Health Insurance??

[ChrisN418]

Hello all... I hope everyone is staying strong. I just wanted to ask a quick question and get your input. I was diagnosed in June with stage I Seminoma and have finished my treatments. My problem is this; I am going to be changing jobs and was wondering about getting health insurance through a different carrier. I have heard that once you have been diagnosed it is very hard to obtain both life and health insurance. I have a policy now through my current employer but am trying to better both my life and my families by looking for something a little better. I have gotten my first 'all clear' since diagnosis but have scans and blood work again in November. Any input you guys may have would help greatly as I know I'm not the first nor the last to have to worry about this...

Thanks to everyone and best wishes....

I think I may have posted this in the wrong place..Sorry

[emilyalex]

Chris - you shouldn't have any worries in relation to getting health coverage if it is through a group or employer plan. Make sure that you don't have any lapses in your health care coverage between jobs. If you'll have a 63 or more day break in coverage during any of the transition period, make sure you elect COBRA coverage. If you don't experience a break in coverage, plans should not be able to exclude you for coverage, or exclude coverage for your particular illness. I suppose it's possible you could be subjected to some medical questions if you are joining a plan for a very small employer, but if a large group that should not occur.

As far as life insurance, most companies give at least a minimum amount of coverage automatically when an employee is hired. If you are offered the option to elect additional coverage WITHOUT medical evidence of insurability (basically a questionnaire asking if you've had cancer!), take as much as you can get with no EOI required. Typically if you try to increase your life coverage at a later date, such as during the company annual enrollment period, medical EOI would be required. For example, if the company provides you 1 x salary at no cost to you automatically, and you could choose up to 3 x salary as a newly hired employee without the medical questions, go ahead and sign up for the 3 x while they don't want proof that you are insurable!

Hope this makes sense. If you have any questions on this, just let me know. This is the field I work in every day, so I should be able to help.

Emily

[582ND3R5]

Pre-Existing condition, options ??

Hello all,

I'm hoping you can give me some advice.
I am currently unemployed and uninsured male in my early thirties. I am in excellent health and work out daily however, I have a large lump in one of testicles (1 X 1 X 1 1/2 inches) approximately where my epididymis is. Recently,I went to a free clinic to have it examined. At the clinic they tested me for a variety of STDs for which I came back negative for all. The very nice nurse said it was probably a cyst however I needed to have it biopsied to test for cancer. The clinic does not have the capability of doing this. I was given a referral to the County Hospital to have it biopsied. I went to the hospital referral in hand however they would not see me. I was told my case would be reviewed and they would get back to me in a few months to let me know their determination (that's just to get tested). My referel went into a stack of papers and I didn't fill out a single form.

So, I'm a bit scared and not sure what to do next. I'm considering getting private insurance. This will be a burden on me financially but it beats the alternative.

Questions:
I know preexisting conditions wont be covered. Since this (whatever it is) hasn't been diagnosed does that count as pre-existing? Will insurance companies have access to my records at the free clinic? If I have this tested so soon after acquiring insurance will that cause the potential insurance to not cover it?

Outside of insurance, which will be costly in my current employment state are there any other options for me out there? Is there anything I can do other then wait for the County to get around to decide if they will see me (assuming my piece of paper didn't get lost in the huge stack)?

What is out there to help a person like me?

With appreciation,

[emilyalex]

If you haven't actually been diagnosed with anything, then whatever you have going on should not be considered pre-existing (unless you get a biopsy and begin treatment before getting coverage). There are some less expensive options for private health insurance, although they are typically more catastrophic type plans (meaning your premium may only be $75/month, but your deductible would be $5,000). Obviously, the higher your monthly premium, the lower the deductible goes. Companies like Unicare, BCBS and Aetna offer individual plans, and I am sure there are other places you can turn for that. Maybe you could get some quotes and if nothing else, sign up with a short term policy (I know BCBS offers these) until you figure out what's going on. The key is to not only have coverage when diagnosed, but to continue it during treatment. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if you don't have a 63 day or more break in coverage, most plans will not exclude treatment for your illness.

It shouldn't matter how soon you get this checked out after acquiring insurance and the insurance company should not have access to any of your records from the free clinic. However, if you do proceed with getting it tested before becoming insured, you may have to list this on your application for coverage.

Hope this helps.