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Some of the articles of interest to working mothers that we’ve seen around the web recently…
- Liberating Working Moms has some tips on dealing with kids’ sick days.
- The New York Times (HT to TheLi.st) reports on “The Motherhood Penalty vs. the Fatherhood Bonus.” (Sigh.) Over at Forbes, Samantha Ettus offers advice on fighting this trend.
- Entrepreneur Jen Dziura writes for DailyWorth about the challenges that pregnancy and maternity can create for self-employed moms.
- Want to be the PERFECT mother? This Huffington Post piece shows you how — er, sort of.
- Red Tricycle talks about 18 things that happen when you become a mom. (Have any to add?)
Make sure to check out the news update over at Corporette!
On Corporette Recently…
- We shared our experiences with laser hair removal.
- Kat answered a reader question about expanding a suit collection.
- We talked about “homing from work.”
- Sayeh Pezeshki of The Office Stylist shares some do’s and don’ts of office decor.
Did we miss anything? Add ’em here, or send them to [email protected]. Thank you!
Fight the insurance company? says
Posted on the regular site as well, but since this also relates to pregnancy:
The short version: my insurance company recently refused to pay for a test that I think they should pay for. Fortunately, because the test has only been available in the past 2 years, the outside company that does the test (not my doctor’s office) charges a relatively low fee ($200) for people whose insurance won’t cover. Should I bother fighting the insurance company?
More details: The test is called Maternity 21, which separates out fetal DNA in the mother’s blood and tests for certain common chromosomal abnormalities. It has only been widely available for the past 2 years or so, and takes the place of much less accurate tests. My insurance company generally covers this for pregnant women over 35 (which I am). Their reason for refusing to pay in my case was that the test is not valid for twins (in their jargon, it was investigative, and not medically necessary, even though prior to the refusal to pay, my doctor provided the insurance company a letter stating that she felt it was medically necessary because of my age). It is true that if the test detected a chromosomal abnormality, we would not have been able to tell which fetus had the problem, and additional testing would have been required. The results in my case showed no abnormalities, for which I am grateful. So in my view, the test (which in my uninformed opinion seems like an extraordinary advancement in prenatal testing) worked. To me, this looks like a case of the insurance company trying to find any reason possible not to pay for a relatively new test.
I have the means to self pay the lower cost. I also have time right now to engage in a battle with the insurance company. If you were me, what would you do and how would you go about it? (And if you have any insight into insurance practices, please share!) Thanks in advance.
MomAnon4This says
You can appeal with your company, and also contact your State Chief of Insurance (may have a different title). You may want to pre-emptively contact your State Representative to your State Legislature, depending on how big of a deal you want to make of it.
I thank you for making a big deal out of it, honestly!
msj says
With twins, I also paid the $200 fee out of pocket as it wasn’t covered by insurance (an improvement on the $1000 bill I first received) . You will be facing all sorts of medical bills so I’d probably save your fight for a bigger battle as this seems pretty established. (also get ready for 2x the sonogram co-pays!)
Interestingly, you can’t even get the test in NY state unless you have a risk factor like advanced maternal age or family history. It seems to be different in every state.
Fight the insurance company? says
Thanks for the replies! I’ve contacted Sequenom (the company that provides the testing) to see if they would be able to help me argue my case. If they aren’t, then I’ll probably just pay the bill, since I don’t have the science/medical background to argue against: “This testing does not work unless you are only having one baby. For this reason we believe that it was investigational and not medically necessary for you.” It just feels intuitively illogical…
MomAnon4This says
Seeking activewear (fitness, camping, outdoors clothes) for plus-size maternity. REI.com is not helpful. Any suggestions?