Cancer as a pre-existing condition for insurance

I thought that if you had continuing coverage, and went into a group (as opposed to buying your own individual insurance) that they couldn't exclude pre-existing conditions. But I am not totally sure on this.Hopefully someone will chime in here with more definitive info

BUT I do know that what you want is a 'certificate of continuing coverage' (CCC) from your prev insuranance company. I know that you do not want to have more than a 62 day period of being 'uncovered', as that allows the new company to not cover everything. If you have continuing coverage (as proven by the CCC), they have to cover you completely. At least, that is my understanding, and that goes for GROUP coverage. I think for individual coverage, the company can pretty much exclude anything they want.

My daughter got an individual policy last year and they excluded anything reproductive for A YEAR because she had a little spot on her cervix that they were watching.  It cleared up on its own and the year is over now, but I definitely held my breath til the 12 months were done.

Good luck. I KNOW how stressful insurance/financial stuff can be. If you get stuck, maybe the state insurance commissioner's office would be able to give you some information.

texaslonghorn. As folks have mentioned as long as your insurance is continuous (no break for more than about a month) then you can go on another group plan. As far as individual plan I do believe you will be denied.

I was on cobra but it was about to run out before my last chemo. I called BC&BS of Illinois and they said cancer is a non-insurable condition. BUT I am on my state's high risk pool insurance instead. The premiums charge is by age not condition.

This is a list of states with high risk pool insurance: linky 

Texas link ((888) 398-3927) is here: linky

NOTE: it does say 12 month waiting period but I do believe that is only for people who don't have continuous coverage. If you apply now for when your cobra runs out you will not have to wait the 12 months. In Illinois it was 6 month waiting period but I did not have to wait because there was no lapse in my health insurance.

 hope that makes sense.

Not sure how it works but I did ask my insurer (CIGNA) if my BC would be a pre existing condition if I needed to apply for different insurance in the future.

They told me as long as I was 'treatment free' for 12 months it is not considered a pre existing condition.

As far as Obama care it only covers those under 17 or 18 years of age now. Not sure if adults are included in the future.

Jan

Hi,

In Ontario Canada we luckily do not have to worry about most health care costs relating to cancer however some treatments are not covered under the provincial health care plan, like neulasta at $3000 per shot - luckily for me my DH medical insurance plan artwork covered it at the time although since then his employer has lowered every ones coverage and they would now not cover any of the cost.  On another issue I am about to purchase a new vehicle on finance of course, I cannot get disability coverage or life insurance as my bc is considered a pre-existing condition, actually they will cover me but cancer will be an exclusion, and that's the thing I worry most about coming back, go figure.  Yes, they do say if you have had no treatment for 12 months, but they consider AIs to be treatment plus you cannot have seen a GP or onc for 12 months which I am sure we all fall outside that category as we have scheduled return visits for the remainder of our lives at least 6 monthly or annually, so if they don't catch us with the treatment clause they sure as hell catch us with the onc visits even though these are routine check ups.  This makes me so cross - how are we supposed to try and put this thing behind us when the insurance companies will not.  We may not ever have a recurrence again (let's hope!) ....and yet we will have these exclusions as a constant reminder, on top of the scars that is!!!  I know the insurance companies are out to make money but ....  sorry for the rant this just really p#sses me off.  The last thing I want to do is purchase a vehicle and then something happen and leave my DH footing the bill, you know what I mean right?

Susan you would really have to check with an insurance company. The thing is in 2 years Obama care will kick in and there will be no pre-existing condition issue anymore for anyone here. Of course we all worry about it being repealed.

My gut says that if you are 5  years NED with colon cancer then you are in remission… colonoscopies are not treatment. Even someone who had a polyp removed gets more frequent colonoscopies as well as those with a direct family history. 

BTW congratulations on NED 7 years breast cancer and how every long colon cancer. That's something to celebrate.

I had Cobra till july of 2010, pickedit up on my own (it was very expensive), was on that for 3 mos., then Qualified for Heathy New York by virtue of my income level.  I have had no lapse in coverage, and Univera has been great about covering all BC related appt's. scans, blood work etc.  It is a worry when you are trying to fight the ins. maze along with fighting the cancer.  If you type in COBRA in the search engine on the pink navigation area, you will find a wealth of good info about pre-existing conditions, also type in my avatar name and it should pop up for you.  Good luck to you and I hope this dual worrying will go to just (ha) fighting the cancer.

The no-lapse in policy used to be 63 days: 2-31 day months plus one day.  I know Oklahoma now has a high rish pool, the premiums are as high as what it cost me to have hubby on my insurance, almost double for what cost for me alone.  Personnally, I wouldn't want to count on Obama care.  He already wants to reduce spending by cutting medicare & medicaid as announced today in the news.  Not wanting to start anything, but expressing my opinion. NJ

I have Stage IV BC and currently have COBRA for a total of 36 months (federal Cobra first and then state COBRA) because my employer was based in California and they had to offer me an additional 18 months. 

 I live in New York and will have a six month lapse in coverage before my Medicare through SSDI is effective.  Specifically, my COBRA will end in May 2012 and my Medicare will be effecitve on November 1, 2012.  Where would I be able to get individual coverage in New York for the 6 month period before Medicare starts since I know I can't extend my Cobra any longer.  I am willing to pay what I have to, however, I don't who to turn to and I'm not eligible for Medicaid or Healthy New York, although my income is low,, however I do have assets.

I hope someone knows how I can get 6 months of coverage prior to Medicare whereby I don't have to worry about pre-existing conditions, etc.,  PLEASE HELP.

The only restriction is that there is no other insurance option for you. In other words if your employer offers health insurance you will not be eligible or if you can get a policy on your own ( breast cancer diagnosis is usually non insurable under non group policies) then your are not eligible.

I'm on it. Give me a call if you want more detail. I recommend signing up 3 months before your insurance is going to run out. The people at ICHIPS are really very helpful. I recommend calling. The coverage is BC&BS of IL PPO. I didn't have to wait 6 months… When cobra ended I started this.

The time liimits talked about are related to HIPAA.  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.   As was stated by Norma June, you can't have a lapse in coverage of more than 63 days. Also if you maintain coverage with a previous employer for a period of12 months, then you exclusion time limit is covered.  COBRA counts as coverage, so

If you you have coverage for cancer with your current employer for 2 years, then your job ends and you carry COBRA coverage for 4 months, then start a new job with an employer that offers group health care and that group policy covers cancer treatment but has a preexisting condition clause, it would most likely not apply to you and you would be covered under the new employers plan.  ( I say most likely becasue I am not a lawyer....but the way it is written,you should be eligable for coverage.)  I dug deep into this a couple months ago because I anticipate there will be a time when my wife will have to stop working ( not soon) and I will want to cover her on my group health policy.

You can see this informaiton on the Department of Labor's website.

Ritaew - you should be able to get HIPPA-guaranteed coverage from any insurance company. They WILL ask about pre-existing conditions, and the cost of the policy may be rather high, but they can't deny you. That's what the "Portability" in HIPPA means -- basically, that if you had coverage before you can't be denied new coverage.