Lynne S. Gots, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Death is a Pre-existing Condition
By Lynne Gots, posted on August 9th, 2011.
After reading my last post about mental health exclusions in travel insurance policies, a colleague told me his insurance story.
His 20th wedding anniversary was coming up in six months, and he wanted to surprise his wife with a getaway. But he felt uneasy about making any plans too far in advance because his mother had just completed chemotherapy. She urged him to buy the tickets and even insisted on paying for the trip as an anniversary present. So he booked an air and land package for six days in London and took out a trip cancellation policy, just in case.
Two months before the scheduled London trip, his mother went back to the doctor for a follow-up and learned that the cancer had spread. He cancelled the trip. His mother died six weeks later.
The insurance company refused reimbursement for the cancelled trip because his mother died from a condition that predated the terms of the agreement.
The dying woman had the right idea: Don’t put off doing things you want to do because something might happen. It’s a shame the insurance company didn’t see it that way.
But, lesson learned. In honor of his mother’s memory and because he knew she would have wanted him to go, my colleague booked another trip to London. This time he didn’t purchase travel insurance.
Posted in General |
Travelers Beware!
By Lynne Gots, posted on August 7th, 2011.
cialis he said While we’re on the subject of vacations, have you ever read the fine print on a travel insurance policy? You should.
A friend of mine discovered the hard way that travel insurance policies aren’t worth the paper–or cyberspace– they’re printed on. Planning to visit her son during his junior year abroad in Paris, she booked a trip at an unbelievably great price through an online travel site. Just to be safe, she sprang an extra $300 for insurance because the agent assured her it would provide her with peace of mind in case she had to cancel her plans for any reason.
Sadly, she did end up cancelling the trip because her son became severely depressed and needed to return home earlier than planned. Although she was very worried about him, at least she didn’t have the added burden of losing the prepaid $2500. Or so she thought.
After her son’s condition improved, and well before the filing deadline, she sent the insurance company a letter from her son’s psychiatrist, along with the rest of the required documentation. Months of back and forth correspondence ensued, with the insurance carrier claiming—no surprise here–that they needed copies of forms and credit card receipts she’d already sent. The scheduled date of the trip had long passed when she finally heard back about the disposition of her claim. The news, as you might have guessed, was not good.
According to the letter from the insurance carrier, the claim was “denied under General Exclusion (j) Mental, Nervous or Psychological Disorder; ‘Mental, Nervous or Psychological Disorder’ means a mental or nervous health condition including, but not limited to: anxiety, depression, neurosis, phobia, psychosis; or any related physical manifestation.” Huh?
I think this policy makes an unfair distinction between mental and physical illness–one that isn’t allowed in employer-sponsored, large-group health insurance plans. The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was signed into law by President Bush in October 2008 and went into effect for most policy holders in January 2011. “Mental health parity” means health insurance companies can’t impose tighter restrictions on coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment than for medical and surgical procedures.
The Act, as it’s called, only applies to health insurance. But the fine print in the travel insurance policy violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. And it’s a reminder that we haven’t come so far, after all, in our understanding of psychiatric illness. If you suffer from a “nervous disorder,” you’re still to blame.
Tags: insurance, mental health parity
Posted in General |
The Joy of Sheets
By Lynne Gots, posted on August 5th, 2011.
Part of what made my recent vacation so enjoyable was staying in a lovely house. The owners, an architect and his designer wife, had created a tranquil, beautifully appointed mountain retreat in the desert complete with three walled gardens and a trickling waterfall. Every morning I took my coffee outside, closed my eyes, and listened to the wind chimes and hummingbirds. Idyllic.
But I also derived an embarrassing degree of pleasure from another space: the perfectly arranged master closet with its piles of throw pillows, brightly hued Indian blankets, and tidy little packages of sheets and pillowcases bound with matching grosgrain ribbons. What a shame that this display, worthy of a high-end home furnishings store, was hidden away in a dark, walk-in storeroom!
When I got back home, determined to keep a little of the desert magic with me, I arranged the shiny black, San Ildefonso pottery bowl and bird on the mantel, cooked a green chile stew, and took stock of my linen closet. It was not a pretty sight.
I’ve always felt a little frisson of excitement at the prospect of transforming my life into a marvel of organized efficiency through the purchase of storage receptacles to hide my inner slob. Considering the success of The Container Store and Real Simple Magazine, I suspect I’m not the only one who indulges this fantasy.
So off I went to HomeGoods, where I scored a set of cloth-lined, wicker baskets from the half-price rack. I stayed up entirely too late that night folding towels into precise thirds and stuffing rolled sheets (I long ago accepted my inability to fold fitted sheets) into the darling containers. And then I opened and closed the doors over and over to admire my handiwork. Not as pretty as the architect’s closet, but good enough for me.
There’s only one small problem. The discard pile of faded beach towels and frayed sheets culled during the reorganization is still sitting in the middle of the hallway. So much for inner peace.
Posted in General |
