Are any of you Uninsured & paying for the treatment on your own?

Momof2P

Hi Ladies!  So glad I found this website.  There's so much info on here, but what I'm really concerned about is getting started to determine if the pain I'm feeling emmanating from my nipple area and under my right armpit will be diagnosed as cancer?

Up to now, I've held off buying individual health insurance because of the cost.  Moving forward, I see that my family's resources can now accomodate the monthly payment, but I don't want to purchase a plan that will deny me coverage if my test results return positive.  If I need to navigate securing treatment without private health insurance, then I would rather pay a treatment center, doctor, etc., instead of hanging onto a policy that won't cover me as soon as I get a confirmed diagnosis.  I understand, I am only speculating at this point about my condition.  Are any of you ladies dealing with treatment at this time and paying for it on your own?  Are there any resources you recommend approaching?  What are the costs you're dealing with?  Any suggestions to minimize price shock and roll with it?

I am a mother of two and do not want to think about leaving my kids motherless. My husband's employer offered health coverage for me at an additional cost of $3700 per year, which seemed high since it was the same fee for my husband and our kids.  We are not a wealthy family, and every penny counts. I realize I need insurance, but I don't want to throw away my money buying a policy that will raise a red flag at providing coverage after my first doctor's visit.  My gut tells me they will label this a "pre-existing condition" even if I never received an official diagnosis.  I also feel the insurance company may turn around and raise my rates.  Have any of you encountered this kind of resistance after buying private health insurance?  How did you deal with the dilemma?  All your comments are greatly appreciated.

Chickadee

Seems to me you are playing with fire here. Have your husband talk to HR at his company and explore the options as well as ask how a pre existing condition is defined by each of the offerings. I would think that without an official diagnosis by a medical professional it would not be a pre existing condition. But I'm no expert. Have you never had a mammogram?



Breast cancer is not something you guess at and time may be of the essence.



I sincerely hope you do not join us here.

SpecialK

Unless you independently wealthy it would be extremely difficult to pay for cancer treatment out of pocket.  My treatment costs are probably upwards of $300,000 as of right now, but I have excellent insurance, so have not had to pay more than co-pays.  I am not sure about whether or not an insurance company can deny you treatment for a medical problem on the basis of a pre-existing condition if you have not alrady received treatment for it, or if it has not been documented in your medical records.  I would check any policy you are thinking of purchasing to see if they spell out what is considered a pre-existing condition.  Group policies seem to be more forgiving in this area, but there are also state run high-risk pool policies, here is a link:

http://www.healthinsurance.org/risk_pools/