Always Read the Fine Print

Last month we were ecstatic when we finally secured an insurance policy for Crewe. Upon applying for the policy we were assured that there would be no exclusions because it was a one of these expensive guarantee-issue policies.

The actual policy (think "book" and you'll get the right mental image) arrived in the mail recently. As we read the policy we had some questions and called the friendly customer service number to get some answers.

One of the questions was: "is there a limit to the number of speech therapy visits that are covered?" Long pause. (On the other end) "uh... speech therapy... oh that's not a covered benefit... and neither is occupational therapy." "You can see that on page 89, paragraph W." Of course, it's right there in plain english on page 89. I try to hold back the tears and think "no exclusions, huh?" The CS rep continues "yeah, unless there is a state law mandating that speech therapy be covered, it's excluded from all of our individual policies. Arizona doesn't require that speech be covered."

Argh! The speech therapy Crewe has been receiving the past couple of months has been the most impactful treatment to date, including the sclerotherapy. Hmmm... non-invasive speech therapy at $200 a session or invasive sclerotherapy at $45,000 per session... what's the better deal to the insurance company?

We've explored all of the options we can think of so far to find coverage for his speech therapy and have come up dry. Our last hope is that the insurance company will honor our request to add an addendum to the policy covering speech. They are "reviewing" his case now and we hope to have an answer soon. Darn that fine print. Darn page 89, paragraph W to be exact.