Declarations

I recently tried to apply for life insurance. I am a person who experiences bipolar disorder and OCD and had always been told that I was ineligible for life insurance. Recently, however, I heard that some insurers would consider me as a candidate.

I thought that I would surprise my husband and apply for life insurance. I would like to be able to leave him with a little money in case of my death, to cover expenses. This is the wish of the average American, to have adequate life insurance coverage for their loved ones. I am not now, nor have I ever been suicidal. I have never been hospitalized for reasons related to my mental health.

I contacted an agent who represents several carriers and who had solicited me online. I did not tell anyone about my plan, because I wasn’t certain I would qualify. I had to fill out a pile of paper work and submit to medical tests, which I find very stressful. I was upfront about my medical history and was told that my bipolar disorder might raise my premiums, but would not necessarily block me from receiving insurance. The submission process took four months, with several emails from the insurer requiring more information.

Finally, I received a call last week telling me that I had been rejected “because of my eating disorder.”

I do not have an eating disorder. I have never been diagnosed, nor treated, for an eating disorder at any time. I went to see my psychiatrist, who confirmed that there is no past record, nor current diagnosis, of an eating disorder in my files. This was not the diagnosis of my general practitioner, nor the two gastro doctors and the internist, I saw in Columbus.

I have been physically ill for the last year and did seek attention from several specialists who ruled out a number of illnesses. Each doctor passed me along to another for more tests, until I ended up at the Cleveland Clinic. There I was subjected to another battery of tests, until my gastroenterologist admitted that she did not know what was wrong with me, and suggested I see a neurologist to address the other, non-gastric symptoms.

Somewhere along the way, someone decided that my symptoms included “psychogenic vomiting.” This archaic term means that I am vomiting by choice. Psychogenic: (1) Of mental origin or causation.psychogenetic. (2) Relating to emotional and related psychological development or to psychogenesis. A phrase I hear all too often –“it’s all in my head.”

This change in diagnosis (and attitude), came after the local neurologist, who I saw in January of 2010, saw my medical history. This is not the first time this has happened. The doctor at the Cleveland Clinic was very dismissive after she learned of my psychiatric history. I have walked away from this process feeling angry and exploited.

Time and time again, I am frustrated by medical personnel who only see me as a mental illness diagnosis, not as a person. Everything I say immediately becomes suspect, I must be delusional and unreliable. My physical illness must be a result of my mental condition. If I have questions about my treatment, I am oppositional. Every thing I say or do confirms their diagnosis that I am simply crazy. My psychiatrist is never consulted.

The first time I visited an E.R. after my initial bipolar disorder diagnosis, I was experiencing severe vomiting and dehydration. I was confronted by a doctor who had not learned that patients with mental illness are not deaf, nor unable to speak for themselves. Once he had seen my medication list, that doctor spoke only to my husband, not to me, and assumed that I was unable to make my own health care decisions. He later spoke to my sister (a hospital employee, who did not know about my illness), and asked her how long I “had been crazy?” When I was admitted, my physician made notes to my record commenting that my mental illness was a basis for not consulting me on my treatment, although there was no indication of inappropriate behavior on my part. My own physician was never consulted, and I was denied access to all of my regularly prescribed medication for four days, resulting in serious physical withdrawl.

On another visit to the ER caused by a medication-induced seizure, my explanation was met with disbelief. I was suspected of drug-seeking behavior and a lack of judgment. It was not until my sister, a hospital administrator, was called, that her authority changed the attitude of the staff.

Incidents like these are not, unfortunately, uncommon. I hear about them from consumers every day. Insist that your care provider speak to you directly and include you in creating your health care plan. I recommend that everyone who experiences mental illness carry a list of all medications with them and a copy of your Mental Health Advanced Directive.

A Mental Health Advance Directive offers a clear written statement of an individual's medical treatment preferences or other expressed wishes or instructions. It can also be used to assign decision-making authority to another person who can act on that person's behalf during times of incapacitation.

I plan to appeal the decision to deny my life insurance coverage. It has taught me an important lesson about keeping current on what is in my medical files. Learn from my experience and keep up to date on what is in your files.

--Kristen Frame
Compeer Coordinator