insurance woes

[Guest guest]

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This is from the NAMI stigma busters newsletter.

Lets let our voices be heard.

Vivian

4. LACK OF INSURANCE COVERAGE ?

* Have you been affected by insurance

discrimination for

coverage of mental illness?

* Have you or your family suffered because of

* limited benefits?

* higher out-of-pocket expenses?

* denial of services?

How has insurance discrimination affected you and your

family? Perhaps the most powerful advocacy tool that

NAMI has is the personal experience of consumers and

families when they are up against unfair and arbitrary

limits

and restrictions in their health insurance coverage

for

mental illness.

Your stories are critically important in helping

elected

officials understand that parity is not just about the

cost to

employers and health plans, but—more important—it’s

about the real lives of people and their families who

live

every day with mental illnesses and their devastating

costs.

You can help end discrimination by sharing your

personal

experiences with the NAMI Storybank. We need to know

if:

* you or your family has run up against limits in

your

help plan such as limits on hospital stays, outpatient

visits,

or higher co-payment amounts;

* your health plan provides better coverage for

medical-

surgical coverage than for mental illnesses; or

* treatment for mental illness has exhausted your

limited

coverage and forcedyou (and family members) to seek

coverage from Medicare and Medicaid.

Please submit your story to the NAMI Storybank by

emailing it to storybank@... or by sending it by

regular mail to: NAMI Communications Storybank/ 2107

Blvd., Ste. 300/ Arlington, VA 22201-3042

Please

include your name and telephone number.

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