Celiac, Insurance, and a Headache (Make that a Migraine)

As many of you know, I have Celiac Disease (aka celiac sprue, gluten intolerance), which means that I am on a gluten-free diet. My condition is controlled solely through diet, with no medications or other interventions. So imagine my surprise when I was recently denied for a new health insurance policy we applied for (Farmer's Bureau/TRH). Now, the really annoying part is that this policy is our dream health insurance: a family policy with a maternity rider and dental insurance for nearly $400 less per month than what we're paying right now. The big cost discrepancy is a mixture of this company being a really good deal and the fact that we've been overpaying by dealing directly with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

I was SO excited to be cutting out $400 off of a fixed expenditure, and I'm still reeling a bit from being denied. Unfortunately, since I was denied b/c of Celiac, we also do not get the maternity coverage b/c that coverage lies with me. The whole reason we starting shopping around was b/c maternity riders are SO expensive -- my insurance alone currently costs $400/month. Ughhh.

I'd be fine with a normal policy that excludes anything celiac related, as long as it included a maternity rider and normal co-pay stuff. But they don't do that. They do have a "defined benefit" package that would exclude celiac, but that is $500/month and doesn't have maternity coverage -- it's more for people who are uninsurable b/c of big medical costs. That's not me!

The whole denial thing makes me mad and sort of insulted. I mean, I'm perfectly healthy other than celiac, and that is not going to cost the insurer one cent. I don't go to the doctor for this, I don't have any prescriptions...I just eat gluten-free food! I think being denied makes me feel weird b/c it's like they've decided I'm sick or something...but I'm not!! Part of me wants to go all-out and try to drum up some sort of reaction from the celiac community (I'm a member of a bunch of discussion groups), but then there's another part of me that knows that it's Farm Bureau's right to deny me. They don't owe me insurance, and they get to decide who they insure. But...it's just not fair! :-)

Well, anyway. If anyone has any ideas for companies to try or advice that could help, please leave a comment or email me. I'm kind of at my wit's end. Grrrr.

One of my friends made a comment today about how everything in my life sounds so perfect on my blog, so I wanted to be open enough to share something that's really discouraging me right now. Thanks for reading, everyone! Love, Jenn