There could be a couple of eplanations why your friend receives medical benefits for her depression, yet an elimination rider was placed on your policy when you recently applied for medical insurance. If she is on a group health plan offered through an employer, the insurance company may not place elimination riders on individual employees. Small Business regulations are different than individual Regulations as they pertain to placing eclusions on new policies. The other possibility is that she had her insurance coverage prior to being diagnosed with depression. Therefore, when she applied for coverage, she did not have this pre-eisting medical condition for which the insurance company could reject paying benefits. On the positive side, at least you were able to obtain medical insurance that would cover other unepected illnesses, unlike the person in California that is unable to get health insurance because of her depression.