If you have a medical condition or have a child who has a medical condition, you know that health insurance companies can be real pains in the you-know-whats.  They are there to make money, not to provide you health coverage.  This is proven by the fact that they can decide to stop covering you (or your medical expenses) at any time.

That being said, it is still your right to get health care coverage if you have a child who needs growth hormone therapy.  Growth hormone therapy is not all about vanity or wanting to grow taller — many kids in the United States have some type of growth hormone deficiency.  This page quotes a frequency of one kid out of every three or four thousand, which might not seem like much — until you think about how many millions of kids are in the United States.

If you have a kid who needs growth hormone therapy, you will of course have a diagnosis from a doctor, which is the first step to getting it covered by your insurance company.  Be sure to check your insurance policy — every company is different, and in fact, different plans from the same company can vary widely in what they cover.  If you can’t find the information in your policy, call your insurance company and ask, but be sure to write down the date, time, and the person’s name who helps you — just in case you have to fight to get the insurance company to honor what you were told on the phone.

Don’t underestimate they need to increase height in a child with a growth hormone deficiency.  I had a friend a few years back who was only about four feet tall, despite the fact that he was in his mid-thirties.  He had other health problems too, which may or may not have been related to his improper growth and development.  Regardless, knowing someone who was that short made me realize how much we take for granted.  Everyday things as simple as driving a car were difficult for him — he had to sit on cushions and strap large blocks of wood to the pedals!

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