Almost fourteen years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but throughout all my struggles I think my worst foe has been the various insurance companies I have dealt with.

It’s a given… People with poor health require high cost services. Thus, they must rely on insurance companies to ‘save’ them from bankruptcy.

So while insurance companies are theoretically supposed to ‘help’ you to basically ‘stay alive’ (depending on your condition) and to not make you absolutely destitute in the process, it’s quite surprising that the trade off is a constant battle. I thought these things were given when I signed the contract? Why is it still a problem? Do I not have a right to a full and healthy life, because of something I can’t control?

I have been faced with everything from ‘you’re not eligible to be covered’ to ‘we have two files on system for you, one says you’ve paid and the other says you’ve not’. I’m sorry, isn’t organisation your department? How many times do I need to send you a copy of my receipts?

Being hospitalised and in constant writhing pain for extended periods of time, does not compare to the mental anguish caused by having to call your insurance company  at least once a week for misquoting your benefits to a physician’s office. Sometimes it equates to five hours out of a week passing messages back and forth between doctor’s offices and the insurance company itself.

Currently, in mid-flare, it’s frustrating to think that in such trying times, I am faced with even more stress. Stress aggravates autoimmune diseases, so really they’re just costing themselves a bigger payout. See the Catch 22?

What is your story? Do you have as many problems as I do with insurance companies?