You're missing the point. If one is sick, one is sick. One shouldn't need authorisation. In no other country in the world - and I've lived in many - does one need authorisations. Even here, in Ireland, despite the fact that I am part of the public health system, I also have opted to pay for private insurance. I don't have to get authorisation. I just submit the bills, and they pay for them. I pay about €40 per month for that.

You also miss the fact that, apart from knowing the system, you probably had a record with the company, as being ex-staff, and so they covered you. Also, the fact that you spent months or years learning the system is one thing. To ask clients to spend the same amount of time learning the system for something they paid for, is beyond absurd.

All this stuff is put there to give the insurance company an excuse to deny claims. It is as simple as that.