no insurance

[Rachel L]

I've posted about my stepsister before. She's 26, lives at home with my dad and stepmom, has depression and does not work or go to college. My dad is pretty fed up with her and stays out of her way and my stepmom babies her. However I will say things have impooved in my family. My stepmom has been nicer towards me and my stepsister has come out of her shell some and has actually spoken to me when I have visited my dad's.

I went off my mom's insurance this year cause I turn 25 soon. My mom and myself didn't know much about insurance so my mom talked to my stepmom about insurance. I was quite shocked cause they went 10 years with badmouthing and my stepmom refused to meet her until I was over 18. Anyway, great they can be civil and polite now.

Anyway, my dad made a big deal about how important it is for me to have health insurance. I agree, and my stepmom looked into insurance companies and found the cheapest one. I'm still in college and have a few years to go.

However my 26 year old stepsister does not have health insurance, yet her mom(my stepmom) works in insurance. I don't see how she can not have her daughter on some kind of insurance. Now my stepsister doesn't work and doesn't go to college. I do think she needs to do something with her life, but my stepmom says that depression keeps her from working or going to school. Whether that is true or not I don't know. But I would think that there would be some type of insurance that my stepsister could be on. She hasn't been on health insurance for 2 years now. She's real lucky that she hasn't gotten really sick where she'd have to go to the hospital. She has depression and my stepmom pays the full amount for her medications, but has said she can't afford to do that forever. But she needs those meds in order to get better, in order to get a full-time job.

I know its none of my business about her health insurance, but its scary that someone who has a mental illness like depession does not have health insurance. She really needs it!

 

[h0kie]

Don't assume

Just because she doesn't have health insurance doesn't mean she can't get help. In my county there is a county mental health system. The fees are based on a sliding scale (we pay nothing) and it's been wonderful for my husband. Checking a NAMI website in your area might put you in touch with what resources are available for her.

If she is unemployed, she can probably get free medications directly from the drug company OR a mental health system like the one we have. These resources have proved invaluable to my husband and I. You just have to know where to look. We've found a website that will tell us what programs we're eligible for (federal, state, and individally through the drug companies) as well as give us the applications we need.

Also, it is incredibly hard to get insurance on your own when you are already diagnosed with a "problem". Before I had my health trouble, companies would insure me, but not my husband (due to his depression diagnosis).

 

[Miller]

some insurance programs that are offered are quite expensive. There are (like the above poster said) county or state funded clinics. I don't know about Medicare/Medicaid (one is for elderly) maybe she can qualify for the other one. I think COBRA is the name of an insurance company that offers to people whose work doesn't offer insurance.