Phone rings
Me: Hello.
Bipolar: I am looking for health insurance and I was given your name & number.
Me: Thanks for calling. I need to get some information such as date of birth, height & weight as well as any meds you take.
Bipolar: I take (2 psychotropic meds, 4 BP meds and one HRT).
Comment to self, this is going to be a short conversation . . .
Me: Do you have coverage now?
Bipolar: Yes, I have coverage through my employer but I can’t afford it.
Me: How much does it cost?
Bipolar: I don’t know, it comes out of my check.
Second comment to self; this is going to be even shorter than I thought.
Me: If you don’t know how much it costs, then how do you know it costs too much?
Bipolar: Because I can’t afford to go to the doctor. The copays are too high. I want something with better coverage but at a lower price.
Now I figure I might as well have some fun since I am already in to this.
Me: So how much can you afford to pay in monthly premium?
Bipolar: How can I know how much it costs? That is why I called you. Don’t you know?
OK, time to pull the plug on this one.
Me: You really need to keep your current plan.
Bipolar: But I can’t afford it.
Me: As I was saying, you need to keep your current plan. No carrier will take you as a bipolar.
Bipolar: I should have known better than to call you. Insurance companies are all alike.
She hangs up.
Two minutes later the phone rings.
Me: Hello.
Bipolar: I am looking for health insurance and I was given your name & number.
I guess being bipolar is not her only issue. Seems like a touch of short term memory lapse as well . . .
This is a true story. I can’t make this stuff up.