Possible delay for 1st 1000er -- sorry

[Barterer]

As some of you may know, my wife announced that she was preggers a few months back.  Well we got the little monkey all right, but unfortunately she was born with a heart defect and had to go in for surgery right away.  The operation was a success and we are greatly relieved.  Our daughter is off to a rough start, but will be able to lead a perfectly normal life.  She'll need periodic tests done, but is otherwise fine.               

The reason I tell you all this is because it does not bode well for the 1st 1000 pledge I made.  I will still do my best to get there in 2008, but now it will be more difficult.  I have good insurance where I work, so this will not put us out on the street or anything.  But I'll need to find a way to transfer it to New Hampshire, or find an insurance company that will cover a little girl with a heart condition without charging an arm and a leg.  That's my whine for the day.. hard to uproot with a sick kid.  However, I am optimistic about it and I do think she'll do well on the follow-up tests done over the next year.

[Lex]

Good luck! Do what you feel is right. The kid is definitely priority #1. But then again you also want her to grow up in a free society 

[Quantrill]

Good luck to you and let us know if there's anything we can do to help you get to NH (housing, jobs, etc...)

[error]

Good luck to you and let us know if there's anything we can do to help you get to NH (housing, jobs, etc...)

Or silent protests at the insurance company!

[Raineyrocks]

Barterer,

I hope everything is alright with your daughter and I'm glad the operation was a success.  Sending positive energy your way!

[Barterer]

Thanks guys!  I'll keep you posted. 

[Kat Kanning]

Aww...I'm glad your baby is OK!  She's a cutie!

[Nat F]

While the specifics of your situation may make this not applicable (either for moral or legal reasons) the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) forces health insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions when changing insurers as long as you have had continuous coverage (no coverage gaps of more than 62 days actually) for the prior twelve months.  If you can arrange for a job with health insurance in NH you should be all set.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fshipaa.html

I don't know if that helps, I hope it does.  I'm certainly glad to hear your daughter is doing well.  My first son was in the NICU for his first 11 days and was initially rushed to Children's Hospital Boston because they suspected he had a heart defect causing his problems.  We recently celebrated his fifth birthday and I hope your family can celebrate your daughter's birthday in NH soon.

-Nat

[Dreepa]

Dude... no reason to apologize.
Family comes first.
Congrats!

[slim]

Congrats with the new born. You have responsibilities to that child and if that means you are late better late then never. 

[Barterer]

Good deal.  Thanks for the input, Nat.  Although I wouldn't use a law to force a company to accept my daughter on their plan, I'm confident that she'll do well on the follow-up tests, and after 1-2 years her health care costs will be comparable to any other kid.  Then all that remains is to find a company that won't crudely put her into the "$$heart trouble!$$" pile along with PawPaw and his pacemaker. 

And, after some research (well, I looked at some quotes) it looks like we can get pretty cheap coverage if we go with high deductibles and save it for catastrophies only.  That's the way health insurance should work anyway (for emergencies, IMO) instead of whipping out the insurance card for every little doctor's visit or prescription we can easily afford.