Posted by gardenergirl on September 30, 2005, at 7:22:19
In reply to But what is listed as a preexisting condition?, posted by Racer on September 30, 2005, at 2:12:27
Racer seems to have good coverage, and her insurance must be from a state which has mental health parity laws. She's lucky. My state does not have mental health parity as a requirement in their insurance laws.
If your state does not have mental health parity, then mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar, anxiety, etc. usually DO become pre-existing conditions if you've been treated for them within the past twelve months.
There is a House Bill to correct this on a national level, in a similar way that Cobra laws eliminated pre-existing conditions for physical illnesses (provided you had continuous insurance coverage for the last 12 months), but it so far has not passed.
Leslieamy8, can you find out what insurance company administers the insurance at this job? Depending on what state it comes out of, you might not have to worry about pre-existing conditions. Can you ask someone in the office where you get treatment to help you investigate this as far as whether you will have to wait a year or not? And also ask what options there might be for community mental health or a sliding fee scale if you do have to wait a year before getting covered.
Whatever you decide, I hope it works out well. It sounds like a great opportunity.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:561174
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050920/msgs/561212.html