Getting help for children suffering from anxiety and depression can quickly drain a parent’s resources. Katie Thomas and Reed Abelson, reporting in the Sept. 29, 2013 New York Times, reported that parents are going to court to get insurance companies to honor their commitments. According to the article, Anthem, United-Health, and California’s largest insurer–Kaiser Permanente–denied claims based on the insurance company’s assessment of whether the patient had chronic mental illness, even when the patient’s doctor said they could benefit from treatment. The father of one young man, Brad Smith, sold his house to cover the hospital bills. “I’m currently way over my head in debt,” he said in the article. Here’s a link.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/business/on-the-threshold-of-obamacare-warily.html?smid=pl-share
