Insurance Coverage

How to Get Insurance Coverage

The expression "you can't fight city hall," isn't necessarily true. When having difficulty with your insurance company in regard to lymphedema coverage, a letter writing campaign can be affective. Compose a letter to the company that is concise and to the point. Remember, it will have various audiences that will include readers who don't know you, lymphedema, your problem with it, and your problem with the company. In short, you'll be telling them some things that the company already knows but others, to whom you will be sending copies, do not know.

Be sure to cite the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) of 1998 that was signed into law on October 21, 1998 by the 105th Congress. It is called Public Law #105-277. It appears as provision Title IX under Subtitle IV of a much larger Omnibus bill, HR 4328. It is, in fact, this bill that passed, which included the WHCRA, and mandates that all insurance companies provide coverage for "prostheses and physical complications of mastectomy including lymphedemas."

Copy (cc:) your insurance letter to the various politicians and regulators that you feel can help such as your State and Federal Senators and Representatives, your State Insurance Commissioner, the heads of both the Senate and Representative Insurance Committees in Washington, and any and all other officials who you think may help. Send the copy to each one with a cover letter telling them that you feel that you are not being treated fairly and that you need their assistance.

Also, don't forget to explain your plight to your local newspaper. Remember, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease!" Drawing public attention to the insurance industry's disregard for this chronic condition may just get results.

Take Action! Read about current legislation and sample letter to legislators