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August 22, 2006

Should your insurance pay for food if you have a food allergy?

Source: Motley Fool online
Make Your Insurer Pay
By Tim Beyers

Both of my sons have food allergies. For my oldest, Benjamin, protein is life-threatening. How's that possible, you ask? I've no idea. But I've experienced enough close calls with him to know that's the way it is.

So, we deal. But it gets hard, particularly from a financial standpoint. Ben's only source of protein is an amino acid-based medical food called Neocate that costs us $6,000 annually. At least it used to. No longer.

Our insurance company comes through
For years, we've been appealing to our insurance carrier to help us with the cost of Neocate. Until recently, every effort stalled in a pile of bureaucratic red tape. Now, Ben's allergy doctor prescribes the food, submitting the order directly to our insurer's mail-order pharmacy. We received the last of a three-month supply of Neocate just an hour ago. A bill for a mere fraction of the $1,500 we would have paid should arrive within a week.

The moral? A fortune may be hiding in your insurance policy. So read it, and then do whatever it takes to get your insurer to pay up when there's reasonable evidence it should.

Four steps to appeal a denied claim... more

Posted by David at August 22, 2006 10:04 AM

Comments

What a great article!!! I always knew a Dr-prescribed diet would be a tax deduction, but glad to hear of insurance covering it (a first for me).

Posted by: Leslea from allergyware at August 23, 2006 8:28 AM