information Bureau. I think this is to let us know that the insurer might use the MIB for stuff, but that we don’t need to be concerned about that. Next are two pages that I think describe how to get in touch with someone who can translate this booklet into a language (other than English). Since I am perfectly able to read and understand English, I do not have any need for this information.
This is followed by a page that says “Additional Information”. The entire page, after the title, is blank. Four more pages are copies of the answers we gave to questions about the medications we are currently taking. Three more pages cover information about electronic signatures, statements that point out that the insurer can deny this application, and some notes that say that the state of California prohibits insurers from using HIV testing as part of the application process.
Two more pages show our actual “electronic signatures”. This is followed by two more pages that are written in languages that are not English. After going through 42 pages of this huge booklet, I still haven’t the faintest idea about what my health insurance policy actually covers! It frustrates me that insurers insist on making it so difficult for people to find out what their health insurance plan will cover.
Image by Veronique Debord on Flickr