@deborahh
For some healthcare insurance, like Medicare, the "enrollment period" is your window for changing insurance plan or provider. Otherwise it generally auto-renews.
@deborahh
Yeah, they're trying to get you to change, usually to a Medicare Advantage plan which may seem cheaper, but limits your options for doctors and medical offices and often denies procedures that are more expensive, even when they're commonly needed by older people.
When my depression ate me in 2020, I dropped the ball on the paperwork and lost my Medi-Cal. I had juuust finally scraped together the wherewithal to start seeking services again and out of the blue, bam, Kaiser tells me I'm not a member anymore because it lapsed for more than six months-- and so I lose my support groups, my therapist, my meds, and had to start all over again from scratch at the county.
After a lifetime of fucking myself over with my ADHD memory problems, it starts to feel like I'm being punished-- as far as the system is concerned, if I can't jump through all the bureaucratic hoops on time I'm a loser who doesn't deserve healthcare.
I was so PROUD of myself for filling out my food stamp renewal on time this year. Couldn't get the new website to work so I filled it out on paper and mailed it in.
Turned out it was never received, and I forgot to doublecheck until after the appeal time had expired, so that's hundreds of $ I lost out on, and I was feeling proud and relieved for nothing.
The system is just waiting, waiting, for any and every chance to yank things away. Everyone on welfare lives in terror of that shoe dropping at any moment (and if you got the paperwork wrong you'll have to pay it all BACK, and how, just how is that supposed to happen??)
Sadists built this. Health insurance especially.
The Hatter keeps yelling "Change places!!" so more people fall through the cracks in the shuffle.
Erm. Vented a bit there. I know you know already. But yeah.
@violetmadder omg. I'm so sorry to hear this 😢 . I know the stress of dealing with burocracy with ADHD. It was way harder in Germany than Canada, so many things still need to be done in person and on paper 🙁. So many opps to screw it up.
The US sounds intentionally orders of magnitude worse. #wtf
@deborahh
Yes and no.... but it's confusing. Here's an article where a doctor lost his family coverage because he forgot to enroll in his company plan.
@paulbusch in Canada, personal plans renew automatically (with mandatory notification, so you can opt out). Company coverage applies as long as you're employed. Government coverage starts at birth and lasts life-long.
Why is it so complicated there? Feels like safeguards are in place to protect insurers rather than insured. 🙁
@deborahhwell... it's an industry, not a social program. So yes the insurance companies need protection from sick people or shareholders might get upset.
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