Because Anthem Sucks Ass

This is the letter I am sending to Anthem. At this point I hope the state of Ohio nails their collective asses to a wall. This is just so wrong. Fuckers.




To Whom This May Concern:

My family is insured by Anthem. Recently, one of the providers we see, was taken off the in network list. This group of doctors are vital to my family. They have literally kept my family together, and well over the past 10 months.

Let me give you a little background.

My son is 8 years old.

He has a very high IQ.

Smart, funny, sweet.

But he is also bipolar.

When the bipolar takes control of him, he becomes a different child entirely.

In 2005, we enrolled him in a study at Children's Hospital, here in Cincinnati, for Early Onset Bipolar Disorder. He was given treatment with Depakote. We noticed an immediate difference. A child who had become so combative, was now a bit easier to get along with. After the study was over, we started seeing one of the child psychiatrists at Children's.

During this time he was put on 3 different medications at one time.

He gained about 20 pounds in 6 months. And his mood did not really change any more from the initial change. He was still combative. He was still easily frustrated. He repeatedly told us he wished he was dead, or that he felt like killing himself.

Obviously, the combination of drugs was not working. Furthermore, the doctor was loathe to change anything, and wanted to add more meds to the combo.

My child was having all sorts of side effects from the various meds he was on.

He shook continually, so much that he couldn't write even his name, because he shook so much. Drooled non stop. Ate like he was absolutely starving. Was having bathroom accidents, which was frustrating for all of us, because he had been completely potty trained since age 2.

Most of all the worst thing was his flat affect.

He was not happy.

He didn't smile.

He didn't laugh.

He was like a zombie.

I could no longer allow him to be this way, it was not a good solution to his problems. The doctor was not listening, was not doing what I thought would help. So I went about finding a new doctor.

I found BridgePointe.

The doctor that we see there for my son has been a god send. He weaned him off 3 of the 4 meds he was on.

My child started smiling again. Started laughing. The weight stopped creeping up on him. He no longer shook. He could actually write without his pencil weights the school fitted him with. He continued to work with and tweak my child's meds. We currently have him on what I consider to be the right combo of meds. And he likes the doctor.

Now I must find a new doctor.

Not because I don't like the current doctor, but because Anthem has decided it knows what is best for their clients.

BridgePointe, made a choice to stand up against the bullying of Anthem.

Anthem told them to buzz off.

Now I am stuck trying to find a new doctor that will be covered, because I cannot afford to have three people go out of network for treatment. I have to hope that I can find someone who I get along with, and my child gets along with, and who listens to us both, and does not want to medicate my child into unconsciousness. So I check who is in network for pediatric psychology. What a joke. 12 names. That's it. Most of them affiliated with Children's. Nice. So I have no real choice for my child.


If this were a concern about his knees, or feet, or hands, he would have hundreds of choices. But because you cannot see mental illness, and there is such a stigma attached to it, we have no choice in who we can go to. I find it horrendous that Anthem would be so short sighted to do this to their clients. Anthem does not care for the welfare of those clients. Anthem cares only for the welfare of their own pockets. Shame on Anthem. Shame on Anthem's business practices.

I sincerely hope that everyone who is affected by this can find the help they need. Because to not have the help you so need with an illness of this magnitude can be deadly. I would suspect that Anthem does not want that liability, but then I guess I am wrong. It seems as though the only thing Anthem cares about is how much money they can stuff into their coffers.

I hope to be switching from Anthem to a different insurance soon. I can only hope to do it before I need to take my child back to his psychiatrist. You have angered me greatly, and I will tell anyone I know, not to use Anthem, because they do not care about the welfare of their clients. Even children.

Sincerely
R. Perry