Cornell is about to turn down my application for health insurance

Because I was not insured prior to my petition to be added to Ryan's plan outside of the enrollment period. The reason I did not apply during the enrollment period was because

a)It seemed absurdly expensive for spouses
b)I assumed I would get a job with health insurance

Seeing as my parents have generously volunteered to cover the extra expense of health insurance for me and strangely, Cornell has the cheapest available, I petitioned claiming that I had started a job that did not have health insurance - working for Casey.

This was turned down, infuriatingly, bureaucratically, in very "Computer Says No" terms, because I had applied outside the enrollment window. Which I was aware of. And why I had to fill the forms out in the first place.

I sent an email to someone I had been communicating with earlier on the subject. She got back to me with this:

Dear Alice,
Your petition stated that prior to your employment you could not afford
the student insurance. It did not mention any coverage prior to your
latest position...did you have insurance?
Lori

If I follow the reasoning here, they are denying my health insurance because I was previously uninsured. Uninsured because we moved to Ithaca and I am no longer covered by Ryan's work. I assume then that they are denying my insurance because I didn't 'lose' it unvoluntarily, I was already in an uninsured state before I accepted a position without benefits. Somehow, I chose to be uninsured and thus must remain so.

I'm already composing a letter in my head about how inhumane their bureaucracy is. That in this economy, everyone needs all the help they can get and to deny someone health insurance on the grounds that they were previously uninsured is, ludicrous, greedy and cruel. I can't understand how a country that claims to be as civilised as it does allows this sort of thing to happen.

Cornell does little or nothing for the spouses of it's graduate students besides offering them an id card with their picture on it, unless you have a child, which I don't, nor do I plan on having one anytime soon. The least they could do is make it easier for spouses to get health insurance, as that is in everyone's best interest.



PS. Ryan discouraged me from sending the above video to the woman turning me down.