Penalized for Even Thinking about Post-Partum Depression

Ask for help, become an insurance pariah:

In July 2004, my husband and I applied for personal health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia. ... Because I was blessed with lifelong health, the "medical information" page of my application was relatively brief. I listed a prescription for Clomid, a fertility drug I'd taken while trying to conceive my daughter, and a single appointment I'd had with a psychiatrist after she was born, regarding the possibility of postpartum depression.

Shortly after we submitted our paperwork to Anthem's headquarters in Roanoke, the letters started arriving in our mailbox. My application was under review. More information was needed. Then another letter arrived. My husband and 9-month-old daughter had been approved for coverage at Level 1, the company's best rating. I had been rejected. The reason: the psychiatrist appointment.

ONE psychiatrist appointment, in which writer Whitney Morrill was given a sample of Zoloft she decided not to take because it went into breastmilk. So what did Morrill gain by seeking help for a possible case of PPD?

A week later Anthem approved me at Level 4, its worst rating. My husband and daughter's combined monthly premium was $237. Mine was $730. ... In the end, I had to opt for an inferior and yet more costly insurance policy, at $450 a month, than the one granted to my husband and daughter. After more calls to Anthem, I learned that the psychiatrist's appointment would bar me from a Level 1 rating for five years.

Incredible. And legal. Go read the article to find out just how much money Anthem's CEO hoovered in last year; your eyes will bug out.