Changed Insurance Lately with Pre-existing Conditions?

As long as you have current coverage, they legally can not deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. They could make you wait 6 months if you previously had NO coverage. You should call the new company for specifics regarding co-pays etc. especially if your child is receiving allergy shots. Insurance companies view the visits differently and therefore some require co-pays each time and some don't. It also depends on how your doctor's office bills the visits. Anyway, I recommend talking with the insurance company about specific coverage and take notes. Write down when you called, who you spoke with and what was discussed.

K.-

When shopping for insurance, ASK right away about what they consider a pre-existing condition. Every one is different. Some of what you described can be outgrown possibly. But, it is very important to ask this FIRST before committing to any other company. This should be the criteria you use when deciding who to go with next. My daughter and hubby have a congenital blood clotting disorder and we are going to be changing coverage soon...I am worried about the exact same thing. Also, you need to check with your current pediatrician as to which insurances they Do and DO NOT accept. You don't want to sign on with a new company only to hear "We don't accept that insurance". Hope this helps.

C.

Hi K.,

I am a health insurance agent and will be glad to discuss you situation with you. I have an underwriting guide that I can refer to as we go through your sons conditions. The company I work for has one of the most lienent policies for underwriting, so it would give you a good idea of what will and won't be covered etc.

You can reach me at ###-###-#### this is my cell/work # and you can call me after 6:30 pm at night and I'll be glad to talk you through it.

A. Laferriere

K.,

You are correct that many insurance companies have clauses about pre-exisiting conditions but there are two things you might want to keep in mind:
1. If you are changing insurance through an employer(usually - especially if a larger group) they don't underwrite each individual but take the whole pool of employees.
2. Often, (even as an individual policy holder)if your insurance covers services now and you don't have a break in insurance for more than I think 6 months and the new insurance company does cover the service they usually just transfer you over w/o the wait period for pre-existing conditions. You really should check with the new insurance company before making any changes. You need a summary of benefits.
Good luck to you!
Simply C.

well, I don't know if this is helpful or not, or if your situation would be the same, but here's my experience: I think that as long as there has been no lapse in coverage, if you're switching from one group plan to another you'll be fine. also, based on a questionaire, if you've had no lapse in coverage you probably won't have to have a physical and such. my story is that I was the insurance carrier for my family (husband self-employed) until I decided to stay home with the baby. my husband has seen the same doctor for probably 15 years, so when they saw some red flags in his history, they waivered him. because he was going to be forced to have a pre-existing condition, he was offered coverage under a company/program called Texas Health Risk Pool. we had to exhaust my COBRA benefits to qualify for the Texas Health Risk Pool, but it was worth it. I was able to drop COBRA coverage for my baby and me, and pay only for my husband. he now has insurance through the Texas Health Risk Pool, he's insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield. he's really got better insurance than we do! the TX Health Risk Pool was formed for people who found themselves dealing with pre-existing conditions and insurance companies who were jerking them around about coverage and charging very high premiums. this is a safety net for you if you find yourself in a situation. again, we're here because we're self-employed. if I were to go back to work under a large group plan, we'd all be covered with no problems. hope this helps! feel free to write if you've got any questions--here's the website: www.txhealthpool.org