Getting Life Insurance With A Diagnosis Of Celiac

[shelby1]

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.

[dlp252]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Jo.R]

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]

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.

[Guhlia]

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]

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]

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?

Thanks again!

[Guhlia]

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]

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]

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]

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!

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]

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.