Would you move for insurance coverage?

[SweetPea]

I have a friend who is contemplating moving. Here is her question:

 

The best prognosis for a kid with PDD NOS is a lot of individualized therapy. Prognosis is great and PDD can be outgrown by the time a kid is 9 or 10, according to our psychologist. But we are running into insurance problems. Would you move for the sake of your child to a state that requires insurance companies to pay for treatment?

 

 

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What would the Hive do? Does anyone have experience with this?

[stripe]

I am no fan of slimy insurance rules. If I had to, and I had the opportunity, why not? Why should corporations be the only ones who get to pick and choose so things come out advantageously? All the credit card companies have their headquarters in Delaware for a reason: because there is no limit on usury there. (They can sharkily charge any interest rate they want, and tax rates are lower.)

 

As a parent, your obligation is to look out for the health of your kid, not to pad the coffers of the insurance company's CEO. There is nothing morally reprehensible about seeking better insurance coverage.

[Crimson Wife]

I would consider it assuming that the other financials made sense.

[Kim in Appalachia]

If I had a child that needed that type of long term care, and I had the opportunity to move somewhere where it would be easier to get that care, I would do it.

 

We have known families who have moved for that reason. You do what you have to do. And not everyone is so fortunate as to be able to choose the better place to live. Be grateful and go for it.

[NotSoObvious]

Yes. And had I known that insurance coverage varied SO greatly from state to state, we would have moved to Massachusetts instead of Virginia. But, we love it here and I need the warmth, so oh well.

 

Massachusetts covers IVF, too, which would have made a big difference in our lives. :( Maybe in a few years.

[hsmamainva]

Yes, I would.

 

We're seriously considering moving as well within the next few years.

 

Our youngest has fairly significant special needs. She's currently on a waiver waiting list for services for when she becomes an adult -- yes, we join the list now and wait anywhere from 7 to 10 years to receive help -- But...the great state of Virginia doesn't include residential services in their autism waiver. We know we won't live forever and she will likely never be able to live independently. We need to move to a state where they will offer group housing to adults with autism.

 

South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are at the top our list.

[Tap]

Absolutely.

 

DD5 is diagnosed PDD-NOS (Aspergers like). She is my great niece and came to us through the foster system, so she has state insurance until she is 18yo. We also have her on my private insurance, so I see the benefits of both ways of state vs private.

 

We started Behavior Therapy at 2yo and Occupational Therapy right after. As of this time she has had over 100 OT sessions and well over 100 BT. She has also had a couple dozen psychiatrist appointments, and almost double that with phone consults. Her OT was $140 a session/ BT $160 if we were paying cash. At 5yo, she has had over $30,000 of therapy!

 

I can't imagine our lives w/o therapy. DD has come such a long way and she has over come so many hurdles that I would have never known to work on. There are some parts of her therapy that I can do at home, and some I can't. Her amazing therapist helps us in ways you could never imagine!

 

A simple example. When dd was 3 yo we were at the BT office. She was playing a card game with her that asked dd to talk about the facial expressions of some kids on cards. She couldn't do it. She could not tell what kid was happy and which was angry, which was sad and which was excited. She wasn't even close! I had no idea that she couldn't read the most basic of subtle interpersonal communication. After a year or working on it in bits, she does a great job now. We still pull them out and play a game as a refresher now and then. She may get the similar ones mixed up like frustrated vs. mad, but not the big ones like Happy and Sad. She had to be taught to read expressions, and there is no way I would have known that without her BT.

 

If insurance was the thing that was blocking her from getting care, I would move in a heartbeat (assuming work/housing/safety) to get her that care.

 

 

Make sure that if she is planning to do this, that she is moving to an area with doctors who specialize in the therapies the child will need. Not all areas have doctors. The PNW has great options in its larger cities. We are just outside of Portland where we have no problem finding care, and Seattle has a lot to offer too.

Edited August 11, 2012 by Tap, tap, tap

[Alessandra]

Absolutely move if possible. It is your child's whole life at stake. And look at which states have the best in-school services - even if you are hs, just in case.

[godsaggie]

Yeah...I would probably move. As long as everything else would fall into place too (housing, jobs, etc.)

[happypamama]

Everything else being equal, sure. Whenever we've looked at jobs, we've considered states where we like the laws for other things, like raw milk or vehicles or homeschooling. Other people choose states or areas because they like the school options. Why shouldn't you choose because of the good insurance coverage for your child?