Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Getting Life Insurance With A Diagnosis Of Celiac


shelby1

Recommended Posts

shelby1 Newbie

My 9mo may have celiac. Right now he is on a gluten free trial and doing wonderfully.

If his diarrhea returns when I reintroduce gluten, should I just forgo the blood testing and keep him gluten free?

I am concerned for later in his life with a confirmed diagnosis and his ability to get health and life insurance, etc.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



dlp252 Apprentice

Yeah, that's a tough one...it really depends on how much you (or family, etc.) needs that diagnosis. Some family members have a hard time being strict enough if there isn't a firm diagnosis.

I don't have one, but I too saw improvement after going gluten/casein free and that's enough for me. Fortunately my friends and family also accept it and are very careful when I eat at their houses, etc.

On the insurance issue...I obviously don't have a problem yet, other than my insurance company has questioned a couple of things, but so far no problem with coverage. However, I work in an office with 4 other gluten intolerant people and two of those are diagnosed Celiac. One of them told me that she was having problems with insurance coverage. I don't know what kind of problems as we didn't have time to talk and I rarely see her, but she did mention it, so I think it does exist.

JennyC Enthusiast

Yeah, today I started worrying about the same thing. My son has a very high tTG, and the appointment with the ped. gastro. hasn't come yet. I'm a college student, and have purchased Regence BlueCross BlueShield health insurance. I am going to be looking for a temporary job that will most likely offer health insurance, but today it occurred to me that I should keep the private insurance that I already have even if offered other insurance by a future employer. I'm afraid that if I need private health insurance for him again that he will be denied. Can employer health insurance deny people with chronic health conditions? At what point is the Celiac diagnosis passed onto the insurance company?

Phyllis28 Apprentice

One other consideration for children is whether they may require special accomodations in school. A doctor would need to provide a letter so the school is required to adhere to any special accomodations that your child may need.

Jo.R Contributor

Can employer health insurance deny people with chronic health conditions? At what point is the Celiac diagnosis passed onto the insurance company?

Jo.R Contributor

Hold on, don't take my word for it :( . I haven't workrd in HR for 7 yrs, and laws change. I think I have it right, but please double check.

debmidge Rising Star

Metlife wrote a life policy for my husband last year and we were upfront about it. They gave him rates for a healthy person (not high risk). They did not shy away from celiac disease.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Guhlia Rising Star

We were unable to get life insurance for my daughter because she was diagnosed with acid reflux... Insurance companies can be very picky. Ridiculous, I know...

NoGluGirl Contributor
We were unable to get life insurance for my daughter because she was diagnosed with acid reflux... Insurance companies can be very picky. Ridiculous, I know...

Dear Guhlia,

I called about health insurance some months ago. They told me I would have to pay extra because of reflux. That makes me so angry. These companies screw everyone! I hear BlueCross Blue Shield and Anthem deny practically every claim, no matter how legitimate. Even worse is the fact that in the U.S. just because the general public is richer than other countries, they charge us 60 percent more for meds! Australia only pays $17 for Prilosec, while we may pay $60! When you have insurance, they automatically are allowed to charge more for doctor's visits as well as medications. Generics are even jacked up to a ton more than they originally are. They charge people with insurance more just because they can! One of my mother's meds is $70! When I had insurance and took Prevacid twice a day, I had to pay $300 for a month's supply. Now I take Prilosec OTC instead. It is about $40 a month now.

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

shelby1 Newbie

Thank you for all of your replies. Lots of valid points were shared.

I'm guessing some insurances are more educated than others on the disease. I also agree that many are really out to screw you as someone already pointed out.

It's a shame that we even have to worry about this stuff, isn't it?

:angry:

Thanks again!

Guhlia Rising Star
Dear Guhlia,

I called about health insurance some months ago. They told me I would have to pay extra because of reflux. That makes me so angry. These companies screw everyone! I hear BlueCross Blue Shield and Anthem deny practically every claim, no matter how legitimate. Even worse is the fact that in the U.S. just because the general public is richer than other countries, they charge us 60 percent more for meds! Australia only pays $17 for Prilosec, while we may pay $60! When you have insurance, they automatically are allowed to charge more for doctor's visits as well as medications. Generics are even jacked up to a ton more than they originally are. They charge people with insurance more just because they can! One of my mother's meds is $70! When I had insurance and took Prevacid twice a day, I had to pay $300 for a month's supply. Now I take Prilosec OTC instead. It is about $40 a month now.

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

Their reasoning to me for denying tori was that those with acid reflux are found to have a higher risk of esophageal cancer. I think it's ridiculous. With life insurance for a newborn they wouldn't have lost any money even if she did die at 50 of cancer.

I was denied health insurance by Highmark Blue Shield. This was without Celiac on my charts and I have no other known health issues other than ADD. What possible future risks could that cause? They wouldn't even insure me with inflated premiums! Try American Medical. It's not great insurance, but it's WAY better than nothing. They insured my hubby with health issues and my daughter and they're still paying less than me. They won't cover maternity stuff though. Whew, thank goodness I went with Aetna.

kbtoyssni Contributor

The whole health insurance thing annoys me so much. I haven't had any problems, but now that I'm (self)diagnosed and gluten-free, I am sooooo much healthier than I was before. If I could give an insurance company my personal statistics on how many doctors visits I've had pre and post diagnosis, they should be able to see that I'm about ten times cheaper now than I was before. Long-term I've also decreased my risk for health complications so over the course of my lifetime I'm probably going to save them thousands if not millions.

VioletBlue Contributor

I'll preface this by saying I haven't sold health home or auto insurance for four years, so I'm a little out of date. If it's group health insurance through your employer they cannot turn you down for the group plan. That has not changed. They can't turn your dependents down either. When they agreed to insure the company, they agreed to insure all qualified employees as a group, not individuals. They can't pick and choose within that group. HOWEVER, you have to make sure when you apply for that insurance that you meet their deadlines and follow their requests to the T. I worked for a company years ago where the insurer denied a new hire because they said she had submitted her application 2 days late. They based that on her hire date and not her start date if I remember right. Coincidentally she was diabetic and wore an insulin pump ;) The Exec Director got so PO'd about it we switched health care providers.

When it comes to giving a life or health insurance company info on you, try not to scare them. If you tell them you are gluten intolerant some may not make the jump to Celiac Disease and shrug it off. The people who decide the fate of your application are not medically qualified and they work off risk charts and data bases and computer programs, not actual medical knowledge. If you use the phrase Celiac Disease that might raise more red flags than gluten intolerance. It just sounds scarier and may cause them to dig around in your medical history. Stupid but true. You are not lying by saying you were diagnosed with gluten intolerance, and if they choose to track down your medical history it will back you up. Be honest, but try and provide information without elaboration. If you apply for insurance in person with an agent remember that agent is not your friend. They're required by law and by contract to pass on anything you tell them or even suspicious questions you ask to their employer so the insurer can adequately asses the risk.

violet

NoGluGirl Contributor

Dear Guhlia,

Thanks for the tip. I will keep American Medical in mind. So many of these plans have such high premiums, no one can afford them. Even people with high paying jobs barely can afford them. It really is rediculous. This whole scenario is insane! :o

Dear Violet,

I do not trust insurance companies. They screw you every chance they get. So many people I know are denied claims that should never be questioned. My parents have been trying to find some plan they could afford to help cover my medical costs. I need a lot of testing, but cannot afford any of it. Even worse, the doctors I had before most of them just said I was nuts. Like most Celiacs, I was doped on everything known to man, and was accused of having eating disorders, IBS, etc. That will be a problem not only with other doctors you see in the future, but with the insurance company.

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

pooter Newbie

I work right next to the insurance billing dept. and I get to hear them arguing all day with the insurance companies about them denying valid claims over stupid reasons. I work in the insurance verification dept. and they are always very careful to tell me that verification of coverage is not guaranteeing that they will approve a claim. They are scum in my humble opinion. I don't have health insurance other than temporary medicaid, which I'm about to lose. I was denied coverage after my diagnosis of celiac. I'm healthier now than I was before when I was covered by insurance, so it's idiotic to me. I already had my life insurance policy in place before the dx, so that's a good thing at least. I'm planning to move to another state by the end of the year, so here's hoping I can find a job with great benefits so that I won't have to worry about this anymore.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      129,880
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    juliehegarty
    Newest Member
    juliehegarty
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @terrymouse! Your GI doc is correct. Going gluten free now will allow healing to occur in the villous lining of the small bowel such that the endoscopy/biopsy may not show the damage to the villous architecture that is characteristic of celiac disease. Since your celiac blood antibody tests results are on the low side and don't "scream" of celiac disease I think it is important to go forward with the endoscopy/biopsy while still consuming gluten to ensure it will not be a wasted effort. The last thing you want is to have two different test modalities that unnecessarily contradict one another. So, unless the continued consumption of gluten poses an immediate and significant threat to your health, my advice is to (excuse the pun) "gut it out" until the endoscopy/biopsy happens. There is also the option of temporarily going gluten free and then undertaking a "gluten challenge" in the weeks leading up to the appointment in September. Current guidelines for the gluten challenge are the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (the amount found in about 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for at least 2 weeks leading up to the day of the procedure. But I would certainly give it longer than two weeks to be sure. And in view of the fact that it could happen sooner if there is a cancellation, I would encourage you to not go gluten free until after the procedure if your health permits. By the way, what are your symptoms? What led you to investigate celiac disease as the cause of your medical issues?
    • RMJ
      I had an endoscopy where there was no visible damage but biopsies showed damage. I even asked beforehand if the endoscope had good enough magnification to see the villi!  I hope you get a clear answer from the biopsies.
    • terrymouse
      I have an endoscopy booked for mid-September to test for Celiac. My gp seems convinced it is celiac and I should eliminate gluten right away, but the gastroenterologist I was referred to says if I'm totally gluten-free then they won't be able to detect celiac from the endoscopy, and I should load up on gluten 2 weeks before the test. So I guess I shouldn't eliminate gluten then? Or stop and start again closer to the appointment date. But I'm also on the wait list in case they can get me in sooner, because I'm losing weight. I don't want to have to go back and do it over again if I can help it. They also were unsure if there isn't something else wrong with my stomach, so that's a possibility. I don't have the details but from what I understood my blood tests results were positive but on the low end. So I'm getting mixed up here, do I go gluten-free or not? Would 2.5 months of being gluten-free make any noticable difference? 
    • knitty kitty
      Being low in B12, Folate B9, ferritin, zinc and copper sounds consistent with anemia which can often occur with Celiac.  What did your doctor recommend? What about your Vitamin D?  It helps regulate the immune system.  
    • ehb
      @knitty kitty thank you I am exploring these options, I really appreciate all the suggestions and info. I am only slightly below the normal range for folate, zinc and copper. And in the low end of the normal range for B12, ferritin, and vitamin A. I’m good for carotene magnesium and iron, but I’ve been taking 400 mg magnesium daily 
×
×
  • Create New...