April 7, 2010 - No Shame!

There are times in life when things astonish me, moments that make me lose all thoughts, instances where my gaping mouth is a signal of my disbelief, times when I can only shake my head back and forth as if this will somehow rattle some understanding into my head. Today was one of those times and it all started with a fairly innocent-looking letter in the mail. You know the kind. You see it laying quietly in the stack of magazines, store advertisements and bills, and you think it's just some routine correspondence - an appointment reminder or a receipt or the like. And then a quick flip of the letter opener and you feel the hit in your gut. Mine is a $230 punch, with the promise of more to come.

This is how I found out my insurance company will not pay for any more of Georgia's immunizations or well baby check ups. These are considered "routine" visits, and she has already hit her max for the year in April. Oh yeah, that got my chin dropping and my head rockin'.

I will probably never understand how this makes sense. That at this point the insurance company will not pay for a measles vaccination, but they'd pay the much heftier bill if my daughter caught the measles because I didn't get her the vaccination. Or Whooping Cough or Rubella or any of those dreaded things we stick needles in her legs to protect against. Of course, she will continue to get all of her vaccinations because that's what we do as parents - protect no matter what the cost.

That I can understand, but the logic of insurance companies I believe will always escape my grasp.