dorothywakeup
06-17-2007, 11:50 PM
Hello, this is my first post here but it seems like you guys give a lot of good advice so hopefully you can help with this! I've been struggling with moderate/severe clinical depression for five years, though it was only diagnosed three years ago. During this time, I was in college and all of my health insurance was taken care of by the school and paid for by my tuition. However, I'm not in school anymore and my new job is on contract with no benefits. So my question is, exactly what kind of coverage do I need?
I know I need something with good prescription drug benefits, because I'm on Wellbutrin and might be for awhile, and that's expensive. Most plans seem to only cover generic though. Is that okay? And aside from that, how many mental health professional visits should I look to have covered? I'm looking at three specific plans. One doesn't cover anything until I reach the deductible, one covers 20 visits per year and one covers only 3. Of course, the other details of each of those plans also vary. The one I think I prefer is the one that only covers 3 visits. Aside from my questions on that, I think it's probably the right one for me.
It might help you to know that I don't go to therapy regularly, nor do I think I need to. I've always found my visits helpful, but I'm not dealing with deep-seated childhood issues or anything. Almost all of the stresses in my life are caused by my illness, and talking through them can be helpful but not absolutely necessary. Nice to have though...
So what should I be looking for? How much should I expect to pay (since it's a preexisting condition)? What insurance companies do you use, and what kinds of benefits do you have? Any other advice?
dorothywakeup
I know I need something with good prescription drug benefits, because I'm on Wellbutrin and might be for awhile, and that's expensive. Most plans seem to only cover generic though. Is that okay? And aside from that, how many mental health professional visits should I look to have covered? I'm looking at three specific plans. One doesn't cover anything until I reach the deductible, one covers 20 visits per year and one covers only 3. Of course, the other details of each of those plans also vary. The one I think I prefer is the one that only covers 3 visits. Aside from my questions on that, I think it's probably the right one for me.
It might help you to know that I don't go to therapy regularly, nor do I think I need to. I've always found my visits helpful, but I'm not dealing with deep-seated childhood issues or anything. Almost all of the stresses in my life are caused by my illness, and talking through them can be helpful but not absolutely necessary. Nice to have though...
So what should I be looking for? How much should I expect to pay (since it's a preexisting condition)? What insurance companies do you use, and what kinds of benefits do you have? Any other advice?
dorothywakeup