Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with coverage

Breaking the News

unSane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:23:39 -0800

I'm trying to compile a list of stories that cable news went insane for. OJ, Elizabeth Smart, Jon Benet Ramsay, Di's death, balloon boy, 9/11, Chandra Levy, Clinton/Lewinsky, Katrina . What other breaking stories have provoked saturation coverage on CNN/Fox/MSNBC, even if only for a couple of days?

Car Insurance Coverage

Elsie — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:18:31 -0800

What car insurance coverage to I need for a brand-new car? We're haven't had a car for a couple years while living out of the US, but now we are relocating to an area (MA--small town) where we will need one. It's probably going to be a RAV or CRV. We're in our early sixties, have had spotless driving records for decades, never filed a claim, hope not to drive more than 8000 miles a year, and will take $1000 deductible.

In most things, such as insurance, we usually choose at the most conservative end of the spectrum--say 85% of the maximum coverage the insurance company would like everyone to buy. With every contract full of consumer traps these days, what levels of liability, collision, etc. should we buy to have peace of mind?

New insurance and pre-existing conditions?

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:40:40 -0800

Pre-existing condition and new health insurance, what do I need to know? I suffer from depression. I was diagnosed in late 2005 and received treatment through the beginning of 2006, covered by the insurance plan from my full-time employer at the time.

Since leaving that job in early 2007, my coverage has been spotty and sporadic, using short term plans just so I wouldn't be totally bankrupted if I got cancer or something. I haven't been covered for the entirety of that time, however... there were gaps of varying lengths between renewals, the longest was probably two or three months. I don't get coverage through my current employer.

I recently signed up for a full-fledged plan, and it starts soon. I disclosed my original depression diagnosis, but what I didn't disclose is that I've been experiencing a pretty severe relapse on and off in recent months. The application didn't ask for that info in explicit terms, but it did ask how I would categorize my mental state over the last few months, and I responded with something to the effect of "mildly depressed" (it was multiple-choice). Any of these may have been the wrong things to do, but they're done already so that's not my question. In my defense, at the time I filled in the application I was actually doing okayish so "mildly depressed" seemed like a reasonable average.

Now I have a letter from the insurance company reminding me that there's a nine-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions, including conditions for which "a prudent layperson would have sought treatment" within six months before coverage. Obviously my original diagnosis falls outside that limitation... my relapse does not, but there's no documented evidence of it other than possibly the response I gave on the application.

So here's my question. If I want to seek treatment for my depression and get it covered under this plan, what should I know? For example, is it going to throw up red flags if make an appointment with a therapist within the first week of coverage? Does it matter that I had short-term coverage during most of this time, but opted not to use it? Or am I overanalyzing the situation entirely?

Thanks.

The best political coverage available (via internet) on Election Night.

chrisinseoul — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:19:53 -0800

The best political coverage available (via internet) on Election Night. The best political coverage available (via internet) on Election Night. It's as simple as that - I live in Seoul, South Korea, yet as an American, I feel compelled to watch the Election 'Night' counts come in. I won't specify my candidate of choice, but I would like to see the results and watch each state called for one person or the other. What's the best online coverage for that?

So, when will we know who won this thing, eh?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:13:44 -0800

How does projecting the winner of the US presidential election work? And what is the earliest time at which the election may be called? To clarify, I'm asking about television networks -- let's define these as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, PBS for the sake of this question -- not other news sources such as the AP.

Now, let's break this down into several more specific questions:

(1) Is it possible that a network calls a state before all of its polls are closed, e.g. California for the Democratic candidate or Utah for the Republican, based on the assumption that it almost certainly will not break the other way? If not, is this a direct result of 2000 or has it always been this way?

(2) Extending the previous question, is it possible that a network calls the election before it has made 270 Electoral Votes worth of per-state calls for any candidate? For example, if at any given time the Democratic candidate has accumulated a projected 200 EV from states east of the Mississippi, will a network call the election based on the assumption that the West Coast's 73 EV will break for the Democrat? (A similar scenario could of course be constructed for the Republican candidate.)

(3) Are poll closing times this year identical to those in 2004?

(4) Based on the answers to (1), (2) and (3) and any other information, what is the earliest time the election could possibly be called?

I remember 2000 and 2004, and I understand that in close elections it can take a long time before a winner is projected. But I am too young to remember 1996 and earlier, and I can find very little convincing historical information online.

It logically follows that for this question I'm assuming a not-so-close election, or at least one that might allow for an earlier call than the last two times around. But I feel compelled to note that I am not necessarily assuming the 2008 election as it stands today. I'm asking about what is possible, not what's likely this time: in other words, this question should basically be equally applicable to 2012 or any hypothetical election, not specifically the 2008 election as it stands today.

Lastly, it goes without saying, but I would ask you to kindly refrain from political discussion -- this is about how election night calls work and what is possible, not about who you want to win or think might win.

-----------

Historical bonus questions:

(5) For past presidential elections during the television era, what time was the earliest network call (for the presidency) made?

(6) Can you point to any video of this online, or any text accounts?

-----------

Let's assume ET for the sake of clarity. And more general information on specific broadcasters' policies, historical examples etc. would also be very welcome.

I'm sorry if this seems convoluted or like multiple questions for the price of one, but since the answer to one question essentially determines the other, I felt I had to break it down like this.

Let me know if anything's unclear, and thank you ever so much for any insight you might have. Thanks!

InsuranceFilter: What exactly makes a medication fall into the maintenance medication category in the eyes of insurance companies?

lrkuperman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:17:38 -0800

InsuranceFilter: What exactly makes a medication fall into the maintenance medication category in the eyes of insurance companies? Is it the fact that the doctor writes the prescription and allows for refills? Would getting a new prescription with no refills every month circumvent the whole maintenance medication designation? My husband and I have medical insurance and prescription insurance through his employer. For the past 6 years, the companies have been easy to deal with and we've always had great coverage with lots of options. Just recently (within the past 2 months) the prescription insurance - Express Scripts - struck some kind of deal with my husbands employer and now they are making it mandatory that we use their mail-order pharmacy for any medication that they consider to be routine/maintenance medication. I have no desire to use any mail-order service for my medications and I am resentful of the fact that this is being forced down my throat. I feel that there is something fishy about the fact that they are not even allowing a choice of mail-order pharmacies, but instead are mandating that we use theirs OR pay 100% out of pocket for our medications... Also then we face the possibility that the company will sell detailed claims data on prescribing and dispensing history which drug companies often use to target sales efforts. I don't want someone selling my medical information!!! They infer that fact themselves on their own website:

"Business Associates: We arrange to provide some services through contracts with business associates. On occasion, we may disclose your medical information to business associates acting on our behalf. If any medical information is disclosed, we will protect your information from further use and disclosure using confidentiality agreements."

So I guess my question comes down to this - what exactly makes a medication fall into the maintenance medication category? Is it the fact that the doctor writes the prescription and allows for refills? Would getting a new prescription with no refills every month circumvent the whole maintenance medication designation?

I really want to find a way to beat them at their own rules and would appreciate all insight, suggestions or guidance that any of you may have to offer!

Insurance Cancels Allergy Drug Coverage

morallybass — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:42:19 -0800

My insurance company (Blue Cross/Shield MA) is dropping all prescription drug benefits for allergy drugs in favor of over-the-counter medicine like Claritin. I have serious allergies and take Alegra 180. What can I do? My insurance company (Blue Cross/Shield MA) is dropping all prescription drug benefits for allergy drugs in favor of over-the-counter medicine like Claritin. The rationale being that all allergy symptoms can be treated by this class of drug.

I have very serious allergies and take Alegra 180. I've tried Claritin, Zyrtec, and a variety of other drugs and finally settled on the serious prescription allergy drug I have been on for the last 5 years.

What can I do now that my insurance seems to be revoking all coverage?

How are solely owned corporations classified for FDIC insurance purposes?

sharkfu — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:48:19 -0800

FDIC Bank Coverage filter: I am the sole owner and president of a corporation. If I do my personal banking at the same bank as my corporate accounts are both accounts covered by the FDIC insurance or is just one covered as I am technically "one depositor"? My guess would be that I am one depositor and the corporation is a separate different depositor (which happens to be owned by me) but I wouldn't want to run into a legal snafu if my bank happened to fail and the FDIC saw things differently.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

How can I measure toner coverage?

reeddavid — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:24:46 -0800

How can I measure ink coverage? I know my toner will yield 3,000 pages at 5% coverage, but I want to know what coverage is typical for the pages I print. (Found PC product, seeking Mac or web-based software) I'd like to be able to learn the toner coverage of a given page before I print it in order to better measure my home printing costs. My search turned up APFill for PC, but I'd like a Mac or web-based product. I'm looking for something simple and cheap.

Who owns my wrecked Blazer?

mithiirym — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:59:49 -0800

My car was crashed into and it's not worth repairing. Who gets the metal that used to be a Blazer: me or the bank I was making payments to? Somebody crashed into my Blazer a few days ago and rendered it useless and beyond feasible repair (i.e., not worth fixing). I still had a few thousand dollars left to pay on it to the financial bank place who will most likely directly get the check from the other guy's insurance thus paying off what I owed them. So who gets the hunk of useless Blazer sitting in a warehouse? My name is on the title and everything, so would the car be my property if the bank is getting paid off anyway? I could sell it to a junk place for a couple hundred or more so I'll at least get something out of this mess.

And another question for anyone experienced in insurance-type stuff: providing they had adequate coverage, should their insurance company also reimburse me for the car as well? From what I've been reading about online, it seems that I will be screwed from this whole mess. The other driver was completely at fault, and their insurance is paying for my car (to my bank, to pay off what I owe); but that leaves me without a car to drive! I only had collision coverage, and the accident wasn't my fault. I'll be speaking with a lawyer about suing for damages and losing my only method of transporting myself and my kids, but maybe one of knows something about this stuff.

Looking for coverage work

Bookhouse — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:34:47 -0800

How does one find work as a script reader in Hollywood? What are other bottom-rung industry jobs for writers? I've just moved to L.A., and am interested in finding work as a script-reader while I work on my own writing. However, I'm not sure how to get started. Does one query agencies? Write spec coverage? All tips and advice welcome.

Also, information on other industry jobs that are a good fit for professional writers is welcome.

Genuinely Fair

netbros — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:44:28 -0800

Now that the primary season is over and major party nominees have been determined for the upcoming U.S. presidential and congressional elections, please help me find unbiased, non-partisan, impartial news and commentary outlets to follow the campaigns. I would really like to avoid mouthpieces and parrots like Fox News, Kos, Sullivan, Reynolds, et. al. Presumably it is still actually possible to get balanced coverage of candidates, parties, and affiliations. Where are they? Any media are fine; TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, internet. As always, thanks in advance for your assistance.

MacBook with dead logic board: how to proceed?

sparrows — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:51:38 -0800

Logic board died on my friend's two-year-old MacBook (one year out of warranty). Should she pay for repair ($700 + labor), or sell the carcass for parts and buy, say, a used iBook? She's kept it in flawless condition and the screen is perfect (no bad pixels), so maybe she could get a decent amount selling it for parts? She does not have an eBay account and is not in an active Craigslist area.

I don't know the exact specs, but it's whatever was the least expensive new white MacBook in early summer 2006. (Its HD is 80GB, and I know she got the stock drive, if that helps.)

She does not have much money and this is her only computer (in fact this is her FIRST ever computer). The 700+labor quote is from an Apple Authorized Repair Center (she's a long drive from the nearest Apple Store).

Ugh. :(

Risks of forgoing health insurance?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:14:28 -0800

Risks of forgoing health insurance when one has limited assets? I am in my final semester of graduate school. Students at my school are supposed to purchase the school's health insurance for $1,000/semester. The coverage is poor--extremely limited coverage with high copays. So far I have paid for coverage but haven't used it once. I am also lucky enough to meet the income requirements for state-sponsored (free) health care. (In my state you are eligible for this care even if you already have insurance.) I have to see the doctors at a specific hospital and so far the care has been excellent.

My tuition bills are already huge and I'm eager to cut corners wherever possible. I don't have any assets other than retirement savings in a Roth IRA from before I went back to school. Since the (bad) school coverage is so expensive, and I have (great) coverage that is free, I am considering forgoing the paid coverage. Technically, however, the state wants people with free care to purchase insurance (although they are able to retain the free care…go figure?!).

What are the risks of not purchasing the school health insurance? For example, I'm not sure what would happen if I were to suffer a serious injury and be brought to a hospital other than the one where I receive my care or worse, out of state (the risk is low since I don’t go out of state often). If something like this happened I would be protected by the fact that I have no real assets that could be seized to pay for medical bills, right? Or am I missing something?

Although it might be ethically “wrong” to not purchase the insurance my state wants residents to, both education and health care are insanely expensive and I’m just trying my best to get by without owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the end. I also paid my fair share of taxes when I was working so I don't feel too bad about having free coverage now while my income is so low. Thank you.

I feel the earth move under my feet...

cior — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:42:45 -0800

Homeowner insurance through Farmer's Insurance Group -- is this a Very Bad Idea? My TIC partners and I took a meeting with a Farmers Insurance Group rep last night to discuss coverage for our 6-unit building in San Francisco. Seemed like a nice guy, offered the type of coverage we wanted for the price range we were looking for. It seemed like everyone was in agreement and we'd be settling the details and buying the policy later this week.

This morning I sat down at my computer, typed in Farmers Insurance Group and found the traditional This Company Sucks website. In contrast, they seem to have a great relationship with the press or very cunning PR folks. Everyone's got a beef with something, but considering the stakes I don't know quite how to process this information.

a) Is FIG truly known to be sucky by everyone but me?

b) What can be said about their recent record in paying claims, especially in California? Does anyone have personal experience to relate?

c) Is this something worth steering the HOA to another insurance provider over?

I don't want to be Chicken Little, but we do live in San Francisco and earthquakes are on everyone's mind.

Help This American Student Navigate the NHS

awesomebrad — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:39:20 -0800

NHSFilter: I'm going to be studying in the UK for a year, and I have some questions about my coverage under the NHS. I'm going to be entering the UK in September for a year-long course of study; I know that because I'm on a student visa and will be in the UK for more than six months, I'm entitled to NHS coverage. I do, however, have some questions.

I've taken several prescription medications to help control acne for the past two years. I know that the general charge for prescriptions is £6.85, and also that there is a list of medications which are not covered. I cannot, however, find this list, and as controlling acne isn't exactly essential to my survival, I need to know whether I'll be able to procure my medications in the UK under the NHS scheme (I don't need to worry about finding a GP to register with, as my school provides one). The medications I use are: Doryx (which is a slightly modified form of doxycycline), Nicomide (nicotinamide/niacinamide prescription vitamin), Retin-a micro, and Brevoxyl 4% creamy wash.

Additionally, I've just had a minor surgical procedure performed, and although it has gone well, it will require follow-up extending into the first part of my stay in the UK (just checks to make sure there's no recurrence). I noticed that the student coverage doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, will this be an issue? And the follow-up should preferably be performed by a specialist: will I/how will I need to go about getting a referral?

I've tried to include everything I can think of, but if you can see any issues here that could crop up and I haven't specifically asked about, I would appreciate it if you could let me know.

Thanks in advance, everyone!

T-Mobile data coverage around the world: is there a single map showing all covered areas?

allterrainbrain — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:52:48 -0800

T-Mobile's Unlimited International Email add-on for BlackBerry currently offers data service in "90 countries and locations." Is there such a thing as a single map showing these 90 countries and locations? If not, what's my most efficient way to make one myself? (On T-Mobile's site, there's only a drop-down menu; you need to click on each country to see whether data [as opposed to just voice] is offered in that country, then click again to see a map of the country's coverage area.)

My dream map would be a current, zoomable world map of actual T-Mo data coverage areas -- so you could view, for example, all of Eastern Europe or all of Central America at the same time, as with their excellent zoomable map of U.S. coverage.

Assuming there's no such map, I want to make a simple map myself, with different solid colors for each country (indicating "full coverage," "coverage only in urban centers," etc.) and each country shape linking to T-Mo's actual coverage map of that country. For this map I don't care about countries where there's only voice coverage & not data. Yes, I know this info fluctuates, so any map I made would be just a "current as of [date]" solution.

For making my own map, is there such a thing available as a big outline map of the world that already comes with an imagemap for each country's shape -- or just comes with clickable country names inside each country? (I'm hoping for something free or cheap; this is not an assignment for work, just a tool for planning my own low-budget travels.)

Cover me! Over!

puddpunk — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:48:02 -0800

Does anybody know of any software (Prefer free, web-based or hosted but want to hear it all) for easy and simple mapping of radio station coverage? I have a need to map coverage as preferably a semi-transparent coloured area over a map. The coverage area isn't based on any data able to be parsed (i.e. co-ordinates or radio signal strength or anything) and is supposed to be an approximate area of coverage.

Since this isn't based on any data the areas have to be altered by hand. Although it may be possible to turn this into some sort of KML feed to load into mapping software...

Also, each station might have more than one coverage area (national station) so it'd be nice to be able to click on/off different stations "layers" on the map.

The current solution being used is a map in photoshop with different layers that are shown/hidden

Does Kaiser in SoCal cover travel vaccinations?

mr_roboto — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:41:39 -0800

Are travel vaccinations covered by Kaiser in Southern California? I'm doing some travel this summer that'll require Hep A, Hep B, and typhoid vaccinations, in addition to a course of antimalarials. I'm insured with Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, but I cannot get a straight answer out of their phone bank as to whether or not any of these are covered. Hep B is briefly mentioned in their literature as being "recommended" for adults, but again there's no description of coverage.

Anyone have any personal experience with this?

Corporate Do-Gooder!

thinkpiece — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 07:13:29 -0800

How can I help my fellow employees get the most out of their benefits program via efficient, lively, multi-platform communications? I'm in a terrific new Communications job in the very progressive HR department of a global business information company. My initial mandate is to improve Benefits communications which are currently complex, and myriad.

I have a wide-open opportunity to shape how a large employee population accesses healthcare and financial planning information -- and acts on it to get the most they can from their benefits program -- from a company that really wants to do the right thing.

I'm interested in any and all ideas, from program gripes or praise to content to delivery, that would keep your eyes from glazing over everytime you heard from HR about Benefits! Creativity, technology and simplicity (or at least, pitch-ability for budget allocation) will be extremely appreciated.

Get Thee to a Doctor! (But Which?)

Anonymous — Fri, 04 May 2007 08:13:19 -0800

I currently have what I'd term "crisis" health insurance -- a low monthly bill with a high deductible. I haven't dealt with the plan other than to pay the premiums since I signed up. Now, I think I may have a crisis. Help! I'm in my early 20s and male. My insurance is of the $500 deductible, 20% copay to $15,000 variety. I've been on it for about year, starting the day I graduated college; I intended to use it as a safety net for severe health problems until I could get a full-time job with benefits, but then wound up working a series of temp jobs sans-benefits. I'm starting the next of these jobs next week. Somewhere in there I applied to and was admitted to grad school, but my student health coverage there (which is quite good) doesn't kick in until mid-August (and I'm moving across the country when that happens, as if this wasn't complex enough already).

Early this week, I noticed something uncomfortable in my reproductive system. I won't go into the specifics here because I already know the answer is "get thee to a doctor." I hung on for a few days hoping it was a temporary thing that'd work itself out, but it hasn't. At this point, I'd like to see a doctor and get a professional diagnosis and treatment, if necessary. My problem is thus: I've been on this plan for about a year and have yet to see a doctor. I checked the plan website last night, and now I have a huge list of physicians in my area.

So the question is, how do I contact one of these people and get an appointment to be seen and evaluated, preferably in the near future, having never met with them before? Given the enormity of the list of providers and the lack of detailed info (I get their name, contact info, and some background on which medical school they attended and when they graduated), what should I look for when I'm choosing which one to call? What can I expect to go through? I'm sure I'm kind of spoiled, because my family had really good health coverage, and my current coverage is not so great.

As an aside, I know and trust my father's primary care physician, but he's not part of my current plan. I have this idea that, since I'm not covered until $500 anyway, if the initial consultation is likely to run me less than $500, I could maybe try and see him and then get a referral to someone inside my plan, if needed. Is this a sane idea?

Insurance Pre-Existing Condition Woes

kmtiszen — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:41:19 -0800

My insurance provider wants me to fill out a pre-existing condition questionnaire! Help! After not being insured for about 18 months, I've finally started a job that offers me health insurance. Unfortunately, I have a chronic pre-existing condition (colitis) that requires regular medical care... including a colonoscopy every couple of years. Overjoyed with the possibility of not having to pay in full, first thing I do once I'm covered is run and get a colonoscopy.

But along comes a bill for $930 and a pre-existing condition questionnaire. My question is--is there anything I can do to get them to cover me? I'm in over my head here. I have a couple thousand dollars worth of bills that they're refusing to cover unless I return this questionnaire. But I know once I do, they'll probably refuse to cover me anyway. My only hope is you, hive mind, to help me do this an intelligently as possible.

I think my only glimmer of hope is that the GI that was treating me before being insured has completely quit his practice and has absconded with all my medical records. Nobody, myself and even his old hospital, knows where to find him or how to contact him. Would it be a bad idea to just leave him off the questionnaire entirely?

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I'm currently located in NYC.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Affordable options for cellular signal boosting?

saraswati — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 09:54:52 -0800

I have a Blackberry 7290 and live in a basement apartment. I intermittently get one bar of signal in most places inside, but full service right outside the windows. What is the most effective option to increase service indoors so that I can maintain phone calls? I've seen the expensive cellular repeaters and I can't really justify spending that much. Thanks.

Finding Old Email

jak68 — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:09:19 -0800

Help me find an old insightful email commentary (one that did the rounds on email) on the chauvinism of American network coverage of the Olympics in mid-90s. I believe it was during one of summer olympics in the mid-90s. I remember receiving (from a friend; this was one of those emails that got forwarded between friends very quickly) an email commentary (details on that below), which commented very insightfully on the chauvinism and pettiness of American mainstream media network coverage and commentary during the games.

The email itself was purportedly written by an ordinary person - an English person - who was visiting the US during the Olympics and was watching American coverage on American major network television (probably NBC or ABC).
She - the English author - wrote this email back home (perhaps to her mother). She basically says very wryly, that American commentaries during the gymnastics and other parts of Olympic events, are chauvinistic, absurd, maudlin, overly sentimental, and jingoistic. She doesnt use such words though; she merely describes it.

For example, one part that I remember, she's writing about how every American athlete the news anchors cover, has recently recovered from cancer and has some other maudlin story attached which they highlight extensively; these athletes have apparently overcome major odds in their personal lives. However, when the same commentators turn to foreign athletes and do human interest pieces on them, the tone and content is very different. One example she gave was (if I remember correctly) of a chinese gymnist; in the commentary on her, the American anchors focus on the repression in China and how this girl probably was 'indoctrinated' from birth to become a gymnast and other such stereotypes (esp from mid-90s) of life in China.

The author of the email dryly notes at this point that the Chinese gymnasts mom back home probably couldnt care less about whether her daughter won or lost and probably loves her just the same either way; ie, that the imagined picture of unadulterated coldness and brutality of this athlete's background was probably overwrought, just as the unadulterated maudlin stories of American athletes were probably similarly overwrought.

Stuff like that. Its a fairly long email; but on the whole it really summed up many complaints people have had on American network coverage of the Olympics, which is in many ways very different from the kinds of coverage one finds in other (especially European) countries. The email summed up some of these differences quite accurately and with a dry sense of humor.

I thought I had saved a copy of it... does anyone else remember this, and does anyone know where a copy could be found? If you happen to have one, I'd love to get a copy...

No cell coverage in our new home. What to do?

mgarnhum — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 04:37:19 -0800

Our cell phones don't get coverage in our new home. Can I get out of my contract, and how do I find out who had coverage for our street/area? We just moved one mile down the road and now we don't have cell phone coverage (we're lucky if we can get one bar and that's on a good day).

We contacted T-mobile and all they said was that they'd let the field technicians know, but that doesn't guarantee that they'll do anything about it and they won't let us out of our contract.

Now we're stuck with two cell phones that don't get coverage in our home.

My questions are...

1) Is it possible that we can get our of our cell phone contract because of no coverage - has anyone done this before?

2) If we CAN get out of our cell phone contract, how do I find out who has coverage for this area - I'm guessing very few. I've gone to verizon and cingular coverage maps and they don't give good detail about local coverage.